Not all consumers have a taste for organic food labels
Posted by Jenni Spinner, Senior Editor -- Packaging Digest, 12/10/2012 9:51:01 AM
Labeling food as "organic" may not always lead to a positive impression, according to a recent Cornell University study.
The research, published Nov. 27 online in the journal Appetite, flips the notion of a "halo" effect for ethical food labels. A halo effect refers to a phenomenon where a label leads consumers to have a positive opinion - and in the case of an organic label, a healthful impression - of those foods.
This research finds that such positive impressions are partly based on the personal values of a consumer. The two-part study found that some conditions can produce a negative impression of organic labels among consumers, due to the consumer's values.
In the first part, Jonathon Schuldt, Cornell assistant professor of communication, and Mary Hannahan, a student at the University of Michigan, asked 215 students whether they thought organic food was healthier and tastier than conventional food. While most agreed that organics were a healthy choice compared with conventional food, fewer expected organic food to taste good by comparison. This latter finding was especially true for participants who had low concern for the environment.
"The personal values of the rater mattered," said Schuldt. "Our data suggest when organic practices do not appeal to a consumer's values, they expect organic food to taste worse."
In part two of the study, the researchers explored whether there were contexts in which people who were pro-environment might have a negative impression of organic labels. Here, 156 participants read one of two versions of a fake news article that discussed the development of "a highly engineered drink product designed to relieve the symptoms of African children suffering from severe malnutrition," according to the study. To convey the artificial, engineered aspect of the beverage, the article described the drink - named "Relief drink 1.1" - as a "formula" that resulted from a collaboration between "scientists and the food industry." In one version of the news article, the engineered drink was described as organic every time the drink was mentioned. The other version never mentioned the word organic. Participants were randomly assigned one version of the news story or the other.
The results showed that participants who were highly pro-environment judged the organic version of the drink to be less effective compared with the non-organic version.
"It's a reminder that the halo effect hinges on the values of the perceiver," said Schuldt. "It's not the case that you can label a food organic and expect that everyone will perceive it more positively. Under certain circumstances, ethical labels could have an unintended backfire effect."
Future research may involve taste tests of organic and conventional foods to see if personal values influence a taster's perceptions when actually eating a food, Schuldt added.
Great article, although I’m not sure why they would use a “fake news article” to base a study on, and would that really produce real results? Maybe along with their "Organic Labeling Study" they could do a study to see if participants find whether GMO modified or “pesticide saturated” labels on foods are either more appealing or less appealing. Just a suggestion and I would be interested in that study and report.
I'd like to see foods labeled honestly as they really are. Of course that would mean transparency for food manufacturers. Consumers have the right to know what they're eating. Whether or not people find Organic labeled foods appealing or not is really a preference, but we all have the right to know what's in or on our food and how it is made. I actually prefer my foods to be labeled Natural and actually be "Natural". I also prefer my beverages to have a “Personalizable Beverage Name Space” in which to personalize and determine that I’m actually drinking my own beverage, not sharing germs and not contributing to excessive waste in our environment. It’s all a matter of choice and today there are many.
From what I've experienced, tasted and seen in all my years as a consumptive consumer, processed foods that are saturated with pesticides and GMO foods really don't taste better, aren't natural, and are almost equivalent to feeding my family plastic which is not at all healthy for our bodies. I look forward to their taste test studies to see if the “Organic” foods actually taste better to those that imagine that they don’t. I’m glad that there are studies being done trying to figure all this out for us. Thanks!
Cherie Moore - 2012-13-12 14:56:07 EST
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