Consumer Perceptions toward Vegetables Grown in Plant Factories Using Artificial Light- An Application of the Free Word Association Method

Abstract

Plant factories using artificial light have received increasing attention in Japan as a means of restoring agriculture in the Fukushima region where agricultural lands were contaminated with radioactive materials owing to the 2011 nuclear accident. The government is currently promoting the use of plant factories in the region by which safe and fresh leafy vegetables can be produced indoors. However, the market share of vegetables produced at PFALs remains small and consumers often lack understanding of closed plant‐production systems. Thus, the image and understanding of plant factories and such products needs to be improved, but little is known about consumer perceptions toward them. This paper attempts to reveal the current consumer perception of vegetables grown in plant factories with artificial light by using a free word association method and to identify the factors contributing to an improvement in its image and understanding. Visitors to the Kyoei University campus festival in November 2014 were asked to complete a questionnaire survey and 230 valid responses were collected. The respondents were asked to write down anything that came to their minds when thinking of “vegetables grown with artificial light,” “hydroponically grown vegetables,” and “plant factories.” The results show that many respondents had positive perceptions of vegetables produced at PFALs, such as “safe and reliable” and “stable supply,” while the words “artificial light” and “plant factory” evoked negative images occasionally. Further, the results of a chi‐square test of independence indicate that the level of consumers’ knowledge influences the formation of their attitude to vegetables produced at PFALs; specifically, prior knowledge of plant factories using artificial light can improve their perceptions. Tasting events, seminars, and advertising using mass media would thus become more important for the development of the plant factory industry and agricultural restoration in the areas affected by the disaster.