Claim preferences of consumers for vegetables from pesticide-free agriculture: a survey experiment

Abstract

Sustainable consumption decisions can be promoted by claims on food. It is essential that the claims are consumeroriented. In this light, the consumer evaluation of different labelling variants for pesticide-free vegetables was recorded for three claims on the pesticide renunciation and four claims on sustainability-related consequences of the pesticide renunciation. An online survey was conducted with 953 German consumers. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of seven subsamples. Each subsample evaluated one of seven claims. The evaluations show that all claims were rated as “moderately” to “quite understandable” and appropriate to the cultivation form and would “perhaps” to “quite probably” be helpful in the purchase decision. Further, the claims on pesticide renunciation were perceived as more understandable, more appropriate for the cultivation form and more helpful for the purchase decision compared to the claims on sustainability-related consequences. The findings are useful for actors in the agricultural and food sector.

Keywords

• pesticide-free vegetables
• sustainable consumption
• food choice
• food labelling