Local produced and organic food for sustainable development

• This study analyses the perceptions of consumers with regard to local produced and organic food in the region of Gävleborg, Sweden. The aim of the study is to investigate consumers` attitudes by giving insight in why consumers buy local produced and organic food and how they conceive them. Quantitative data was collected through the use of structured questionnaire. We approached six hundred seventeen consumers outside twelve grocery stores directly after their shopping.  The study shows consumers have the opinion that local produced and organic food have higher quality than other kind of food,  their production supports sustainable environmental development and promotes the local society and local business. Consumers older than 65 years are more positive than younger ones to local produced and organic food and women are willing to pay more for purchasing the food.The results illustrate that consumers think it is difficult to allocate local produced and organic food in the stores, the assortment is poor and the prices of organic food are high. The correlations between attitudes regarding Organic, Organic Local produced, and Local produced foods show that the consumers consider them as related, but not identical. It also indicates that consumers have vague attitudes about Local Produced foods and lack knowledge to define them.Differences in price sensitivity demonstrate that consumers are willing to pay more for Organic and Local produced foods, showing there is value in, and demand for reliable guarantee label systems such as KRAV. We suggest a cooperation between public authorities and business organizations to develop trustworthy guarantee label system for Local produced foods.We see a need for marketing and information campaigns to develop knowledge of what Organic and Local produced foods stand for to increase trust and awareness. By emphasizing on positive partial characteristics such as non-Genetically modified organisms (GMO) in marketing/information campaigns, negative connotation to organic as expensive may be avoided when educating consumers about the definition of organic foods.We propose comparative studies in other regions and countries as well as studies about visibility and availability of organic and/or local produced foods in the shops.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Ekonomi och näringsliv -- Företagsekonomi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Economics and Business -- Business Administration (hsv//eng)

LANTBRUKSVETENSKAPER  -- Lantbruksvetenskap, skogsbruk och fiske -- Livsmedelsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES  -- Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries -- Food Science (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

local produced food

organic food

consumer

attitudes

sustainability

Innovative Learning

Innovativt lärande

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)