Consumption Of Organic Products Research Articles

ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКИ БЕЗОПАСНЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ ПОДГОТОВКИ ЖИВОТНОВОДЧЕСКИХ СТОКОВ

Purpose: to consider the possibility of using the cavitation method of disinfection of livestock effluents with the possibility of their applying immediately for fertilizing agricultural crops and obtaining liquid and solid phases of organic-mineral fertilizers. Discussions. The presented technological schemes for preparation of livestock effluents allow them to be used without adding chemical reagents and keeping quarantine in lagoons, as well as to obtain environmentally friendly fertilizers, which is promising for organic agriculture. The introduction of the cavitation method for processing livestock wastewater allowed Sistema LLC to get rid of the specific smell characteristic of pig farms, to reduce the cost of utilizing manure, since the cost of treatment 1 m³ of wastewater on a cavitation generator-disperser is about 7.5 rubles/m³. The introduction of cavitated manure runoff under cultivated crops ensured an increase in productivity, an increase in biomass and an increase in the quality of cultivated crops. Conclusions. Cavitation treatment allows livestock wastewater to be immediately applied to agricultural fields and makes it possible to build livestock complexes without settling lagoon-silt sumps, which reduces the negative impact on the environment. Cavitation is an efficient and energy-saving, environmentally friendly direction of manure disposal, allows organic agriculture based on environmental principles. The obtained organic-mineral fertilizers are not much inferior to industrial fertilizers in terms of yield and surpass them in quality. The cavitation treatment technologies of livestock wastewater will allow farms to produce organic products, which, due to an increase in demand for such products, will increase the level of sales both in Russia and in countries whose inhabitants are the main consumers of organic products.

ORGANIC GRISSINI WITH ORGANIC DILL POWDERS – INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS

Abstract The dill (Anethum graveolens L.) is an annual herbaceous plant, which has spread widely in Romanian cuisine and is used entirely: leaves, stem, and seeds. It contains active substances with multiple beneficial properties for human health. The aim of this study was to develop new type of grissini, enriched with powder organic dill obtained from leaves and stems. The organic powders were realized in the framework of SusOrgPlus project in the Research Center for Studies of Food Quality and Agricultural Products, University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest. Grissini’s with different percentage of leaf powder organic dill and stem powder organic dill were designed and evaluated in a consumer acceptance test, where the aroma, color, flavor and appearance of the attributes were evaluated. The most valuable products with the highest acceptance scores were selected, further analyzed in an accelerated stability study at different temperatures. The new developed food product enriched with powder from organic stem dill is a healthy alternative snack, with the potential to raise awareness and encourage the consumption of organic products.

TERMS RELATED TO PRACTICE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF ORGANIC BEEKEEPING PRODUCTION IN TURKEY

Organic farming production; To the extent permitted by the regulation, it is a production in which chemical drugs are used that are friendly to human health and nature, and do not harm the environment and human health; It is a form of production that gives priority to the quality of the product rather than the amount of manufacture, and every stage is checked and certified by control and certification.
 Organic Beekeeping, on the other hand, does not apply chemical drugs and artificial nutrition to bees at every stage from production to consumption, It is a production that is carried out on intact natural flora or organic farming areas and is controlled and certified by control certification companies.
 Beekeeping; producers with low income, especially in rural areas, both in European countries and in our country and it is an important source of income for producers who do not have land. With this aspect, it adds added value at the micro-level in the rural areas and at the macro level in the country's economy.
 The products obtained from bees are faced with the threat of risk factors that negatively affect food safety during the process of taking their place on the market shelves from production. For this reason, the importance of organic beekeeping increases as the aim is to increase the quality of organic beekeeping.
 According to the Organic Agriculture Information System (OTBİS) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in 2019, There are 249 enterprises engaged in organic beekeeping in Turkey. Organic beekeeping, the total number of organic hives is 50.100 and the total organic honey production is 576.76 tons.
 Moreover according to the Organic Agriculture Information System of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in 2019, 159 enterprises engaged in beekeeping in the transition process in Turkey present, it has a total of 21 484 hives in transition.
 To increase this potential of our country and to ensure its sustainability, It can be achieved by producing reliable and better quality organic beekeeping products. For this, the production and consumption of organic beekeeping products should be expanded.

Phenolics and Antioxidant Activity of Green and Red Sweet Peppers from Organic and Conventional Agriculture: A Comparative Study

Today, consumers are very concerned regarding food quality, nutritional composition and positive health effects of consumed foods. In this context, the preference and consumption of organic products has been increasing worldwide. In the present work, sweet peppers in two maturation stages (i.e., green and red peppers) from organic and conventional production systems were evaluated in regards to phenolic composition and antioxidant activity. Nine phenolic compounds were identified and quantified by a high-performance liquid chromatography-diode-array detector (HPLC-DAD), namely resveratrol, meta-coumaric acid, ortho-coumaric acid, clorogenic acid, caffeic acid, myricetin, rutin, luteolin-7-O-glucoside and quercitin-3-O-rhamnoside. In contrast to the production system, the maturation stage showed a pronounced significant effect on the phenolic composition of the studied sweet peppers; in general, green peppers possessed higher contents than red ones. Meta-coumaric acid, ortho-coumaric acid and quercitin-3-O-rhamnoside were more abundant in green conventional peppers and chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and rutin were found in higher levels in red organic peppers. Regarding the antioxidant activity, green conventional peppers showed the highest DPPH, ABTS•+ and total reducing capacities, while red conventional peppers had higher TEAC values. Finally, principal component analysis showed that the phenolic composition together with the antioxidant capacities could be used to differentiate the production system and the maturation stage of sweet peppers. This finding confirmed that both factors influenced the peppers’ phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity, allowing their possible use as maturation–production biomarkers.

Тенденції розвитку ринку органічної продукції

Problems of the environmental degradation, declining life quality and the need to meet the needs of consumers in organic food determine the relevance of research the market of organic products. The purpose of the article is the consideration of the development history, analysis of world experience and trends in the market of organic products in order to develop mechanisms that will contribute to the development of this market segment in Ukraine. There are considered the history of the development of organic farming, its main stages, and significant events in this article. It is determined that the production of organic products was formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the modern interpretation and get widespread in the 80s of the twentieth century. The authors analyze the current state of the market of organic products in countries that have leading positions in the world. The special features of the formation of this market in the EU, where the area of organic farming is about 7.5% of the area of agricultural land, are considered. The analysis of volumes of consumption of organic products in the different countries is done. It is determined that the leaders in the production and consumption of organic products are the United States, Germany, France, Italy, China. Special attention is paid to the functioning of the market of organic products in Ukraine. It is determined that Ukraine has a leading position in exporting of organic products to the world market. But the vast majority of such exports are raw materials. Based on the world experience of organic market development, the main mechanisms have been identified. Its application will help to further development of organic market in Ukraine.

SIGNIFICANCE OF COOPERATION FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE

The purpose of the article is to study the impact of the basic principles and benefits of the development of cooperative movement on the development of organic agricultural production, as well as to determine the role of cooperation in the development of organic entrepreneurship. Methodology. The author has used the methods of analysis and synthesis, the method of statistical grouping and comparison, induction and deduction, structural and functional approach to solve the problems and achieve the goals. The study is based on the comparative analysis and synthesis of scientific literature. Results. Organic food is increasing in popularity. The growing demand is mainly attributable to consumer concerns about negative implications of conventional agriculture for human health and the environment. Organic agriculture has a great potential to neutralize a negative impact of agricultural intensification on the environment. The article describes the concept and analyzes the current state of cooperation in agriculture. It is found that during the period under the research, the number of registered cooperatives has increased by almost 45%. The concepts of organic agriculture and organic production are clarified. The dynamics of agricultural lands engaged in organic production and the number of certified organic farms in Ukraine are studied. It is indicated that the consumption of organic products in Ukraine is much lower than in the European countries and the United States. The advantages of introducing a cooperative movement in the field of organic agriculture are identified. Being part of a cooperative helps small farms to be able to produce enough to generate profits and ensure their substance, which is an opportunity to compete with larger companies. Risks arising in the process of establishing organic cooperatives are outlined considering the international experience. It is concluded that efficient organic farming cooperatives can support local and export markets, stimulate production efficiency and promote local logistics. Practical implications. The advantages of consolidation of enterprises and entrepreneurs in the field of organic agriculture on the basis of cooperation can be used for the development of state programs to support the cooperative movement in organic farming. Value/originality. Views on the organization of production, processing and logistics activities of organic agricultural producers through the introduction of cooperatives have been expanded.

Prospective association between organic food consumption and the risk of type 2 diabetes: findings from the NutriNet-Sant\xe9 cohort study

BackgroundOrganic food (OF) consumption has substantially increased in high income countries, mostly driven by environmental concerns and health beliefs. Lower exposure to synthetic pesticides has been systematically documented among consumers of organic products compared to non-consumers. While experimental studies suggest that pesticides currently used in food production may be associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), no well-conducted prospective studies have investigated the potential association between consumption of organic products and the risk of T2D, controlling for potential confounding factors.The objective of this prospective study was to estimate the association between OF consumption and the risk of T2D.MethodsA total of 33,256 participants (76% women, mean (SD) age: 53 years (14)) of the French NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort study who completed the organic food frequency questionnaire were included (2014–2019). The proportion of OF in the diet (as weight without drinking water) was computed. The associations between the proportion of OF in the diet (as 5% increment and as quintiles) and the risk of T2D were estimated using multivariable Hazard Ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) derived from proportional hazards models adjusted for confounders (sociodemographic, anthropometric, lifestyle, medical and nutritional factors).ResultsDuring follow-up (mean = 4.05 y, SD = 1.03 y, 134,990 person-years), 293 incident cases of T2D were identified. After adjustment for confounders including lifestyle (physical activity, smoking status, alcohol consumption) and nutritional quality of the diet assessed by the adherence to the French food-based dietary guidelines, OF consumption was associated with a lower risk of T2D. Participants with the highest quintile of OF consumption, compared with those with the lowest quintile, had 35% lower risk of T2D (95% CI = 0.43–0.97). Each increment of 5% in the proportion of OF in the diet was associated with 3% lower risk of T2D (HR 0.97, 95% CI = 0.95–0.99).ConclusionsIn this large prospective cohort study, OF consumption was inversely associated with the risk of T2D. Further experimental and prospective studies should be conducted to confirm these observations.Clinical trial registryThe study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03335644).

Didelio meistriškumo sportininkų ir sporto trenerių ekologiškų maisto produktų vartojimas Lietuvoje

There is no data on the use of organic food by athletes and sports trainers in Lithuania. This determined the purpose of our study ‒ to examine and describe the peculiarities of the consumption of organic food products between Lithuanian high performance athletes and sports trainers. To assess the use of organic food, 158 Lithuanian high-skilled athletes and 135 sports coaches were surveyed. The results of the survey showed that the number of organic food users in the groups of athletes and coaches is high, accounting for 97% and 88.1%. Regardless of this, eco-friendly foods are too rarely used by athletes and coaches. Only 27.9% of athletes and only 36.5% of sports coaches use organic food daily. Athletes and sports trainers usually use organic fruits and berries, vegetables, eggs, and meat products. However, the use of organic products is determined by the gender and age of athletes and coaches. Information on organic nutrition is lacking in 44.3% of athletes and 54.8% of sports coaches. The use of organic food depends on the incomes of the athletes, but incomes is not a limiting factor for ecologic nutrition. Meanwhile, the use of organic food among sports trainers has no link with their incomes. The results of our research justify the need for the development of organic food products and assortment. It would be advisable for manufacturers to focus on the segment of high performance athletes and their sports coaches in shaping the organic food market. Keywords: organic food, high performance, athletes, sports coaches.

Study of Perception and Demand of Organic Vegetables vs. Conventional Ones

Conventional agriculture produces negative impacts on the environment and human health. To reduce such impacts, other forms of agriculture such as organic agriculture have emerged. One way to encourage this type of agriculture is to increase the consumption of organic products. This article presents the perception of consumers of organic and conventional vegetables. In addition, the estimated demand for organic and conventional lettuce in the city of Cali Colombia. The perception was obtained with an interview and focus groups of consumers of said products, and the demand through an econometric study carried out with information from two supermarkets in the city. The results revealed that the demand for organic vegetables is influenced by the little information that exists of this kind of products and also due to the high prices in the market. Consumers of organic vegetables express their preferences for these products based on considerations such as healthcare, sensitivity to the farmers, and protection to the land. In the demand behavior of organic lettuce, prices have an influence of 40% of the units demanded.

Removal of Nonylphenol Polyethylene Glycol (NPEG) with Au-TiO2 Catalysts: Kinetic and Initial Transformation Path

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the Au-TiO2 catalyst in the degradation of nonylphenol polyethylene glycol (NPEG). In the first part of the study, the catalyst was synthesized and characterized. Initially, the catalyst (TiO2 Degussa P-25) was doped with gold precursor salts (HAuCl4) at different concentrations (5, 10, and 15%) and the photodeposition method with UV light. It was determined by diffuse reflectance (DF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that the photodeposition method was effective for the inclusion of gold particles on the surface. The catalyst band gap showed a reduction to 2.9 e.v (compared to TiO2 Degussa P-25), and it was observed that the gold-doped catalyst showed absorption in the visible light range 500 to 600 nm. The percentage of deposited gold was determined by energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In the second part of the study, various NPEG degradation experiments were performed; with the catalyst that showed the best conversion percentages of NPEG, the experimental data were analyzed using UV-Vis spectrophotometry and TOC (total organic carbon). With these results, a carbon-based mass balance and reaction kinetics were generated using the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) heterogeneous catalysis model. For the estimation of the kinetic constants, the non-linear regression of the Levenger–Marquardt algorithm was used. With these results, kinetic models of the degradation of the molecule and the generation and consumption of organic intermediate products (OIPs) were generated.

Environmental awareness, consumption of organic products and gender

PurposeIt was aimed to propose and test a theoretical model to evaluate how some dimensions of environmental awareness influence the intention of consuming organic products using gender as a control variable.Design/methodology/approachThe research was developed through quantitative methodology with the use of multivariate data analysis (PLS-SEM). The model uses a second-order construct. Although, it was conducted in a nonprobabilistic way using a convenience sample, with 213 university students.FindingsIt was confirmed the relation between the environmental awareness dimensions' influence and the intention to buy organic products that is also influenced according to the consumers' gender. There is a more positive effect and intensity in the organics' purchase by women.Research limitations/implicationsThe nonprobabilistic nature in addition to the use of the convenience sample, factors that do not allow the generalization of the results, are some limitations. Moreover, the dimensions of environmental awareness proposed do not include all of the motivators about the organic consumption.Practical implicationsThe results identified the factors that motivate the intention to consume organic products in Brazilian context and can contribute to managerial strategies formulation in order to increase the value perceived by the customer in relation to the consumption of these products.Originality/valueThis paper presents a deeper understanding about the dynamics between the factors that can guide the choice for organic products, besides providing a greater theoretical and empirical support tested by the use of a second-order construct.

The pro‐environmental consumer discourse: A political perspective on organic food consumption

AbstractConsidering Zygmunt Bauman's concept of ‘liquid modernity’ as its starting point, this paper focuses on the need to research alternative methods of consumption and production from an ecological standpoint. Based on 31 in‐depth interviews with highly committed organic consumers residing in urban and rural areas of Portugal, this paper aims to explore the shared discourses which inform on environmentally motivated consumption and its relations with consumers' lives. In order to analyse the qualitative data, discourse analysis was used, while supplemented by content analysis. It was found that the topics converge towards a political consumer discourse featuring three dimensions: the politics of production, the politics of localism and activism. Consumers argue that, by producing their own food according to the principles of agroecology, by looking for organic food within a local context, and by privileging community‐based market channels, they are materializing alternative ideas of social economy, community and ecology. The results of this research provide a better understanding on the establishment of an alternative pathway towards the privatization of responsibility into collective action through the consumption of organic products and the way these are produced.

Organic livestock in the Republic of Croatia and Europe

The aim of the present study was to analyze the situation in organic livestock farming in Croatia and Europe. In the European countries in the year 2017, around 4.5 million cattle, 5.2 million sheep, 1 million pigs and 50 million poultry were registered in organic farming. The highest share of organically registered domestic animals compared to the total population in Europe and the European Union-28 was in cattle (3.5% and 5.2%) and sheep (3.4% and 5.0%), and the lowest in pigs (0.6% and 0.7%). In Croatia the highest share is in sheep (8.57%) and the lowest in poultry (0.02%) number. The largest increase in recent ten years in the EU has been in the number of poultry (by 103%) and the smallest in the number of pigs (by 47.6%), while the increase was the number of cattle and sheep was around 76% and 74%, respectively. In Croatia organic sheep production increased the most (by 65.0%), while the number of cattle and poultry increased by 62 and 64%, and the smallest increase is in the number of pigs (by 24%). The majority of organic meat of all species of domestic animals is produced in France and in United Kingdom, while organic milk is produced mostly in Germany and France. During the year 2018, most organic beef was produced in the UK and France, organic pork in France and Finland, organic sheep meat in Spain and the UK, organic goat meat in Spain, while most of organic poultry was produced in France and in the UK. A significant increase in the number of livestock in organic farming in Europe and in Croatia indicates an increasing interest in organic livestock farming, not only increase of farmers and processors but also increase of consumers of organic products in European countries.

Análisis comparativo de consumidores de verduras y frutas ecológicas en España y Portugal

Actualmente se detectan nuevos patrones de consumo alimentario asociados a los llamados alimentos ecológicos. La extensión de valores posmaterialistas, la conciencia ecológica, la conservación del medio ambiente así como la reciente crisis económica que ha afectado a la mayoría de países europeos, han propiciado la aparición de nuevas formas de consumo de productos ecológicos fundamentados en un modelo de producción sostenible. En este contexto, la producción y consumo de verduras y frutas ecológicas se muestra como una estrategia de calidad de consumo alimentario y también como forma de ahorro en la adquisición y de alimentos frescos y saludables. En la siguiente contribución científica se realiza un estudio estadístico descriptivo comparativo de las características sociodemográficas de los distintos tipos de consumidores de frutas y verduras ecológicas en España y Portugal. También se muestra una descripción de las prácticas de tipo proambientales en dicha tipología de consumidores. Recurrimos a una estrategia de tipo cuantitativa mediante el uso de datos perteneciente a la encuesta ISSP Environment (2010, Portugal) y ISSP (2010, España). La técnica utilizada es el análisis bivariable y el análisis segmentación en árbol mediante el algoritmo CHAID. Los resultados principales muestran la influencia de la formación, los ingresos y el hábitat en la caracterización de los diferentes tipos de consumidores de frutas y verduras ecológicas en España y Portugal.

Forecasting Organic Consumption Based on Regional Clustering

One of the most important strategic tasks of the agrarian policy of the Russian Federation is to provide the population of the country with high-quality and safe food. They first of all determine the health state of people. This situation is connected with the fact that 70% of harmful substances enter the human body with food. Consumers must be given the opportunity to purchase quality food products grown by organic farms. The organic market in Russia is at the initial stage, so there is a huge shortage of statistics to identify consumption of these products and their statistical records are not included into a separate group of agricultural products. In this regard the authors have developed and tested a methodology for the normative forecast of the potential consumption of organic products based on the clustering of the regions of the Republic of Crimea, which includes six consecutive stages. They combine the use of a complex of marketing and statistical analysis methods implemented in the SPSS environment; mapping using modern GIS technologies with the allocation of geographic information profiles of the region, which allow differentiating the territory of the peninsula in terms of the potential consumption of organic products. The gradation of the limits of potential consumption of these goods is made automatically by means of the method of classification of natural boundaries. The main results obtained in the work include: identification of the amount of money spent by the population on the consumption of organic products; establishment of the limits on growth of potential consumption for a given product in the region; determination of its share and dynamics of the increase in the structure of the total commodity circulation of the peninsula, identification of areas that form potential organic consumption in the Republic of Crimea.

Conceptualización de sistema acuapónico aplicando herramientas del diseño concurrente

Con el paso del tiempo se han incrementado los desafíos relacionados con la producción y abastecimiento de alimentos, llegando a convertirse en un factor crítico para garantizar la seguridad alimentaria en todo el mundo. Esta situación ha favorecido la práctica de actividades sostenibles y el consumo de productos ecológicos. La acuaponía se constituye en ese sentido en un sistema alternativo para la producción de alimentos, en donde se integran la hidroponía (cultivo de plantas en agua sin suelo) y la acuicultura (cría de especies acuáticas). Sin embargo, la oferta de sistemas acuapónicos en México es limitada, y normalmente estos deben importarse del extranjero; por otra parte, la mayoría de las personas han implementado sistemas acuapónicos a nivel casero de manera improvisada, adaptando elementos prefabricados con falencias en su funcionamiento y un diseño poco atractivo.
 En este artículo de investigación se desarrolló a nivel conceptual el diseño de un sistema acuapónico (sa) para una escala de autoconsumo, el cual está destinado para hombres y mujeres de entre 24 y 35 años, pertenecientes a los niveles socioeconómicos A/B y C+ de la ciudad de Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca. Estas personas habitan en una región urbana árida, en donde existe una constante escasez de agua y se tienen pocas áreas agrícolas. Para el desarrollo del proyecto se aplicó la metodología propuesta por Riba y Molina (2006), conjuntamente con algunas herramientas del diseño concurrente para facilitar el trabajo interdisciplinario de profesionales que compartieron sus conocimientos en las áreas de mecánica de fluidos, antropometría, hidroponía y acuicultura.
 El sa conceptualizado es un elemento que ocupa una superficie menor a dos metros cuadrados; su principal innovación radica en que integra áreas de cultivo verticales y horizontales, atributo que no posee ninguno de los sistemas acuapónicos existentes en el mercado y que permite un mayor aprovechamiento de la superficie de producción. En este podrán sembrarse hasta 64 plantas de 10 diferentes especies, combinando módulos de sustrato y contenedores con la técnica de película de nutrientes (nft). Igualmente, también pueden cultivarse peces de tres especies distintas, en un acuario con capacidad para 300 litros de agua. De esta forma se conceptualizó un sistema que podría representar una alternativa ante la escasa oferta existente en México, buscando atender en su proyección las deficiencias de productos semejantes que actualmente se fabrican y comercializan.

Microemprendimientos en agricultura ecológica y mercado Slow Food

En este artículo se presenta una investigación de carácter cualitativo que se ha llevado a cabo sobre una amplia muestra de microemprendedores en el estado mexicano de Yucatán; los cuales, motivados por el consumo de productos saludables y de carácter orgánico en el campo de la agroecología, se han iniciado en sus negocios, basados, principalmente, en la producción y comercialización de este tipo de productos de origen ganadero o agrícola, pero fundamentalmente de este último. En concreto, se quiere exponer, más detalladamente, la opinión que tienen estos microemprendedores agroecológicos sobre los productores de su entorno, es decir, sobre la competencia en el mercado yucateco, indagando, asimismo, en relación con la existencia de redes sociales e interacción social entre los emprendedores, y con las formas de cooperación que existen entre unos y otros.

Environmental awareness, engaged consumption and organic products consumption

The objective of this study was to evaluate how some environmental awareness dimensions influence consumer engagement and, consequently, the intention of consuming organic products. The methodology used was quantitative and the data were analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results obtained from a sample made up of 213 university students confirmed three hypotheses raised for research: the precautions taken in the domestic environment and mobilizing attitudes towards environmental positively influence more engaged consumption, and an engaged consumer has a greater intention of consuming organic products. Thus, the present study provides relevant information on the behavior of individuals in this market.

Does country matter in urban organic food products consumption?

AbstractThe main goal of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of finding international consumer segments in the organic food product (OFP) market. For that purpose, the power of country of residence in discriminating between urban frequent, occasional and non‐consumers of OFP was evaluated; and the most appropriate international segmentation bases for that market were studied. In order to achieve this goal, a survey of organic food consumers from Lisbon (Portuguese) and Berlin (German) was implemented through a structured questionnaire. Upon this, factorial and discriminant analysis was applied to the data. The results highlight the significance of the “Country” variable when distinguishing between groups of urban OFP consumers and non‐consumers as well as between frequent and occasional urban OFP consumers. The different levels of OFP consumption are mostly explained by the level of declared “OFP knowledge”. Therefore, we can conclude that in order to increase the consumption of OFP and dilute the effect of the country variable and to be able to work with international segments, marketers should aim to increase awareness and knowledge on these products. It is important to mention that this study was based on a non‐probabilistic sample and, consequently, generalizations of its conclusions must be made with care.

Organic Food Consumption in Italy: The Role of Subjective Relevance of Food as Mediator between Organic Food Choice Motivation and Frequency of Organic Food Consumption

Nowadays, the problems that afflict our planet (climate change, loss of biodiversity, etc.) are leading to the implementation of a more sustainable type of consumption. Increasing the consumption of organic products is a way to face and try to solve these problems. In order to reach this aim, it is important to understand how consumers’ subjective relevance of these products impacts on their consumption. The recent literature, in fact, highlighted how food consumption is salient for the individual to express their identity and life orientations, even more in the case of organic food consumption. Nonetheless, little is known about how subjective relevance of food affects organic food consumption. The present research aims to measure the role of subjective relevance in organic food consumption. Data were collected with a self-report questionnaire that was filled out by a sample of 964 Italians, representative of the population. We used structural equation modelling (SEM) and the bootstrap technique to test the hypothesis. The results show that subjective food relevance is a mediator between the motivations of organic food consumption and the frequency of consumption of it. This research points out the necessity to study consumers in a wider way, using communication that emphasizes the role that these products have in satisfying the psychological needs of consumers.