Understanding and (dis)trusting food assurance schemes: Consumer confidence and the ‘knowledge fix’

Eden, Sally; Bear, Christopher; Walker, Gordon

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2007.06.001

Cited by 104 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The amount of meat in the meal and how it was produced was entirely inconsequential, remained unnoticed and unremarked upon. As Eden et al [56] argue, there is no simple knowledge-fix that will reconnect consumers with food in ways that will facilitate more sustainable or ethical practices, for meat eating is symptomatic of acting upon other concerns or simply getting through the day.…”

Section: The Foods People Eat: Meat Consumption and Meat Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

2016

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Abstract:The paper makes two contributions to the advancement of the 'circular economy' as a blueprint for a more sustainable society. The first is to highlight the importance of understanding the dynamics of consumption and waste in the domestic sphere. The second is to illustrate two ways in which using insights from socio-technical literature on sustainable consumption, in combination with the sociology of food, could contribute to redressing this shortfall. This includes understanding why people use or consume particular goods or services, and how this might be altered; and what drives the production of waste and the adoption of strategies for its reduction by consumers. We mobilise insights from a socio-technical perspective on consumption, which highlights the importance of everyday interactions between routine activities, mundane technologies and cultural meanings in (re)producing patterns of consumption. These insights are illustrated with reference to domestic food provisioning, using empirical data generated through twenty semi-structured interviews with consumers in relation to meat consumption and thriftiness. Two suggestions for the development of the 'circular economy' to better take account of consumption within the domestic sphere are made. The first is a shift from imagining consumers as 'users' of particular products or services, to conceptualisation as 'doers' of everyday activities. The second is a broadening of the principle of 'eco-effectiveness' to take account for the social value of consumption.

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Section: The Foods People Eat: Meat Consumption and Meat Reductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

2016

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“…The proliferation of eco-labels has also caused concern about heightening consumer confusion [13][14][15][16]. Ben Youseff and Abderrazak (2009) used a vertical differentiation model to study the environmental effects and competition of a market with multiple eco-labels.…”

Section: Assumption Two-eco-labels Empowermentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Consumers Understand Sustainability through Seafood Eco-Labels? A U.S. and UK Case Study

Gutiérrez

Thornton

2014

Sustainability

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Abstract:In the United States and the United Kingdom, over the last decade major retail chains have increasingly publicized their efforts to supply sustainably sourced and eco-labelled seafood. Debate exists over the extent of consumer demand for this product. Seafood eco-labels purportedly resolve the information asymmetry between producer and consumer, allowing consumers who care about sustainability to easily find and purchase these products. This paper discusses the idealized model of seafood eco-labelling in promoting sustainability and presents results of US and UK case studies based on consumer interviews and surveys, which found that consumers had often seen one or more seafood eco-labels. Two well-established eco-labels, dolphin-safe and organic, drove these rates of sustainable seafood awareness. These rates are interpreted in the context of consumer's understanding of sustainable. The Sustainable Seafood Movement's efforts to increase the supply of eco-labelled seafood and elaborate corporate buying policies for sustainable seafood are influencing consumer's recognition and purchase of certified sustainable seafood products. However, eco-labels are a means to communicate messages about sustainable fisheries to consumers, not an end. Efforts to educate consumers about eco-labels should be a component of ocean literacy efforts, which educate the public about the need for sustainable fisheries.

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“…Eden et al (2008a), however, find that UK consumers in general do not trust third party assurance schemes (even those consumers who were members of the Soil Association) and suggest that labelling food and giving consumers more information about food will not necessarily lead to higher levels of trust and therefore purchase. Eden et al (2008b) suggest that consumers in the UK support the principle of certification but are sceptical about the level of assurance it provides, i.e. how much checking is done and whether certifying bodies have enough power to enforce standards.…”

Section: Section 2: the Uk Market For Organic Foods And Consumer Trusmentioning

confidence: 99%

UK consumer reactions to organic certification logos

Gerrard

Janßen

Smith

et al. 2013

British Food Journal

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to consider whether UK consumers recognise and trust organic certification logos and whether the presence of these logos on a product increases consumer willingness to pay for that product.Design/methodology/approachTo ascertain the reaction of UK consumers to organic certification logos commonly used in the UK, this study makes use of three methods: focus groups, a consumer survey and a willingness to pay experiment (choice experiment).FindingsThese three approaches reveal that UK consumers associate certain benefits with organic foods but are generally unaware of how the industry is regulated. With regards to trust of the logo, the standards they think underlie the logo and the inspection system that they think is associated with the logo, UK consumers rate the Soil Association and Organic Farmers and Growers logos more highly than the EU logo or products labelled with just the word “organic”. They appear willing to pay a premium for the additional assurance that these two logos provide, suggesting that where they are recognised, certification logos are valued.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, no previous studies exist on whether UK consumers recognise and trust different organic certification logos. These findings show that where such logos are recognised they can help to give some assurance to the UK consumer and this is reflected in a willingness to pay a premium for foods labelled with the Soil Association and Organic Farmers and Growers certification logos, as opposed to no logo or the (less well known) EU logo.

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Understanding and (dis)trusting food assurance schemes: Consumer confidence and the ‘knowledge fix’

Cited by 104 publications

References 36 publications

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

Re-Introducing Consumption to the ‘Circular Economy’: A Sociotechnical Analysis of Domestic Food Provisioning

Can Consumers Understand Sustainability through Seafood Eco-Labels? A U.S. and UK Case Study

UK consumer reactions to organic certification logos

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