Health and Environmental Consciousness

Abstract

A serious diversification of Greek consumers' food buying behavior can be observed during the last decade. Following similar trends worldwide, an important percentage of Greek consumers have been oriented to quality food products of higher added value. This value is delivered through the implementation of various certification strategies and the use of different communication messages. A study of the procedure through which Greek consumers evaluate a variety of quality certification schemes is, hence, necessary and valuable. In the present survey, a stratified sample of urban consumers is used with the objective to analyze their attitudes toward the organic label and the HACCP and ISO14000 certification schemes separately. The study evolves around the assumption that purchasing of organic, HACCP or ISO14000-certified food products expresses consumers' health and environmental consciousness and reflects the food industry's ethical concern.     

Information,Certification and Demand for Food Safety: Evidence from an In‐store Experiment in Mumbai

Is demand for safe food in developing countries low because of limited ability to pay, or because of lack of consumer awareness and absence of credible certification? To answer this question we conducted a controlled market experiment in Mumbai, India, selling grapes with credible certification labels alongside unlabeled grapes while providing randomly selected consumers with information on salient features of food safety certification. We confirm that informed consumers are more likely to purchase labeled grapes, controlling for prior information and attitudes, and using two (intensive versus extensive) information treatments. Policies related to information/certification could be an important component of improving public health by mobilising latent demand for food safety and hence supply of safer food for the public.     

Reputations, Market Structure, and the Choice of Quality Assurance Systems in the Food Industry

Many food traits desired by consumers are costly to provide and difficult to verify. A complicating factor is that delivered quality can only be affected stochastically by producers and imperfectly observed by consumers. Markets for these goods will emerge only if supplying firms can be trusted. We develop a repeated purchases model to explore how quality discoverability, market structure, nature of reputations, market premiums, and discount factors drive firm choice about the stringency of quality assurance systems designed to gain consumer trust. Reputation protection is key incentive for firms to invest in high-quality goods and quality assurance systems.     

Consumers’ Perceptions and Behaviors Regarding Organic Fruits and Vegetables: Marketing Trends for Organic Food in the Twenty-First Century

ABSTRACT

Organic food market is very challenging in Europe and developing rapidly with different rates between the western and eastern parts. The objective of this report is to gain knowledge about attitudes toward organic fruits and vegetables among Slovenian consumers. Results indicated that organic buyers tend to be younger and higher educated than those who do not buy them. In addition, consumers’ trust in the authenticity of the goods and price are also issues. However, the main barrier to increase the market share of organic products is consumer information. According to the research results an important task for the producers will be to increase consumers’ knowledge of what an organic product is and how to differentiate it in the marketplace. Along with knowledgeable and educated consumers, consumption could be raised on another level. The results of the research could be used for planning further marketing activities.     

The private provision of public environment: Consumer preferences for organic production systems

This paper analyses individual preferences regarding environmental and health improvement technologies in organic food production systems. The impure public model is applied to explore the implications of organic food preferences for environmental market provision. Empirical results from a survey reveal that consumers are willing to pay for both health gains and environmental friendly technologies in organic milk production, although the valuation of the health aspects is higher. Prior information about organic production systems and shopping convenience are key variables in interpersonal comparisons of willingness to pay. The perceived overall value of organic production systems was higher among individuals with stronger environmental preferences than among those who prioritise health concerns. The conclusions of this study may have implications for the analysis of efficiency in the organic produce market.     

获取披露信息能提高食品信任水平吗——基于湖南省长沙市生鲜品信息公示的调查数据

缩小主体间信息差距是提高食品市场信任水平的重要途径。为了研究食品安全信息披露环境中,消费者获取信息对食品信任的影响,本文通过问卷调查长沙市1050位消费者,搜集消费行为和个人特征的数据,并使用内生处理效应模型和倾向得分匹配方法进行实证分析,结果发现:虽然样本中只有17%的消费者主动搜寻公示信息,但是获取披露信息能够缓解不对称程度并提高满意度,进而显著正向影响信任程度;同时,获取披露信息在女性组中有显著正向影响,而在年龄组间的影响为倒U型;另外,信息获取行为的选择受到食品安全、干净卫生和对新鲜程度关注度的显著影响。结果说明,在信息披露后,帮助和引导消费者主动获取信息,能够更好地提升食品市场的信任水平。     

Consumer Attitude towards Organic Labeling Schemes in Japan

ABSTRACT

Japan is the most lucrative organic market in the Asian region and is projected to account for about 80% of the Asian market revenues by 2009 (Kuhlmann and Jones, 2006). This study identifies Japanese consumer preference and interest in two major labeling information- source of organic certification/traceability and country of origin for organic food products. Stated preference method (SPM) based survey data was collected from two major cities in Japan in order to develop Japanese consumers' organic food choice model. Findings show that Japanese consumers are willing to pay 10% price premium for the organic food products compared to conventional products that have no specific labeling, suggesting a significant profit margin to be possibly captured by the organic producers and marketers. The Japanese consumers have perceived value of the JAS label in their stated preference and showed willingness to pay a price premium for this quality certification system, which validates the importance of government-regulated mandatory labeling. Regarding the country origin labeling issue, the Japanese consumers showed clear preference for the domestic organic products to the imported products, while showing no preference for any particular country origin for imported organic products. For private-voluntary organic labeling, the consumer organization-led organic label is considered to be more reliable source than the retailer-guaranteed organic label.     

信任对城市居民有机食品消费行为的影响机理分析

[目的]揭示不同信任水平消费者在有机食品消费行为上的差异及其内在逻辑,从而为有效破解有机食品市场提供新的思路。[方法]文章以价值感知和食品安全意识为中介调节变量,构建信任影响消费行为的分析框架,并基于全国1 113位城市居民的微观调查数据,采用Ologit模型进行实证检验。[结果]信任水平正向影响居民有机食品消费行为和价值感知,价值感知在信任对消费行为的影响中发挥中介效应;同时,居民食品安全意识在信任与价值感知之间起调节作用,从而价值感知对信任与消费行为之间关系的中介效应也会受到食品安全意识的调节,即产生了被调节的中介效应。[结论]信任是决定消费者有机食品消费行为的重要因素,信任缺失会限制消费者的购买行为。利用有效的信号揭示和传递机制能缓解市场信息不对称,增进消费者信任,从而促进有机食品消费市场发展。与消费者信任相比,价值感知是影响消费者购买行为的更为直接的因素,不同消费者信任水平导致的购买行为的差异,在一定程度上是通过影响消费者价值感知实现的。因此,提供差别化的产品与服务、加强消费者的良性社交互动,普及和传播食品安全知识,有效提升消费者的价值感知水平和食品安全意识,都有利于有机食品市场培育。     

Domestically produced food: Consumer perceptions of origin, safety and the issue of trust

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the public to attempt to assess risks using traditional methods such as smell, taste or other physical attributes of food. The existence of extrinsic cues such as the country of origin (COO) of food can help to make food purchase decisions easier for consumers. However, the use of extrinsic cues depends heavily on the extent to which consumers trust such signals to be indicative of quality or safety, which in turn depends on the credibility behind that cue. This paper aims to examine consumers association of domestically produced food with increased food safety standards and the association of COO and food safety information with socio-demographics and other aspects of consumer psychology such as attitudes, risk perception and trust. Using an ordered probit model, domestic production is examined as an extrinsic cue for food safety by looking at the relationship with trust in food safety information provided by national food standards agencies (NFSAs) and other socio-demographic characteristics, based on nationally representative data from 2725 face-to-face interviews across five European countries. Results suggest that domestic production of food is an extrinsic cue for food safety and as consumers place increasing importance on food safety they are more interested in food produced in their own country. This, coupled with consumer trust in a strong, and independent national food standards agency, suggests the potential exists for the increased consumption of domestically produced foods.     

森林认证标识认知影响因素的实证分析——基于北京市488名消费者的调查

依据2014年8~10月对北京市488名消费者的问卷调查资料,运用二元因变量的Logistic回归模型,对影响消费者对森林认证标识认知的因素进行了实证分析。结果表明:影响消费者对森林认证标识认知的主要因素是职业、对森林状况的了解、信息渠道和通常对于标识的信任度。最后就如何提高消费者对森林认证标识的认知水平和信任程度给出了加大对森林认证及其标识的宣传力度;充分利用多种宣传渠道展开对森林认证及其标识的宣传;增强国人的森林资源危机意识;更多地组织保护森林资源的活动;积极开拓国内森林认证产品市场;加大对森林认证产品的监督管理;消费者应增强自身的环保意识、绿色消费意识和责任意识等建议。     

Food risk perceptions by different consumer groups in Germany

This paper presents an analysis of the changing food risk perceptions of German consumers over the period 1992 to 2002. We analyse the respondents' general risk attitudes and their specific perceptions of food risks. Using cluster analysis we generate a typology of four consumer types. One group is worried about natural food risks, the second does not worry about any types of food risks, the third is concerned about technical food risks and the fourth is concerned about all food risks. A multinomial logit analysis identifies factors that describe the classification of households in this grouping. General risk attitudes and knowledge about food risk are significant variables in the explanation.     

Editorial

Organic food (OF) consumers are concerned with health, safety, and quality of food they eat. However, not all OF consumers are equally “organic.” This article aims to offer more insights into the organic consumers’ profile by clustering Canadian OF consumers into market segments based on their usage rate and psychographic characteristics. Results show 3 distinct segments of OF consumers varying significantly in their motivations to buy OF in their lifestyles but not in their demographics. The article also investigates these consumer segments’ willingness to pay (WTP) premium prices for OF products. WTP is thus not only determined by food category but also by type of consumer. Results also point out significant linkages between psychographic characteristics and WTP for OF.     

Farmers' Acceptance of the Organic Certification System in Germany: A Partial Least Squares Model

The institutional framework of the certification scheme is a crucial factor in the future success of the organic market. Increasing complexity and a couple of scandals indicate that current control structures might be insufficient. A better understanding of farmers' attitudes is necessary to increase acceptance and to guarantee the longer term success of the organic certification system. By means of a conceptual framework based on the technology acceptance model, an investigation was conducted into acceptance of the organic certification system in Germany. The empirical basis of the study was a survey conducted among organic farmers in Germany. Partial least squares was used as a multivariate analysis technique to estimate the parameters of the proposed causal model. The findings indicate that the majority of farmers accept the present organic certification system but are not convinced of its cost-benefit relationship.     

Combining Stated and Revealed Preferences on Typical Food Products: The Case of Dry‐Cured Ham in Spain

An extensive body of research concerns the valuation of EU certification schemes of quality based on the origin of food products. This literature focuses mainly on stated preferences (SPs) and reported behaviours by the consumers. We combine consumers’ SPs, obtained through a conjoint ranking experiment, with revealed preferences (RP), obtained through a retail scanner database. We evaluate SPs as predictors of RP, and investigate whether SPs and RPs are consistent. Dry‐cured ham in Spain is chosen as the anchor product, mainly because of its broad customer base and long history of origin certification. A ‘trick’ nested logit model with non‐identical and identical samples of consumers is estimated to answer each of the objectives. Results show that, irrespective of the analysed samples, SP can predict general market trends and choices but not accurately predict market shares, and that consumers’ actual behaviour is partly consistent with their SPs. We find that consumers prefer ham produced in Teruel, compared with unspecified Spanish origin. Quality Certification and a Distributor’s Brand are preferred over the alternatives of no quality label or identified with a brand owned by the producer. Interestingly, SPs for the Quality Certification and the distributor’s brand lead to an over‐ and under‐estimation, respectively, of the market share.     

Food Fraud and Risk Perception: Awareness in Canada and Projected Trust on Risk-Mitigating Agents

During the past few years, food fraud has become a source of concern for consumers in many parts of the world. Major cases of food fraud have been found in Canada in recent months, including the Mucci case, in which Mexican tomatoes were sold as Canadian, as well as the case of a poultry farmer selling nonorganic chicken as organic. The authors aim to assess the level of awareness and trust among Canadian consumers in relation to fraudulent and counterfeit food products. This exploratory study is meant to establish latent determinants on consumers’ risk perception of food fraud in general. These determinants include education, income, geographical region, age, sex, and health-related predisposition such as food allergies and intolerances. To this end, a random survey was conducted across Canada in January 2017. A sample size of 1088 was used for this study. Findings indicate that older, more-educated consumers generally feel more vulnerable, to various degrees, than do other consumers. Consumers who are aware and have experienced food fraud previously are likely to trust other consumers as risk-mitigating agents more so than public regulators or industry. Several limitations are presented, and future research paths are suggested.     

Aquaculture imports from Asia: an analysis of U.S. consumer demand for select food quality attributes

The increasing share of imported food in the United States, coupled with highly publicized incidents of food contamination and adulteration in Asia, particularly China, is posing new challenges for consumers and food safety regulators. In this study, we focus on imported shrimp and tilapia, to evaluate consumer willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for enhanced food safety, use of antibiotics, and eco‐friendly environmental practices. Results show that U.S. consumers were willing‐to‐pay more for enhanced food safety, followed by the use of no antibiotics and environmental friendly production practices. American consumers in our sample were found to have a higher WTP for domestic products and placed more trust on U.S. government verification of product attributes followed by third‐party certification.     

Information Asymmetries and Consumption Decisions in Organic Food Product Markets

Organic agriculture is a rapidly growing segment of most developed agricultural economies around the world. To stimulate growth and circumvent supply‐side market failures that emerge when organic products are not segregated, governments have introduced regulations concerning the certification and labeling of organic food. While certification and labeling satisfy market demand for information provision, the introduction of these activities creates incentives for the mislabeling of conventional food as organic. Despite the incentives for, and the incidence of, mislabeling in organic food product markets, this issue has not been analyzed systematically. In fact, the possibility of mislabeling has been customarily neglected by economic studies of markets for credence goods in general. This paper addresses the issue of product type misrepresentation in organic food product markets and develops a model of heterogeneous consumers that examines the effect of mislabeling on consumer purchasing decisions and welfare. Analytical results show that, contrary to what is traditionally believed, while certification and labeling are necessary, they are not sufficient for alleviating failures in organic food product markets. The effectiveness of labeling depends on the level of product type misrepresentation. Consumer deception through mislabeling affects consumer trust in the labeling process and can have detrimental consequences for the market acceptance of organic products. When extensive mislabeling occurs, the value of labeling is undermined and the organic food market fails. L'agriculture biologique est un secteur qui prend rapidement de l'expansion dans la plupart des pays agricoles industrialisés. Pour stimuler la croissance de ce secteur et éviter les problèmes d'offre qui surviennent quand il n'y a pas ségrégation des denrées, les gouvernements ont adopté des règlements sur la certification et l'étiquetage des produits biologiques. Même s'ils satisfont la demande d'informations sur le marché, la certification et l'étiquetage ouvrent la porte à l'usage abusif du terme “biologique” sur l'étiquette des denrées ordinaires. Or, bien que les producteurs soient tentés d'utiliser le terme à tort et à travers et en dépit des incidences d'un tel comportement, le phénomène n'a jamais été analysé de manière méthodique. De fait, les analyses économiques sur le marché des denrées alimentaires, en général, négligent souvent la possibilité de fausses déclarations sur l'étiquette des produits. L'article que voici aborde ce problème sur le marché des aliments biologiques et propose un modèle qui tient compte des effets d'un étiquetage fallacieux sur les achats et le bien‐être de consommateurs hétérogènes. Les résultats de l'analyse indiquent que, contrairement à ce qu'on croit, la certification et l'étiquetage, bien que nécessaires, ne suffisent pas à atténuer les problèmes observés sur le marché des aliments biologiques. En effet, l'efficacité de l'étiquetage dépend du nombre de fausses déclarations. La déception qui résulte d'une fausse déclaration ébranle la confiance des consommateurs dans le système d'étiquetage, si bien que les produits biologiques sont mal accueillis sur le marché. Quand les fausses déclarations se multiplient, l'étiquette perd sa valeur et il devient impossible de commercialiser les denrées biologiques.     

Consumers' willingness to pay for food quality - The case of eggs

The aim of this paper is to introduce an approach to estimating the marginal willingness to pay (WTP) for food quality and safety using data on actual consumer purchases. Marginal WTP for specific food product varieties can be derived from estimated demand functions by inverting the relations, thereby expressing the prices consumers are willing to pay as functions of quantity demanded. The task addressed in the paper is isolation of the WTP for quality attributes embedded in the varieties. Two models based on the AIDS-specification are proposed and discussed. To illustrate the applicability of the models, the case of five varieties of eggs is presented. It is found that Danish consumers are willing to pay a relatively high premium for improved animal welfare and organic production methods and somewhat less for food safety.     

Understanding Heterogeneous Consumer Preferences in Chinese Milk Markets: A Latent Class Approach

We examine heterogeneous consumer preferences in Chinese milk markets. Using a discrete choice experiment, we examine how the brand, quality certification, traceability label and price influence consumers' milk choices. We identify four consumer segments using a latent class model: price conscious (9.8%), balanced thinking (19.8%), health conscious (57.5%), and environment conscious (12.9%) consumers. These four segments have distinct preferences: price conscious consumers prefer green certification; balanced thinking consumers have the highest willingness to pay for traceability labels; health conscious consumers have strong brand awareness; and environment conscious consumers prefer organic certification and traceability labels and use price as a quality signal. Such diversity of consumer preference can be explained by four psychological factors: price consciousness, food safety concerns, health consciousness and environmental concerns.     

Chinese consumers’ willingness to pay for pork traceability information—the case of Wuxi

In this study, consumers’ willingness to pay for farming, slaughter and processing, distribution and marketing, and government certification information was investigated in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China using an experimental auction and real choice experiment based on incentive compatibility of the nonhypothetical elicitation method. No significant differences in consumers’ willingness to pay were revealed by the experimental auction and real choice experiment on the whole, and results from both nonhypothetical experimental methods demonstrated that consumers were willing to pay certain premiums for all four types of traceability information and had the highest willingness to pay for government certification information. These results indicate that consumers trust in pork safety protection under governmental supervision. Moreover, it was found that government certification information played a significant role in improving consumer utility, demonstrating that consumers paid close attention to safety risks in farming. Therefore, this study predicts that the introduction of governmental supervision into the pork traceability system and establishment of a system for collecting traceability information starting from the stage of pig farming will play important roles in meeting consumer demands for pork quality and safety, as well as promoting the development of traceable food policies.