Consumer attitudes towards the purchase of organic products in China

Abstract

The food industry in China has been the subject of media attention in recent years. The number of recent high-profile scandals involving tainted food products has shaken China’s public confidence in the safety of domestic supplies. These incidents have included milk powder contaminated with the industrial chemical melamine, meat containing the banned steroid clenbuterol, rice contaminated with cadmium, and cooking oil recycled from street gutters. This study examines the underlying factors influencing organic product purchase decisions. Situated in Kunming, China, we investigate consumers’ levels of awareness, and attitudes towards organically produced food products. In particular, we focus on the characteristics of safety, health value, environmental degradation, and taste and price, in order to better understand consumers’ attitudes towards organic products and their place in the food marketplace. Our study will test the level of influence that each of these co-variants contributes to purchase decisions for organic foods.