University Student Attitudes Toward Organic Foods - Organic Food and Agriculture: New Trends and Developments in the Social Sciences - page 101

research conducted with the young shows that they are not concerned about whether the
food they consume is organic or not (71.8%), they attach importance to the taste (93%), price
(78.7%), reliability (93.9%), healthiness (83.9%) as well as the appearance (75.3%) of the food
(Bissonnette and Contento 2001). In a regular organic food consumer group, among the
reasons behind their choices the most important for them is that organic foods do not
contain chemicals, hormones or additives, while the reasons of taste, nutrition and price
follow (Sarıkaya, 2007).
A higher educational level corresponds with more knowledge, a positive relationship
between educational level with the knowledge and acceptance of organic food can be
assumed (Stobbelaar et al., 2007). In the study conducted by Radman (2005), a positive
correlation between education level and organic food consumption is detected. In this study,
too, fourth-grade students' attitude scales are higher than the rest of the students. As people
have more knowledge on a subject, they may develop better attitudes towards that subject.
Considering the fact that the students participated are educated on health sciences, it can be
stated that they develop positive attitudes towards these foods by evaluating them in terms
of health.
Students did support organic food and stated that they would purchase more organic
products if they were cheaper. Younger shoppers, in theory, support the organic industry,
but this age group is unable to afford organic products (Essoussi & Zahaf, 2008). Similarly,
our participants state that they would consume more organic products if they were cheaper
or had similar prices with traditional foods. As stated above, the research group's consisting
of students who are financially dependent on their families, namely their having less
purchasing power, can be interpreted for their inability to buy organic products.
In the study carried out by Sarıkaya (2007), among the leading reason why consumers
purchase organic products is environmental awareness. The study points out the lack of
trust felt by consumers towards organic products. This situation also explains why organic
products are not rapidly becoming widespread in Turkey. At the same time the study states
that consumers make a point in obtaining information on control and supervision and think
that non-organic products are harmful in terms of health. Consumers participating in the
study consider it normal for organic product prices to be expensive and that they are ready
to pay more compared to the alternatives to organic products. It has been determined that
consumers have health concerns and for this reason are inclined to consume these products.
The study points out that participants purchase these products mostly from supermarkets.
While women compared to men give more importance to the supervision of organic
products, women also find these products more reliable compared to men. As the level of
education increases, the importance attached to environment friendly products also
increases. It has also be noted that women pay attention to brand names when purchasing
products.
Another study conducted in Turkey, they determined that factors, such as income, price,
having information on organic foods, health and quality are also proven to influence
purchasing behavior (Sanlıer et al., 2011).
Although organic food production and consumption increase , organic foods in Turkey are
still in the introduction stage and not widely prevalent, thus resulting in low familiarity
with them among the general public. In a study conducted to determine the potential
demand for organic products in Ankara, Turkey, this demand is investigated based on four
products with different price levels (tomato, cucumber, chicken meat, egg). Thirty three
point four percent of the families that have filled in the questionnaire correctly know what