This article shows that trust in the organic label as well as perceived positive health effects of consumption of organic products have positive causal effects on actual organic consumption. Furthermore perceived positive environmental effects and perceived better animal welfare related to organic production are found not to have no significant causual effect on actual behaviour, whereas concern for artificial additives and low price sensitivity have. Even when differences in time varying attitudes have been controlled for there is still a rather large heterogeneity in the organic purchasing behaviour. Part of this heterogeneity can be explained by differences in urbanisation or level of education, while income does not seem to have any effect when education has been controlled for. The data used is panel data for 830 households reporting actual purchases as well as stated preferences and attitudes in 2002 and again in 2007. The results point towards that the most efficient way of increasing organic consumption seems to be to continuously increasing the trust in the organic label and/or to document the positive health effects of organic food by e.g. focussing on measurable things such as a lower frequency of findings of pesticide residues in organic foods compared to conventional foods.

ABSTRACT. Organic food systems are based on a complex of value criteria that often are not explicitly considered when agents think, communicate, and make decisions concerning organic food. Multicriteria assessment (MCA) refers to a group of tools that help the user to tackle such highly complex issues. The question is how an MCA tool should be designed to facilitate reflections, communication, and decision making in relation to organic food systems. A key issue is motivation. There are several divergent theories of motivation, and the question cannot be adequately answered by using any single theory. We discuss an economic, a psychosocial, and a relational perspective on motivation and MCA. Using the example of a consumer assessing and choosing products in the supermarket, the economic conception of motivation offers a focus on decision-making processes. The psychosocial approach to motivation draws attention to the influence of cognitive structures and experience-based emotional drivers. Finally, the relational approach stresses that motivation is situated in the relations between agents. We discuss how the three perspectives converge and diverge regarding the purpose of using an MCA tool, the scope of the MCA, the strategic focus, and challenges and potentials associated with an MCA tool. Through this multiple-perspective approach, the general idea of MCA is expanded and elaborated to refine the design of an MCA tool for organic food systems.

Danish society used to have a very homogenous culture; everybody was Lutheran and there were only very small groups of ethnic minorities. However, since the 1960s the immigration of foreign workers and refugees has created substantial minority groups of people who are very different ethnically, religiously and linguistically. Becoming a multicultural country may be particularly problematic for such a formerly homogeneous society; formal and informal rules for the co-existence of different ethnic and religious segments of the society have until now not been necessary.

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