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Aschemann-witzel, Jessica, and Stephan Zielke. “Can’t Buy Me Green? A Review of

Consumer Perceptions of and Behavior Toward the Price of Organic Food.” The Journal

of Consumer Affairs, vol. 51, no. 1, 2017, pp. 211–51

In “Can’t Buy Me Green? A Review of Consumer Perceptions of and Behavior Toward

the Price of Organic Food,” the authors question the hindrance to the “growth of markets

for sustainable foods in general and organic foods in particular.” The article found that

high prices, price knowledge, income, and willingness to pay are potential barriers.

However, price was presented as the primary barrier to purchasing organic food.

Consumers with limited budgets were more likely to be held back from consuming

organic products (241). Furthermore, public policy also influenced the development of

organic food markets by altering the macroenvironmental context (241). This means that

with the alteration, price differentiation can be affected. The authors viewed organic

consumption as pertaining to a particular lifestyle, along with the question of whether to

support and further develop the trend that contributes to improving healthful eating.

The article further suggests methods for changing consumers’ perceptions of organic

price levels and price roles. Nonetheless, without price knowledge, consumers can not

notice decreased premium prices. Though, with this information alone, the authors could

not explain all the contradictory findings.

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Kim, Seon-Woong, Jayson L. Lusk, and B. Wade Brorsen. “‘Look at Me, I’m Buying Organic’:

The Effects of Social Pressure on Organic Food Purchases.” Journal of Agricultural and

Resource Economics, Vol. 43, No. 1, 2018, Pp. 364-387.

Sales in the United States for organic foods continue to grow. The total U.S. sales

increased from $3.6 billion to $39 billion between 1997 and 2014. About 75% of grocery

stores now sell organic foods. The high demand has sparked debates on the factors

driving this boost for organic foods. In previous studies, “consumers preferred

organically grown food because of health concerns, perceived taste, perceived

environmental benefits, perceived benefits to local farmers, improved welfare, and other

factors” (Kim et al. 364). However, it is possible that the demand for organic food is

“driven by social pressure” (Kim et al. 364).

Social standing has become a prominent issue in society. The authors further explain

how social pressure can affect organic food purchases. In this study, the authors asked

subjects to choose organic and inorganic products in a control group. Each subject chose

a product in front of acquaintances and recorded the data collected. They were testing the

people’s willingness to pay a premium for organic, which included 90% of the subjects.

People exposed to others were more likely to increase their desire to pay for organic food.

In addition, celebrities often promote the belief that buying organically healthier foods is

the best choice to make. It has become the norm to purchase those foods due to society's

high praise and publicity.

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In conclusion, the study “suggested that consumers purchase organic foods as a symbolic

action to indicate their high social status to others” (380). When most of the subjects were

not under the watch of others, they were more comfortable picking conventional foods

rather than organic. The societal push for organic foods increased the consumer’s

willingness to pay premium prices.

Nagy, László Bendegúz, et al. “Is It Really Organic? Credibility Factors of Organic

Food-A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis.” PloS One, vol. 17, no. 4, 2022,

pp. 1-17.

Consumer trust and credibility play a crucial role in understanding consumer behavior

towards organic food products. Organic food has become a successful concept in the food

industry, reaching 50.9 billion dollars in 2008 (1). It then grew to 119 billion dollars in

2019 (1). Along with the success of organic foods, consumer trust sparked interest in

researchers. However, credibility greatly hinders consumer trust. There are four

credibility factors of organic food: certification, labeling, place of purchase, and country

of origin (9-10).

Certification is one of the most important factors in building consumer trust, as it covers

where compliance with organic requirements is assessed (12). Additionally, the country

of origin correlates with results on certification (13). Labeling is also crucial in informing

consumers about the organic characteristics of a product. Labeling influences perceived

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trust because consumers are able to assess the product (12). Nonetheless, place of

purchase can be essential but is incomplete in several areas (13).

Nuttavuthisit, Krittinee, and John Thogersen. "The Importance of Consumer Trust for the

Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food." Journal of

Business Ethics, Vol. 140, No. 2, 2017, Pp. 323-337.

Consumer trust is a key term in the scholarly article by Nuttavuthisit and Thogersen. For

companies to sell a product, they need consumer trust to establish a market for credence

goods. In this case, they have two differentiations of trust: embedded and disembedded.

Embedded trust can be referred to as being the “tradition, personal, or localized form of

trust” while disembedded trust is a more “universalistic and institutional form” (324). For

example, for embedded trust, going to a local store that is well known. As for

disembedded, companies use “green” to label products. For consumers to buy organic

foods, they need to believe that the product is beneficially important and from an

authentic supply chain. Authenticity would indicate the retailer, the certification, and the

organic labels, confirming that the product is genuine.

The article continues to examine the development and low trust of organic food in

Thailand. The authors used two focus groups and ten interviews to reveal the knowledge

on low trust, certification, control, and labeling of organic food. Nuttavuthisit and

Thogerson developed six hypotheses on the possible outcomes of their study. In

Thailand, better-off families had more access and were more able to afford organic food
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than urban dwellers. The previous information, along with the lack of confidence in the

Thai organic certification and control, were prominent barriers to the organic food market

in Thailand. An example used in the article, a survey, showed “41% agreed with the

statement that ‘products sold organic are not really organic’ and only 17% … believed

that the Thai Government Control of organic foods does a good job” (332).

The authors concluded that consumer trust significantly impacts the belief and attitude

toward organic food, which can hinder their purchases. Overall, doubt in the control

system and authenticity of the food negatively impacts buying.

Smith-Spangler, Crystal, et al. “Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier than Conventional

Alternatives?: A Systematic Review.” Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 157, No. 5,

2012, Pp. 348-366.

Organic foods are “generally grown without pesticides or fertilizers or routine use of

antibiotics, or growth hormones” (Smith-Spangler 348). The U.S. sales of organic foods

have significantly increased from 1997 to 2010, where consumers can pay up to twice as

much as conventional foods. In “Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier Than

Conventional Alternatives?: A Systematic Review,” the health benefits of organic foods

are being studied. Two independent investigators gathered data on methods, health

outcomes, and nutrient and contaminated levels of organic food.

When examining the harvesting or processing methods, Smith-Spangler et al. reported

that sixty-eight percent (352) showed that it was the same for both groups, organic and
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inorganic. There were also no significant differences in the levels of nutrients and

vitamins (353). However, when they examined the pesticide contamination, seven

percent of residue was found in organic and thirty-eight percent in conventional (352).

Bacterial contamination was not significantly different, with seven percent organic and

six percent conventional (352). Although it is common among both groups, organic

products were at a higher risk. The use of antibiotics also proved to produce bacteria

resistance in organic foods but could lead to antibiotic-resistant infections in humans.

The finalized report showed that the risk for contamination was prominent in both

groups, with an increased risk of E. coli in organic foods. Even though organic products

have benefits, they could negatively affect consumers as much as conventional products.

Overall, the cases were homogeneous but lacked substantial evidence to prove that

organic foods were more nutritious.

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Works Cited

Aschemann-witzel, Jessica, and Stephan Zielke. “Can’t Buy Me Green? A Review of

Consumer Perceptions of and Behavior Toward the Price of Organic Food.” The Journal

of Consumer Affairs, vol. 51, no. 1, 2017, pp. 211–51, https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12092.

Kim, Seon-Woong, et al. “‘Look at Me, I’m Buying Organic’: The Effects of Social

Pressure on Organic Food Purchases.” Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics,

vol. 43, no. 3, 2018, pp. 364–387. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26797526.

Nagy, László Bendegúz, et al. “Is It Really Organic? Credibility Factors of Organic

Food-A Systematic Review and Bibliometric Analysis.” PloS One, vol. 17, no. 4, 2022,

pp. 1-17, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0266855.

Nuttavuthisit, Krittinee, and John Thøgersen. "The Importance of Consumer Trust for the

Emergence of a Market for Green Products: The Case of Organic Food: JBE." Journal of

Business Ethics, vol. 140, no. 2, 2017, pp. 323-337. ProQuest,

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/tamiu.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-

journals/importance-consumer-trust-emergence-market-green/docview/1865250016/se-2,

doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2690-5.

Smith-Spangler C, Crystal, et al. “Are Organic Foods Safer or Healthier than Conventional

Alternatives?: A Systematic Review.” Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 157, No. 5, 2012

American College of Physician, 4 Sept. 2012,

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a240-ddb71064fd34%40redis.