Irish consumer preference for organic meat

Abstract

The consumer of today places increased importance on food safety, environmental and health issues and quality, hence some are willing to purchase organic meat. Evaluation models used in previous organic food research have identified variables such as health consciousness, environmental concern, animal welfare and income as important determinants of organic food choice. The objective of this research was to examine Irish consumer perceptions of organic meat. A questionnaire was completed by 250 respondents, which were representative of the Irish population. Three groups of consumers were identified. Respondents who purchased or had intention to purchase organic meat placed higher levels of importance on food safety when purchasing meat, compared to those with no intention to purchase organic meat. Furthermore, purchasers of organic meat were more concerned about their health than non-purchasers. Purchasers of organic meat also believed that organic meat was superior to conventional meat in terms of quality, safety, labelling, production methods and value. Availability and the price of organic meat were the key deterrents to the purchase of organic meat. Higher socio-economic groups were more willing to purchase organic meat. Increasing awareness of food safety and pollution issues are important determinants in the purchase of organic meat; but securing a consistent supply of organic meat is paramount to ensuring growth in this sector.

Understanding the Relationship Between Perceived Quality Cues and Quality Attributes in the Purchase of Meat in Malaysia

“…While elderly consumers may purchase organic meat to gain a more healthy meal, younger consumers emphasize the importance of protecting the environment. O'Donovan and McCarthy (2002) found that consumers were more concerned about their health, rather than the environment or concerns about pollution when purchasing organic meat. McEachern and Schroder (2002) demonstrated similar results, reporting that consumers main motivation for buying organic food was concern about food safety, followed by concerns for animal welfare and finally the environment.…”

A Matter of Trust: How Trust Influence Organic Consumption

“…Also consumers that are more concerned about the general importance of health, environment and animal welfare when purchasing food are expected to have larger organic budget shares (Hugner et al, 2007). But even though people may be concerned about the environment, health and animal welfare consequences of the food they buy, they do not necessarily behave in correspondence with this because organic consumption is, just as purchases of conventional food, influenced by general attitudes generated by socio-demographic status (Hughner, McDonagh, Prothero, Shultz, & Stanton, 2007;Smith, Huang, & Lin, 2009;Wandel & Bugge, 1997;O'Donovan & McCarthy, 2002;Sandalidou, Baourkis, & Siskos, 2002;Dettmann & Dimitri, 2010). …”

Access to Sustainably Produced Food: An Investigation of Organic Food Availability in Manhattan, New York

“…Previous research on organic consumers suggests that a relationship exists between socioeconomic characteristics of consumers and their likelihood of buying organic food (Dettmann & Dimitri, 2010;Fotopoulos & Krystallis, 2002;Krystallis et al 2006;Magnusson et al, 2001;O'Donovan & McCarthy, 2002;Zepeda & Li 2007). We investigate whether availability of organic food follows the same patterns, regarding socioeconomic characteristics, as the likelihood of buying organic food.…”

“…GIS methods are widely used to examine issues related to food availability and access (see for example, Ghirardelli, Quinn, & Foerster, 2010;Kirkpatrick & Tarasuk, 2010;Rose, Bodor, & Rice, 2011). The choice of demographic characteristics mapped follows from the literature on organic food consumers, which finds that, after accounting for income and other factors, consumers with higher levels of education are more willing or likely to purchase organic products (Dettmann & Dimitri, 2010;Fotopoulos & Krystallis, 2002;Krystallis, Fotopoulos, & Zotos, 2006;Magnusson, Arvola, Koivisto Hursti, & Åberg, 2001;O'Donovan & McCarthy, 2002;Zepeda & Li, 2007). Research has yielded conflicting results on the impact of income and race on the likelihood of buying organic food (Durham, 2007;Govindasamy & Italia, 1990;Loureiro, McCluskey, & Mittlehammer, 2001).…”