Why Do Consumers Buy Organic?
Following is a presentation that I gave at two workshops sponsored by Tuskegee University in 2012. The workshops were held in Mobile and Montgomery and they were called "Educating Consumers About Organic Foods". My presentation was titled: "Why Do Consumers Buy Organic". To view it scroll down the page and click on the link: "Why Do Consumers Buy Organic?" It presents the results of a Nielsen poll asking why people buy organic foods and then it goes through the reasons given and presents peer-reviewed scientific research to determine if these reasons are valid. References are given so that you can do a little more background research on topics that are of interest to you. Please note that the web address on the last slide is no longer active. The Auburn University Organic Vegetable Production website was taken down by the Auburn University Cooperative Extension Service shortly (within a few days) after I posted this presentation. Auburn University no longer has an organic website. My new website (not associated with Auburn University) is www.alabamaorganics.net.
Alabama has the least number of certified organic farms of any state in the country. Many professionals have debated the reasons for this. One conclusion has been the lack of education. Why would AL be lacking in education if the rest of the country appears to be educated on organics? There does appear to be institutional resistance in AL to organics, as evidenced by the action of the AU Extension Service as noted above. There was a very similar presentation written by a University of Minnesota staff member and posted on the e-Organic website: Why Eat Organic Webinar. This presentation was not censored as the one posted on the AU website. Hmmm.......
Organic products are in more demand in other states than in AL. There have been many reasons proposed for this phenomenon: education, economics, conservatism, religion, etc. However, another fact is probably very closely related: the fact that AL is in the top 3 states in the incidences of obesity and diabetes, two diet-related illnesses. The answer to why AL lags behind the rest of the country in organic production and consumption can at least partially be ascertained by searching for the answer to the latter question: why does AL lead the nation in diet-related illnesses?
Do your own research and decide for yourself. You can start with the Alabama Organics website which was created for the purpose of providing you with the latest scientific information.
Here are several interesting links with research based information from Alabama - http://www.aces.edu/pubs/docs/I/IPMNEWS-0071/IPMNEWS-0071.pdf - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELP1ylYJxco - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfkxQPnqabM - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-GOF18RdL8 . Find others at www.aces.edu and search for "IPM Communicator"
ReplyDeleteAuburn University and Alabama Cooperative Extension are ranked #16 in the nation in terms of their commitment to organic programs, see http://ofrf.org/sites/ofrf.org/files/docs/pdf/2012-LandGrantAssessment-forscreen.pdf. This rating is based on research, education and Extension funding and resources created for statewide audience. Alabama Extension also conducts over 45 fruit and vegetable production meetings for small farmers and strongly supports local food systems. These meetings are open to organic and nonorganic family farms, retailers, and gardeners because Extension provides research-based information without any biases. Auburn University has also attracted substancial funding from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program for the past two years to establish research/demonstration plots, on-farm demonstrations, producer trainings, Extension Agent travel to assist farmers, and professional development. ACES has now hired a website and social media coordinator for the organic website to relaunch and populate them research-based impartial information relevant to our organic producers and support the growth of the industry. Alabama Extension has also conducted and collaborated with other states for training, e.g., Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Link to past success story from Extension, please visit https://ssl.acesag.auburn.edu/etp/eval_public_view.php?id=50e8bca13057c. For a recent SARE report on ACES/AU activities or for any other institutional commitment questions, please email bugdoctor@auburn.edu or call 251-331-8416. Thank you.
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