Choices in sustainable food consumption: how spanish low intake organic consumers behave

Abstract

The consumption of organic products has consistently increased over the last decades, covering increasingly diversified consumers, both in the characteristics and the reasons associated with consumption. This heterogeneity evidences the need to examine in depth the reasons for the purchase and consumption of these products. The core aim of this study is related to the motivational drivers of organic consumption. The survey included 250 respondents from Andalusia (Spain) who completed an online questionnaire and personal interviews. A convenience sampling method was applied, and the best-worst scaling method allowed us to analyze ten attributes of organic purchasing behavior. Health benefits and environmental impact are the key attributes explaining the consumption of organic products. To deeply understand organic consumer motivations, we studied the influence of six classification variables over the studied attributes. Applying ordinal regressions, we found that having children under 18 at home and a consumer’s academic level contribute in a relevant way to explain the valorization of the health benefits attribute. Also, the place to purchase organic food and academic level correlates with the valuation of GMOs in food. Andalusia is one of the largest European regions for organic production but with minor relevance in consumption. Nevertheless, despite this apparent paradox, the results of the present study point to a consumer profile very similar to other European countries with consolidated organic consumption.