Consumer Attitudes towards Ethical Attributes of Organic Food

Abstract

This contribution determines the relevance of ethical attributes of organic food exceeding the EU regulation on organic farming for consumers’ purchase decisions. The information acquisition behaviour of consumers regarding additional ethical values of organic food was analysed by means of an Information-Display-Matrix (IDM)and an accompanying consumer survey in five European countries. Seven ethical attributes were tested of which ‘animal welfare’, ‘regional production’ and ‘fair prices for farmers’ were identified to be most important. Consumers showed an increased willingness to pay for organic food with these additional ethical attributes. Thus, producers of organic food should increasingly focus on additional ethical attributes such as ‘animal welfare’, ‘local production’ and ‘fair prices for farmers’ in production and communication with consumers. With respect to the methodology used, the IDM turned out to be helpful in reducing the problem of social desirability of answers.