Introduction - Re-Thinking Organic Food and Farming in a Changing World - page 7

offer insights into market and consumer issues raised by organics. They discuss the
broad range of farmer-retailer-consumer chains and how consumers perceive, react
and are affected by market strategies.
Chapter 6 : Ginevra Adamoli explores the concept of organic marketing in terms
of compliance marketing and green selling. In light of the growing organic products
and the rise of the hybrid citizen-consumer, defined by Johnston ( 2008 ) as a concept
that implies a social practice, she studies the connection between consumer's agency
and organic packages of food products. She examines the concept of organic
marketing based on King ( 1984 ) and Peattie and Crane's ( 2005 ) discussions of
compliance marketing and green selling. Through a qualitative textual and visual
analysis of the organic egg carton by Esselunga , one of the largest Italian chain
supermarkets, she argues that these forms of textual and visual communication are
consistent with practices of marketing, rather than serving to empower the buyer
through valuable information. She concludes with a discussion of the implications
of her findings for the citizen-consumer.
Chapter 7 : Kristin Getter, Bridget Behe, Philip H. Howard, David Conner and
Lia M. Spaniolo present the findings of their innovative research on the attributes
and images that consumers prefer with respect to pasture-based dairy. They discuss
the result of their research that created and tested promotional messages with
potential consumers, while also investigating current consumer perceptions and
attitudes about milk and its attributes. Their research asked participants in six
focus groups around Michigan to create hand-drawn milk labels that represented
attributes they sought when purchasing milk. Research participants also answered
oral questions about their milk purchases and evaluated images designed by a
graphic artist. The most common themes to emerge in the hand-drawn images
included cows in pasture, blue skies, and sunshine. Words appearing on these same
drawings indicated that participants generally wanted organic, local, and grass-fed
milk products. By looking at the themes and concerns of milk drinkers, the authors
identify the need for effective communication to consumers in order to improve
profitable sales of pastured milk.
Chapter 8 : Ralf Grosglik raises important questions that will command increas-
ing analytic and policy attention as organic production and marketing spreads
beyond North America and Western Europe. Based on his research in Israel,
he examines the appearance of politicized organic practices in tandem with the
globalization that Israel underwent. Grosglik points that the emergence of Israeli
organic food is essentially a part of the economic and cultural globalization in Israel.
Furthermore, he describes how a variety of production and distribution methods
have responded to the increased demand for organic food by Israeli consumers.
These new methods embody a variety of symbolic and materialistic aspects of
globalization and anti-globalization. As these new activities emerge, they help us
consider the political dimensions of a range of alternative organic practices.
Part IV The Interplay of Conventional and Organic
The four chapters in this part allow us to gain fresh perspectives on the enduring
questions related to the “conventionalization” of organic and to debates over the