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The effects of information about key issues
Objectives
To determine the extent to which perception of, valuation of and demand for organic products are influenced by information about the following key issues:
- various degrees of import, control and processing of organic products,
- allocation of profits through the organic food chain from farm to fork,
- scientifically documented differences between organic and conventional products (i.e. effects on nature, animal welfare or human health),
- food scares in the conventional as well as organic sector,
- how these information effects vary with the different household types, different modes of categorising organic products, and different roles of households as (1) consumers and (2) citizens.
Description of work
We apply choice experiments to measure consumer valuation of various product attributes that are key characteristics in distinguishing between organic and conventional products – each representing paradoxes or contradictions in relation to modern organic products. Based on results from focus group interviews in WP1, choice experiments are conducted to reveal the effects of information about documented differences between organic and conventional products with special attention to differences in extent of import, control and processing and allocation of profits through the organic food chain. Moreover, we will assess how selected information from scientific experts influences consumer perceptions and valuations in the field of animal welfare (a pure public good) and personal health (a pure private good). By using choice experiments to elicit consumer preferences, it is possible to identify the perception and valuation of specific attributes and how they vary across socio-demographic characteristics and other background variables.
We apply panel data analysis in combination with media data to assess the effects of food scares and other types of information on the actual purchasing patterns of various types of households. As in WP1 we employ the GfK household panel data set to measure the effects of various information types on more than 2,000 individual households in