Marketing locally produced organic foods in three metropolitan Arkansas farmers' markets: consumer opinions and food safety concerns.

摘要

Consumers embrace local food systems as an alternative to the global corporate model, and nearly 75% of consumers in the US purchase organic foods occasionally. To assess consumers' knowledge of locally grown organic foods, surveys were administered at 3 metropolitan farmers' markets in Little Rock, Hot Springs and Texarkana, Arkansas. Consumers with bachelor's, associate's or technical degrees accounted for almost half of the people surveyed. 71% believed organic foods were safer than conventional foods. 3 times as many consumers were concerned about harmful bacteria in conventional foods than in their organic counterparts. The number one reason for purchasing was to support local farmers.