The organic food market: a quantitative and qualitative overview of international publications

Abstract

The current study aimed to achieve a bibliometric research, map and analyze publications related to the organic food market. Thus, a search in the Web of Science database was carried out, covering the period from 1945 to 2013. The 196studies found were discussed and analyzed. The 20 most relevant articles comprised the h -index and were qualitatively analyzed. They indicated the main themes and relationships found. The bigger number of publications was launched between 2006 and 2012 and they were concentrated in the following fields: agricultural, food, environmental and business. They were written in English language and often published in Qualis A journals (60 %). The qualitative design is the prevailing methodology (interviews and focus groups). The topics mostly discussed issues involving environmental certification, assigned value, consumer motivations, producer-consumer relationship and the comparison between organic and conventional products.

Keywords

• Organic foods
• Conventional foods
• Certification
• Environmental