Consumer preference and demand for organic food: Evidence from a Vermont survey

While organic farming has been identified as an effective way to improve food safety and environment quality, the adoption of organic production and processing is highly determined by the market demand for organic food products. To assess the market potential for organic apples and milk, a conjoint analysis is conducted in the state of Vermont to examine consumer evaluation of major product attributes and their tradeoffs. Results suggest that there is likely a significant niche market for organic apples and milk and many consumers, especially people who have purchased organic food products, are willing to pay more for organic apples and milk produced locally and certified by NOFA. Introduction As a result of the increasing concerns about food safety and environmental quality, organic food has rapidly emerged as an important food industry in the U.S. and many other countries since the early 1980s (Thompson 1998, Lohr 1998). For example, the total retail organic food sales in the U.S. rose from $178 million in 1980 to $1 billion in 1990, and reached $7.8 billion in 2000 (Vandeman and Hayden 1997, Myers and Rorie 2000). In the state of Vermont, as reflected in the increasing number of healthy and natural food stores and increasing availability of organic foods in the mainstream supermarkets, more and more Vermont consumers have started to purchase organic food, especially organic vegetables and fruits (Bazilchuk 2000). However, on the production side, many farmers are still hesitant to adopt