Study title

The purpose of the data collected in "Organic Consumers' Perceptions and Dietary Choices, 1997" was to examine consumers' motivation to choose organically produced food, and to look at the obstacles they encountered when they wanted to choose such food. The starting point of the study was the increase in organic farming in Norway - as elsewhere in Europe, and the new demands that this situation put the sales side in. What significance organic food had for consumers, the extent to which they got hold of the organic goods they wanted and how organic foods included in their dietary patterns were key issues in the survey. The survey touched on consumer knowledge and attitudes related to organic food, through a broad perspective of ethical, environmental and health considerations related to food. There were correlations between the choice of organic food and consumer orientation in the food market, perceptions of food quality, and their dietary patterns. Consumers who bought organic foods had to a greater extent a local orientation in the food market and put more emphasis on quality properties that cannot be determined through the senses in the purchasing situation, for example environmentally-friendly production methods, in addition to traditional quality characteristics such as appearance and taste. Several of the consumers who bought organic food emphasized more fruits and vegetables and less meat in their diets. Lack of information in general, little knowledge of the Ø-label, low availability and high cost were important barriers to buying organically produced food.