Organic Food: Consumers' Choices and Farmers' Opportunities

Front Cover
Maurizio Canavari, Kent D. Olson
Springer Science & Business Media, Dec 31, 2007 - Technology & Engineering - 200 pages

Consumers’ attention to food safety issues and environmental issues has increased overwhelmingly in recent decades because of their increased concern about their own health, the environment’s health, and the crises and emergencies reported worldwide. Once the only option, organic agriculture has always been a production option followed by at least a few farmers all over the world. These farmers were prompted by ethical and environmental motivations, as well as by committed consumers who supported organic agriculture thanks to a separate but fairly elitist distribution channel. Organic food now has become a viable alternative for an increasing number of consumers that are worried about the presence of chemicals residues and the negative consequences on the environment caused by intensive production methods. Many farmers also now see organic farming as a way to stabilize or even increase their income due to public policy support and growing market demand.

Organic Food: Consumers' Choices and Farmers' Opportunities gives an overview of the organic sector, both in Italy and in the United States, and demonstrates how agricultural economists are performing analyses dealing with organic produce on different points in the supply chain. It discusses economic issues raised by organic farming and takes into account both the consumer's needs and the managerial and budget constraints experienced by the farmers. Also farm management methodologies and marketing analyses are used with specific research topics involving several industries in the agri-food sector.

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Contents

The Bioboom in Italy
5
References
16
Recent State and Federal Policy Initiatives
26
Objectives and Hypotheses
33
Final Remarks
44
Observations from a Small Sample of Venetian Firms Dealing with
51
Concluding Remarks
59
Background
66
Willingness to Pay for Organic Beef
146
Consumers Motivations for Not Purchasing Organic Beef
153
Preferences about Selling Modalities
154
Conclusions
155
References
156
THE US CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE ON ORGANIC FOODS
157
US Market for Organic Food Products
158
The US Organic Food Consumer
161

Results
73
Conclusions
80
Final Remarks
89
The Organic Wine Market in Italy
96
Concluding Remarks
108
THE CONSUMERS PERSPECTIVE
114
INVESTIGATING PREFERENCES FOR ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY PRODUCTION PRACTICES
115
Theory
117
Data
119
Conclusions
122
References
123
POTENTIAL DEMAND FOR ORGANIC MARINE FISH IN ITALY
125
Methodology and Data
128
Findings and Comments
132
Concluding Remarks
139
References
141
ITALIAN CONSUMERS PREFERENCES AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ORGANIC BEEF
143
Data
144
Direct Market Sales of Organic Food Products
162
The Future of the US Organic Food Market
165
References
166
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE ISSUES
170
ITALY
171
Farmer Issues
172
Food Chain Issues
173
Consumers Issues
174
Policy and Trade Issues
177
Further Emerging Issues
180
References
181
UNITED STATES
185
Production Issues
186
Distribution and Marketing Issues
189
Policy and Trade Issues
190
Future Issues
192
INDEX
195
Copyright

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Page 20 - The national organic standards address the methods, practices, and substances used in producing and handling crops, livestock, and processed agricultural products. Although specific practices and materials used by organic operations may vary, the standards require every aspect of organic production and handling to comply with the provisions of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.
Page 19 - A production system that is managed in accordance with the Act and regulations in this part to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity.
Page 23 - ... vegetable producing State, reports that organic farmers account for about 2 percent of its 80,000 farmers (White, 1994). Few case studies have examined yields, input costs, income, and other characteristics of organic production. A review of the economic literature published in the 1970's and 1980's concluded that the "variation within organic and conventional farming systems is likely as large as the differences between the two systems," and found mixed results in the comparisons for most characteristics...
Page 81 - Economic Considerations for Sustainable Agricultural Intensification," in Uphoff, op. cit. note 2, and from Rick Welsh, The Economics of Organic Grain and Soybean Production in the Midwestern United States, Henry A.
Page 26 - Act of 1996 and the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. The 2002 Farm...
Page 17 - The last of the regional adjustment studies will probably be completed by 1969. These studies were cooperative ventures by the state agricultural experiment stations and the Farm Production Economics Division of the Economic Research Service, US Department of Agriculture. The primary objectives of all the 'The Lake States results are summarized in [12]. Examples of other regional results are [4] [8] and [10]. regional adjustment studies were (1) to estimate adjustments needed in resource allocation...
Page 142 - Assessing Consumer Preferences for Ecolabeled Seafood: The Influence of Species, Certifier and Household Attributes,' American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 81: 1084-89.
Page 27 - Merritt Padgitt, Sharon Jans, and Sarah Lynch. References Alavanja, MCR, A. Blair, SB McMaster, and DP Sandier (1993). "Agricultural Health Study: A Prospective Study of Cancer and Other Diseases Among Men and Women in Agriculture," National Cancer Institute, US Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Oct. 25 (Revisions Dec. 16). Alavanja, Michael CR, Dale P. Sandier, Suzanne B. McMaster, Shelia Hoar Zahm, Cheryl J. McDonnell, Charles F. Lynch,...
Page 19 - USDA organic labeling requirements apply to raw, fresh, and processed products that contain organic ingredients and are based on the percentage of organic ingredients in a product. Agricultural products labeled "100 percent organic" must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients. Products labeled "organic" must consist of at least 95-percent organically produced ingredients.
Page 20 - ... (1) the potential of such substances for detrimental chemical interactions with other materials used in organic farming systems; (2) the toxicity and mode of action of the substance and of its breakdown products or any contaminants, and their persistence and areas of concentration in the environment; (3) the probability of environmental contamination during manufacture, use, misuse or disposal of such substance; (4) the...

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