Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
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3
The Social Context of Organic Farming
[First Page]
[70],
(1)
Good farming is farming that makes people healthier. It does so by creating and deliver-
ing food of the highest attainable nutritional quality and safety. Agriculture fails in its
most obvious mission when that quality of healthfulness is missing or when it becomes
co
rrupted by such things as toxic residues. . . . The problem is compounded by . . .
nu
merous processors who, for the sake of profit, have been known to take most of the
nu
trition out, put additives in, turn wheat into Twinkies and corn into breakfast-table
candy.
- Donald Worster, “Good Farming and the Public Good” (1984)
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ccording to one recent survey, 70 percent of Americans
have purchased an organic food product at least once,
with 32 percent buying occasionally and 16 percent buying
organic every time they shop (Gardyn 2002). Sales of or-
ganic products are booming, and consumer interest in
organic items shows no signs of slowing. While organic
trade companies and marketing firms strive to understand
shoppers' motivations, organic farmers also seek information on consumer
trends. So who buys organic food? Not surprisingly, research shows that the
answer is complex.
[70],
(1)
O
RGANIC FOOD CONSUMERS
A review article provided data on consumer demand for organic foods
based on information from twelve other research studies done between
1987 and 1997 (Thompson 1998). There was a great deal of variation in
the demographic characteristics of organic food purchasers. Specifically,
income, education, and age showed opposing high and low trends: lower
income (<$25,000) and medium-high income (>$50,000) consumers were
