Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T03:05:05.106Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Purchasing foods produced on organic, small and local farms: A mixed method analysis of New England consumers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2009

L. Berlin ,
W. Lockeretz  and
R. Bell
L. Berlin*
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, University of Vermont, 109 Carrigan Drive, Room 252, Marsh Life Science Building, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
W. Lockeretz
Affiliation:
Tufts University, Boston, MA, USA.
R. Bell
Affiliation:
Natick RD&E Center, Massachussetts, USA.
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Research focused on consumer behavior and attitudes toward organic, small-scale and locally produced foods can help organic producers understand consumer values, and in turn develop production and marketing approaches that match these values. This research on New England area food shoppers included focus groups, individual interviews, and a mail survey, all of which helped us to identify relationships between organic food buying and consumers' views of the food system. Comments made in focus groups and individual interviews revealed a frequent blending of the concepts of local, small-scale and organic, and their associated benefits. Subsequent mail surveys identified similar tendencies, although respondents made some distinctions among the reasons why they bought food from the three farm categories. When there were differences, respondents tended to attribute greater importance to reasons to buy from local farms, as compared to organic or small farms. The six questions for which the differences across farm categories had the lowest P-values were related to the environment, rural economy, rural landscape, farmers, product freshness and product taste. However, freshness, taste, nutritional quality and safety were some of the most compelling reasons that were attributed to all three farm categories. The challenge for the small, local and organic producer will be to continue to hold the consumer's attention as the general perception of organic farming shifts to a more industrialized model.

Keywords

organic foodconsumerslocalindustrializationsmall farms
Type
Research Papers
Information
Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 267 - 275
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Greene, C. 2000. US Organic Agriculture Gaining Ground. Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Report No. AGO-270.Google Scholar
2.Organic Monitor. 2006. The Global Market for Organic Food and Drink: Business Opportunities and Future Outlook. Available from Web site: http://www.organicmonitor.com/700240.htm (accessed August 31, 2009).Google Scholar
3.Thilmany, D.D., Keeling-Bond, J., and Bond, C. 2007. Buy Local, Buy Fresh? Exploring Local Fresh Produce Consumer Motivations and Interests. Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Colorado State University [cited: 1 PDF (7 p. ill. 57 KB)]. Available from Web site: http://www.cde.state.co.us/artemis/ucsu5/ucsu5216abmr073internet.pdfGoogle Scholar
4.Chesapeake Fields Institute 2004. Local and Organic: Bringing Maryland Organics from Farm to Table. Chesapeake Fields Institute, Chestertown, MD.Google Scholar
5.Honeyman, M.S., Pirog, R.S., Huber, G.H., Lammers, P.J., and Hermann, J.R. 2006. The United States pork niche market phenomenon. Journal of Animal Science 84:2269–2275.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Pollan, M. 2001. Behind the organic-industrial complex. The New York Times Magazine. May 13, 2001.Google Scholar
7.Bostrom, M. 2005. Digesting Public Opinion: A Meta-Analysis of Attitudes Toward Food, Health and Farms. Frameworks Institute. Available at web site http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/assets/files/PDF_FoodSystems/Food%20Systems%20Meta%20Analysis.pdfGoogle Scholar
8.Zepeda, L. and Leviten-Reid, C. 2004. Consumers' views on local foods. Journal of Food Distribution Research 35(3):1–6.Google Scholar
9.Food Processing Center. 2001. Attracting Consumers with Locally Grown Products. Food Processing Center, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.Google Scholar
10.Brown, C. 2003. Consumers' preferences for locally produced food: A study in southeast Missouri. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 18:213–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11.US National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2005. 2002 Census of Agriculture, Volume 1, Chapter 1: New England Data [cited January 16, 2006]. Available from Web site: http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census02/volume1/newengland/index1.htm (accessed August 31, 2009).Google Scholar
12.US National Agricultural Statistics Service. 2009. 2007 Census of Agriculture [cited June 26, 2009]. Available from Web site: http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/index.asp (accessed August 31, 2009).Google Scholar
13.Makatouni, A. 1999. The consumer message: what motivates parents to buy organic food in the UK? In Lockeretz, W. and Geier, B. (eds). 6th IFOAM Organic Trade Conference, October 20–23, 1999. IFOAM, Florence, Italy.Google Scholar
14.The Hartman Group. 2003. Organic Consumer Evolution 2003 [cited January 7, 2006]. Available from Web site: http://www.hartman-group.com/products/studyorganic2003.html (accessed August 31, 2009).Google Scholar
15.Arvola, A. and Lähteenmäki, L. 2003. Consumer Views about Processed Organic Food Products: Information for Market Oriented Product Development. VTT Tiedotteita 2217, Espoo.Google Scholar
16.Strecher, V.J. and Rosenstock, I.M. 1997. The health belief model. In Glanz, K., Lewis, F.M., and Rimer, B.K. (eds). Health Behavior and Health Education. Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco. p. 41–59.Google Scholar
17.Blamey, R. 1998. The activation of environmental norms: extending Schwartz's model. Environment and Behavior 30(5):676–708.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.QSR NVivo 1.3. 2000. Victoria, Australia.Google Scholar
19.Dillman, D.A. 1978. Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design method. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
20.United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. 2004. Occupational Data and Occupational Groups for the Census 2000 Special EEO file [cited January 16, 2006]. Available from Web site: http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/census/occupational_data.html (accessed August 31, 2009).Google Scholar
21.Guthman, J. 2004. Agrarian Dreams: The Paradox of Organic Farming in California. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.Google Scholar
22.Reynolds, C. 2004. Rocking the Vote. American Demographics.Google Scholar