 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
 |
 |
|
||||
 |
|
||||||
 |
|
||||||
Background and objective
Two research projects, which we have undertaken under the DARCOF II programme (Project nr. III.I, Consumer Demand for Organic Foods – Domestic and Foreign Market Perspectives, and Project nr. VII.13, The Role of the Distribution Channel in the Establishment and Maintenance of Consumer Trust in Organic Foods) have shown that Danish consumers of organic food constitute a heterogeneous population and that subgroups can be distinguished according to several characteristics. The largest group, which is also relatively heterogeneous as regards its social characteristics, purchases organic products with considerable regularity primarily because of their conviction that these products taste better, are fresher and not least because they are healthier – this last attribute being closely related to the absence of pesticide and medicine residues. This relatively large group of consumers also recognises other attributes of organic products, such as their contribution to a better environment and to improvements in animal welfare. The former set of characteristics has been termed ‘private’ attributes in our research, while the latter set has been termed ’public’ attributes. The distinction refers to attributes that are specific to a particular product (such as, taste, smell, texture, freshness, health, etc.) and can only be enjoyed by the individual who consumes that product, as compared to more general attributes that can be offered by one product as much as another (such as environmental friendliness, animal welfare and to some extent health). Furthermore, the results of Project III.I document that the private attributes of goods constitute the stronger motives for purchasing organic foods among this group of consumers. Moreover, it seems as if some consumers conceive organic products and production methods as constituting an integral whole, in which product advantages with regard to such aspects as health and environmental friendliness are seen as being interdependent. This integral concept of ‘organic’ appears to be closely related to a particular conception of organic producers like people who share consumer concerns about food quality and who care about the needs of soil, plants, animals, as well as the needs of people in their role as consumers of food. The project has also shown that dynamic shifts are found to occur in the purchasing patterns exhibited by single households, such that relatively many change their consumption of organic foods over time. Moreover, it seems as if a considerable number of people appear to be willing to act in the role of citizens, rather than consumers, insofar as they are willing to pay tax that supports organic agriculture.
Objective
The overall objective of this project is to explain the viability and stability of demand for organic food products at the household level, focussing on the following three main issues:
- How consumers conceive the attributes of organic products and the criteria employed in categorising these products in relatively integrated or diffuse ways.
- How new information about production, processing, distribution or certification of organic products influences product preferences.
- To what extent changes in the level of demand for organic food products at the household level can be accounted for by changes in the social situation of households, changes in ways of conceiving organic products, the influence of new information, and/or tensions between the role of consumer and that of citizen.