Consumers’ perception and behaviour towards organic food
1. Introduction
Perception is the foundation on which a consumer base their actions and reactions (Shiffman and Kanuk, 2010:172), the consumers’ perceptions are more important than their knowledge when motives and stimuli’s are aroused by marketers. Consumer behaviour can be defined as the way an individual search, purchase, use, evaluate and dispose services and products to satisfy a need (Shiffman & Kanuk, 2010:23). Perception is the way an individual selects, organises, and interprets stimuli in order to form a meaningful perception of their surroundings (Shiffman & Kanuk, 2010:175). Motivation starts when a dormant need is aroused, this arousal can be positive or negative depending on the consumer’s perception of the product or service. Dormant needs are needs that consumers are not aware of; the individual only becomes aware of the need once it is aroused (Cant et al., 2006:132). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs explains the different levels of needs that need to be satisfied to eventually reach self-actualisation (Cant et al., 2006:133).
Organic food is a farming product which does not make use of pesticides or synthetic fertilisers in order to create a more sustainable product (Shafie & Rennie, 2009:360). Beliefs about healthiness, tastiness, animal welfare, and saving the environment are motivational actions that influence purchasing behaviour of organic food. The greatest fragment of consumers are aware of organic food and the benefits it holds, advertisements and news articles encourage consumers to consume organic food to ensure a longer and healthier life (Hjelmar, 2011:338). Even with sufficient knowledge about organic food, most consumers will not purchase it...
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...chase modified food if the store does not sell organic food, they only have a physiological need of hunger to satisfy.
It is clear that most consumers has knowledge about organic food products and can make informed decisions when purchasing food products. Positive perceptions towards organic food can be seen within the consumers, but price and unavailability is the main reason why consumers restrain from purchasing it. Ethical reasons, quality of food, health, safety, and family aspects are the main reasons why consumers purchase organic food rather than modified food products. With the help of organic farmers to produce more organic products and distribute it equally, and mass media to advertise and inform consumers about the benefits of organic food, an organic consumer base can be formed in order to support the conservation of the Earth for future generations.
Steven Shapin is an expert when it comes to telling people the reality of the situation. In his, article “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic?” Shapin exposes and explains the truth behind the word organic. He explains that our view on organic is not a reality. The small farms that we picture in our heads are really just big business in disguise and these big businesses are trying to do good by supposedly not using harmful pesticides. Which are supposed to not damage the environment but in reality they are probably not making any sort of difference. Some people care about the environment, while others are buying taste when it comes to organic food but using different pesticides are going to help the taste, only freshness tastes the best.
Shepherd explains that regular consumers and non-regular consumers have motives for purchasing such foods that they desire. A lot of consumers have different thoughts about organic food like some consumers are more interested if all the organic food that they are buying is going to taste good and are also wondering how long does it last while still keeping the food healthy and fresh. While other consumers don’t really see the difference in buying organic food just that it’s more expensive and seem better than conventional food. To be sure consumers attitudes and beliefs value on how they objective organic foods to how they want to. Intentionally it was an understanding of how consumers decisions on making a purchase of organic food was within on their desire beliefs, attitude, or on what they wanted to believe
As shown by the endless “no artificial additives or preservatives” label dominating fridges and pantries across the nation, society’s obsession with all things natural and whole persists. Yet, despite research which shows organic fruits and veggies don’t truly provide more nutrients, growing numbers of people remain willing to pay large amounts of money and sacrifice convenience in order to hop onto the organic bandwagon. People view organic things as real because they lack the artificial byproducts of human creation (such as pesticides and unnatural fertilizer). So, perhaps it is less so that organic foods entrance people with their many health benefits, but that people place great emphasis on the value of authentic things: real food and,
While the organic movement has increased the production and sale of organic food in the United States, something that should be noted is that the stock of Whole Foods Market, a grocery store is dedicated to the sale of organic food, has gone down 40% since October of 2013. Whole Foods Market’s success rates are slowly beginning to diminish and it may lose its dominance in the organic foods market (The Economist, 2014). While this may seem indicative of a decrease in public interest of organic food, it really indicates the opposite. After seeing the success of Whole Foods Market, new stores such as Trader Joe’s and Sprouts entered the organic market and became strong competition. The decline in Whole Foods Market’s success may be attributed
"Should I Purchase Organic Food?" National Agricultural Library. Ed. Mary V. Gold. Oct. 2008. Web. 12 Apr. 2011. .
Organic has long since been a highly accredited term for food. To be organic is to be pure, natural, and above the dirty industrial system that food production has become. This definition however has become tainted. The truth is that organic foods are anything but healthier. In Michael Pollan’s research book The Omnivore’s Dilemma the validity of organic foods are discredited. Pollan argues about organic food, as it is misleading consumers.
With the world’s population continuing to increase, the demand for food is higher than ever. This increase in food demand also calls for more efficient ways of growing and providing the food. Two methods that are very controversial are the organic and conventional method. While many people support the organic method because of its known benefits, others feel that it is an over inflated industry that cheats consumers out of their money. But recently many studies have disproved those critics. These studies prove that Organic food is a better choice than conventional because it is better for the environment, avoids the use of chemicals, and is generally more beneficial.
Thirty years later, organic farming was in high demand, but suffered developing pains. Although there was agreements being made, there was no regulations put forth towards organic farming. Fast forwarding to present time, many consumers are starting to purchase organic food products even making it a trend. Written in Inouye, Alena, and McCauley’s 2006 article “Organic Farming Should Be Pursued”, “organic farming is gaining in popularity due to Americans ' increasing concern about food safety and environmental protection.” This quote assumes the reasoning behind the sudden popularity in organic farming is society’s attraction towards the idea of a cleaner food industry and environment. The article also mentions, “As a result, sales of organic foods in the United States have increased by more than 20 percent every year since 1996, reaching $7.8 billion in 2000.”(Inouye, Alena, McCauley) The fact that popularity towards organic farming grows at a rate of 20 percent every single year further proves how its movement has such an impact towards the consumers of
Yiridoe, E., Bonti-Ankomah, S., & Martin, R. (2005). Comparison of consumer perceptions and preference toward organic versus conventionally produced foods: A review and update of the literature. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 20(4), 193-205. Retrieved from http://journals.cambridge.org.er.lib.k-state.edu/action/displayFulltext?type=6&fid=692720&jid=RAF&volumeId=20&issueId=04&aid=692716&bodyId=&membershipNumber=&societyETOCSession=&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S1742170505000220
The organic food market segment has been expanding rapidly for years and will continue to grow in popularity as consumers across the globe become progressively mindful of pesticides and genetically modified foods. Eating “organic” expresses the evolution of a society willing to eat less, but better and to combine wellness with nutrition. It is said that in just 20 years, the organic food industry has grown from $1 billion per year in sales to $26 billion per year in sales, and social media platforms plays a major part to its growth by communicating nutrition messages to the
Consumer Perception: Even though consumers’ have become conscious about the kind of food they buy; there is not a clear understanding and implication of “organic”. They are also not able to tell the difference between “natural” and “organic” on product labels. The gap is even wider for consumers that have never purchased any kind of organic food till date.
The term “organic” is almost everywhere in modern society, whether it’s used to promote a product or it’s debated on whether it really benefits the human diet. Organic food is heavily debated on as it appears more and more in local grocery stores and farmers markets begin to populate, it raises questions such as “Is organic food better than food grown with pesticides and biologically engineered genes?” and “Are there benefits to eating organically over foods grown in any other way?” In terms of what data and results show in research may help lead to answers to most of the heavily debated issues throughout discussions on organic food.
“Organic” and “natural foods” are a part of a trend that is growing quickly, but how much do we consumers really know about the difference between natural food and non-organic foods? Food that is considered organic can be defined as being produced without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents. Processed foods are defined as foods that are packaged in bags, boxes or cans. Authors like Pollan and Foer, in their essays “Escape from the Western Diet” and “Against Meat” respectively, argue that organic food and a vegetarian diet are better for humans and the environment. Contrastingly, others like Shapin, author of “What Are You Buying When You Buy Organic” believe that we are too fixated on whether or not to buy
Conclusion: Now a day’s organic food is getting popular and people are getting aware about the health promoting benefits of having organic food and it is easily available in the grocery store labeled as organic. The main reason most of the people don’t opt for organic food is it is higher in price, we have a false sense that conventional food comes at lower price, the price does not include the government spending on cleaning of pollution caused by producing such conventional produces, and government subsidies on agriculture, these are all tax payers money and ultimately goes from our pocket, thus why thing on short term benefits of conventional food, when organic food has long term benefit on our health , environment and future.
...for environment, they can buy organic foods. In addition, there is a secondary reason that maybe has influence on purchasing organic foods: higher price. Organic foods generally are more expensive than conventional foods, so for some affluent people who support that organic foods are healthier,