Organic Food (eBook)

PREFACE Organic Food: Consumers’ Choices and Farmers’ Opportunities 5
1. MOTIVATION FOR BOOK 5
2. SECTOR OVERVIEWS 6
3. FARMERS’ OPPORTUNITIES 6
4. CONSUMERS’ CHOICES 7
5. THE FUTURE 7
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 8
CONTENTS 9
CONTRIBUTORS 13
SECTOR’S OVERVIEW 16
FROM NICHE TO MARKET: THE GROWTH OF ORGANIC BUSINESS IN ITALY 17
SUMMARY 17
1. OVERVIEW ON ORGANIC MARKET 17
2. THE BIO-BOOM IN ITALY 19
3. ORGANIC FARMING IN THE VENETO REGION: AN ANALYSIS BASED ON THE 2000 ITALIAN CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE DATA 24
REFERENCES 30
AN OVERVIEW OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES 31
SUMMARY 31
1. INTRODUCTION 31
2. U.S. ORGANIC STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION 32
2.1. U.S. National Organic Standards 32
2.2. U.S. Organic Accreditation, Certification and Eco-labeling 34
3. ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE U.S. ORGANIC AGRICULTURE SECTOR 35
3.1. Organic farm size and marketing arrangements 35
3.2. Risks in organic farming 36
3.3. Productivity and profitability in organic farming systems 37
3.4. Adoption of organic farming systems in the U.S. 39
4. RECENT STATE AND FEDERAL POLICY INITIATIVES 40
5. REFERENCES 41
THE PRODUCER’S PERSPECTIVE 43
A COMPARATIVE PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL FARMS IN EMILIA-ROMAGNA AND IN MINNESOTA 44
SUMMARY 44
1. INTRODUCTION 44
2. OBJECTIVES AND HYPOTHESES 46
3. MATERIALS AND METHODS 46
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 49
4.1. The choice to adopt organic farming in Emilia-Romagna 49
4.2. Emilia-Romagna comparisons 52
4.3. Minnesota comparisons 55
5. FINAL REMARKS 57
6. REFERENCES 57
SITUATION AND PERSPECTIVES OF ORGANIC MEAT IN ITALY. The experience of a small group of firms located in the Veneto Region 59
SUMMARY 59
1. ORGANIC MEAT SITUATION IN ITALY 59
1.1. Production 60
1.2. Market 61
1.3. Perspectives 62
2. OBSERVATIONS FROM A SMALL SAMPLE OF VENETIAN FIRMS DEALING WITH ORGANIC MEAT 63
2.1. Some structural characteristics of the organic meat breeding farms 64
2.2. The managerial resource 65
2.3. Some economic elements 66
2.4. Supply and market 68
2.5. Production technology 69
2.6. Marketing strategies 70
3. CONCLUDING REMARKS 71
4. REFERENCES 75
PROFITABILITY OF ORGANIC CROPPING SYSTEMS IN SOUTHWESTERN MINNESOTA 76
1. INTRODUCTION 76
2. BACKGROUND 77
3. STUDY LOCATION AND DESIGN 78
4. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS METHODS 79
5. RESULTS 84
6. CONCLUSIONS 91
7. REFERENCES 92
COMPARING THE PROFITABILITY OF ORGANIC AND INTEGRATED CROP MANAGEMENT. An analysis of apple and peach growing in Italy 93
1. INTRODUCTION 93
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 94
3. RESULTS 95
4. FINAL REMARKS 99
5. REFERENCES 100
MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR ORGANIC WINE GROWERS IN THE VENETO REGION 102
SUMMARY 102
1. WINE FROM ORGANIC AGRICULTURE 103
2. OVERVIEW OF THE ORGANIC WINE MARKET 104
3. THE ORGANIC WINE MARKET IN ITALY 105
4. A SURVEY ON ORGANIC WINE MARKET IN THE VENETO REGION 107
4.1. The farm structure 109
4.2. The management 109
4.3. Economic results 111
4.4. The organic wine supply: vineyard and technology 111
4.5. The market 112
4.6. Marketing strategies 115
5. CONCLUDING REMARKS 117
6. REFERENCES 120
THE CONSUMERS’ PERSPECTIVE 121
INVESTIGATING PREFERENCES FOR ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY PRODUCTION PRACTICES. Taste segments for organic and integrated crop management potatoes in Italian households 122
SUMMARY 122
1. INTRODUCTION 122
2. THEORY 124
3. DATA 126
4. ECONOMETRIC ANALYSIS AND RESULTS 126
5. CONCLUSIONS 129
6. REFERENCES 130
POTENTIAL DEMAND FOR ORGANIC MARINE FISH IN ITALY 132
SUMMARY 132
1. INTRODUCTION 132
2. METHODOLOGY AND DATA 135
2.1 Production costs 135
2.2 Consumer survey and data 137
3. FINDINGS AND COMMENTS 139
3.1 Production costs 139
3.2 Respondents’ profile 141
3.3 Respondents’ willingness to pay 142
3.4 Respondents’ potential demand 145
4. CONCLUDING REMARKS 146
5. REFERENCES 148
ITALIAN CONSUMERS’ PREFERENCES AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ORGANIC BEEF. A Survey in Piedmont 150
SUMMARY 150
1. INTRODUCTION 150
2. DATA 151
3. WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR ORGANIC BEEF 153
3.1. Shares of consumers at different prices 154
3.2. Shares of consumers at different premiums 155
3.3. Average maximum prices consumers are prepared to pay for organic beef 157
4. CONSUMERS’ MOTIVATIONS FOR NOT PURCHASING ORGANIC BEEF 160
5. PREFERENCES ABOUT SELLING MODALITIES 161
6. CONCLUSIONS 162
7. REFERENCES 163
THE US CONSUMER PERSPECTIVE ON ORGANIC FOODS 164
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND FUTURE ISSUES 175
CURRENT ISSUES IN ORGANIC FOOD: ITALY 176
SUMMARY 176
1. INTRODUCTION 176
2. FARMER ISSUES 177
3. FOOD CHAIN ISSUES 178
4. CONSUMERS’ ISSUES 179
5. POLICY AND TRADE ISSUES 182
5.1 Sustainable development 182
5.2 Farmers’ income 183
5.3 International trade 184
6. FURTHER EMERGING ISSUES 185
7. REFERENCES 186
CURRENT ISSUES IN ORGANIC FOOD: UNITED STATES 189
SUMMARY 189
1. INTRODUCTION 189
2. PRODUCTION ISSUES 190
3. DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING ISSUES 193
4. POLICY AND TRADE ISSUES 194
5. FUTURE ISSUES 196
6. REFERENCES 196
INDEX 198