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Waqas M, Yaning C, Desneux N. Pesticide reduction: clustering organic croplands. Trends Ecol Evol 2024:S0169-5347(24)00111-3. [PMID: 38744626 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2024.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2024] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024]
Abstract
Organic and conventional farms often coexist, yet their proximity does not ensure compatibility. Larsen et al. reveal that being surrounded by organic fields reduces pesticide usage in organic fields but increases it in conventional fields. We discuss these findings, emphasizing the need to cluster organic croplands for reduced pesticide use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Waqas
- Department of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, Hochschule Geisenheim University, 65366 Geisenheim, Germany.
| | - Chen Yaning
- State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, China.
| | - Nicolas Desneux
- Université Cote d'Azur, INRAE, CNRS, UMR ISA, 06000, Nice, France.
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Wang C, Guo J, Huang W, Tang Y, Man Li RY, Yue X. Health-driven mechanism of organic food consumption: A structural equation modelling approach. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27144. [PMID: 38449619 PMCID: PMC10915409 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic seriously threatened human survival and development. It has also highlighted the significant correlation between ecological and public health. After three years of the COVID pandemic, Chinese consumers have become more aware of the importance of health. Especially in the Internet era, consumers' purchasing methods and health awareness have been changed. Consumers can buy nutritious and organic foods. To understand the impact of consumer psychology and health beliefs on the willingness to purchase organic food in the post-pandemic period, this study uses organic beef as an example and extracts key variables from three basic theories. The three basic theories include the Health Belief Model (HBM), the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and the Norm Activation Model (NAM), respectively. Specifically, perceived susceptibility and severity are combined to form a health belief variable that can drive organic food purchasing. In contrast, perceived benefit, moral norms, self-efficiency, and controllability are introduced as mediating variables to construct the health driving factors of organic beef purchasing. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and mediation effect tests are used to analyse 539 samples. Meanwhile, paths and mechanisms between health concern and other variables are explored. The results show that health concern is an important driving factor. Health concern can significantly promote the formation of willingness to purchase organic beef. Mediation effect tests suggest that health concern can indirectly affect the willingness to purchase organic beef through perceived benefit, moral norms, and controllability, but the mediation effect of self-efficiency is not significant. This study provides important references for government regulation and certification of organic foods as well as for enterprises'organic food marketing strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Changxu Wang
- College of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330000, China
| | - Jinyong Guo
- College of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330000, China
| | - Wenbin Huang
- College of Economics and Management, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330000, China
| | - Yonghong Tang
- College of Foreign Languages, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang, 330000, China
| | - Rita Yi Man Li
- Sustainable Real Estate Research Center/Department of Economics and Finance, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Xiaoguang Yue
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Sciences, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
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Yang Q, Al Mamun A, Naznen F, Siyu L, Mohamed Makhbul ZK. Modelling the significance of health values, beliefs and norms on the intention to consume and the consumption of organic foods. Heliyon 2023; 9:e17487. [PMID: 37416654 PMCID: PMC10320173 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The present research aims to extend the value-belief-norm model by including health values, health consciousness, healthy eating beliefs, and trust in organic food as the impelling factors. This study empirically tested the holistic framework to understand the important factors in consumers' decision-making processes concerning organic food consumption. A web-based survey was performed to collect data from a convenience sample of 571 organic food consuming university students in China. The hypotheses were tested using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Based on the findings, health values and health consciousness had substantial impacts on healthy eating beliefs, which in turn positively affected personal norms and awareness of consequences. Additionally, awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility had major effects on personal norms. Likewise, personal norms and trust in organic food had a profound influence on the intention to consume organic foods, which in turn significantly induced actual consumption. The findings not only provide novel insights for researchers to understand the aspects of organic food consumption but present a guideline for marketers to develop appropriate marketing tactics to grow the organic food business. This study recommends that policymakers should focus on increasing the awareness and knowledge of organic food, encouraging organic food production, and prioritising campaigns showcasing the unique health benefits of organic food to stimulate increased consumption.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qing Yang
- UKM - Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Abdullah Al Mamun
- UKM - Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Farzana Naznen
- UCSI Graduate Business School, UCSI University, Cheras, 56000, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Long Siyu
- UKM - Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
| | - Zafir Khan Mohamed Makhbul
- UKM - Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, UKM Bangi, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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Nair RR, Peterson AT. Mapping the global distribution of invasive pest Drosophila suzukii and parasitoid Leptopilina japonica: implications for biological control. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15222. [PMID: 37123003 PMCID: PMC10135410 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Insect pest invasions cause significant damage to crop yields, and the resultant economic losses are truly alarming. Climate change and trade liberalization have opened new ways of pest invasions. Given the consumer preference towards organic agricultural products and environment-friendly nature of natural pest control strategies, biological control is considered to be one of the potential options for managing invasive insect pests. Drosophila suzukii (Drosophilidae) is an extremely damaging fruit pest, demanding development of effective and sustainable biological control strategies. In this study, we assessed the potential of the parasitoid Leptopilina japonica (Figitidae) as a biocontrol agent for D. suzukii using ecological niche modeling approaches. We developed global-scale models for both pest and parasitoid to identify four components necessary to derive a niche based, target oriented prioritization approach to plan biological control programs for D. suzukii: (i) potential distribution of pest D. suzukii, (ii) potential distribution of parasitoid L. japonica, (iii) the degree of overlap in potential distributions of pest and parasitoid, and (iv) biocontrol potential of this system for each country. Overlapping suitable areas of pest and parasitoid were identified at two different thresholds and at the most desirable threshold (E = 5%), potential for L. japonica mediated biocontrol management existed in 125 countries covering 1.87 × 107 km2, and at the maximum permitted threshold (E = 10%), land coverage was reduced to 1.44 × 107 km2 in 121 countries. Fly pest distributional information as a predictor variable was not found to be improving parasitoid model performance, and globally, only in half of the countries, >50% biocontrol coverage was estimated. We therefore suggest that niche specificities of both pest and parasitoid must be included in site-specific release planning of L. japonica for effective biocontrol management aimed at D. suzukii. This study can be extended to design cost-effective pre-assessment strategies for implementing any biological control management program.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahul R. Nair
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
| | - A. Townsend Peterson
- Biodiversity Institute, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, United States of America
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Zámková M, Rojík S, Prokop M, Činčalová S, Stolín R. Czech Consumers' Preference for Organic Products in Online Grocery Stores during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:13316. [PMID: 36293910 PMCID: PMC9603500 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192013316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A major advantage of online organic produce shopping is the fact that it saves energy and reduces emissions otherwise generated by customers during their time spent on the road and while shopping. Organic products in general positively impact sustainability, the environment, and the regions of their origin along with the social changes in these regions and further rural development. Moreover, these products positively impact the perceived health benefits and quality of food labeled as organic. The Czech Republic has currently seen a rise in organic food purchasing and supply trends. This study maps the factors possibly influencing consumers' decision to go shopping for organic food online. Observed factors include the following demographic characteristics of consumers (respondents): gender, age, education, household income, number of children in the household and number of household members. A total of 757 respondents from the Czech Republic from September 2020 to December 2020 took part in the research. Logistic regression, used for data processing, identified the statistically significant effects of education, income and number of household members on online purchases. These conclusions were confirmed by a detailed contingency tables analysis, including the almost monotonous trend of the dependencies, with only minor deviations in a maximum of one category. The strongest influence of some categories on the emergence of partial dependencies was found by residue analysis. The research confirmed that the frequency of online grocery shopping increases significantly with increasing education and income of respondents and decreases with increasing the number of household members. Most respondents apparently shop for groceries online because of time savings, better product choice and more convenient and easier search.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Zámková
- Department of Mathematics, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
| | - Stanislav Rojík
- Department of Management, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamycka 129, 16500 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Prokop
- Department of Mathematics, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
| | - Simona Činčalová
- Department of Economics Studies, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
| | - Radek Stolín
- Department of Mathematics, College of Polytechnics Jihlava, Tolstého 16, 58601 Jihlava, Czech Republic
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Boobalan K, Sivakumaran B, Susairaj M. Organic food preferences: A Comparison of American and Indian consumers. Food Qual Prefer 2022; 101:104627. [DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2022.104627] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Miftari I, Haas R, Meixner O, Imami D, Gjokaj E. Factors Influencing Consumer Attitudes towards Organic Food Products in a Transition Economy—Insights from Kosovo. Sustainability 2022; 14:5873. [DOI: 10.3390/su14105873] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Globally, organic food production and consumption have significantly increased in the last two decades, driven largely by perceived positive impacts on consumer health, the environment, and sustainable development. The aim of this study was to investigate factors influencing consumers’ attitudes towards organic food in the context of a transition/emerging economy. The study is based on a structured consumer survey targeting 300 urban consumers in Kosovo. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) by Partial Least Squares was used to analyze factors influencing consumers’ attitudes towards organic food products, measured with four items (health concerns, labeling of origin, certification, environmental concerns). The results indicate that the health concerns, certification, and environmental concerns significantly influence consumers’ attitudes towards organic food products. The findings of this study are important for both producers and authorities responsible for ensuring the provision of healthy and reliable certified organic food products as well as environmentally friendly production systems that contribute to sustainable development.
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Zhang C, Zhang J, Yang Q. Identifying Critical Risk Factors in Green Product Certification Using Hybrid Multiple-Criteria Decision-Making. Sustainability 2022; 14:4513. [DOI: 10.3390/su14084513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Green product certification (GPC) is an important means of eliminating the asymmetry of information between consumers and manufacturers in the context of sustainable development. This study examined the critical risk factors in GPC and provided relevant suggestions for managers to reduce risk and ensure the correctness of the process. First, 18 risk factors were summarized along four dimensions: the certification institution, the entrusting enterprise, the certification business, and the implementation of the certification. Second, the Delphi method was used to determine the formal research framework, and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was applied to analyze the causal relationships among the risk factors to identify the ones driving risk and those representing the outcomes of GPC. This was used to construct a causality diagram of the risks related to green certification. Finally, the analytic network process (ANP) method was used to calculate the weight of each risk factor, and the weighted prominence of each is calculated to identify the critical factors. The results showed that the working life and experience of the certification institution were the critical driving risk factors in GPC. Corresponding countermeasures were also proposed to mitigate these risk factors.
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Chen SCI, Liu C, Wang Z, Arya F. Innovative Strategies to Fuel Organic Food Business Growth: A Qualitative Research. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19:ijerph19052941. [PMID: 35270638 PMCID: PMC8910674 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/26/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
This study aimed to identify the factors affecting consumer behavior and customer loyalty toward organic food. Whether consumers seek organic food for a healthy body or more as food for thought continues to be debated. However, since consumers’ purchase habits are based on their honest life experiences, which shape the building of a brand, this study reviewed the extant literature to understand the factors influencing the purchasing behavior for organic food. The follow-up problems highlighted in the research are related to organic business marketing strategy. Based on our methodology, we conducted semi-structured interviews to gain themes for qualitative research. The study found that availability, variety, and taste were the top three factors affecting consumers’ purchase decisions; surprisingly, neither price nor health-consciousness was the first concern. Using market-led innovation as an innovative lens to understand customer loyalty, this research highlights sustainable and advantageous business practices in the organic food market to enrich the literature on organic food purchasing behavior from multiple stakeholders.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Chenglian Liu
- Department of Science and Engineering, Shiyuan College of Nanning Normal University, Nanning 530011, China;
| | - Zhenyuan Wang
- Faculty of Economics and Management, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200050, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Farid Arya
- School of Engineering, Buckinghamshire New University, High Wycombe HP11 2JZ, UK;
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