Written by Bronwynne Dawes

Abstract

Organic agricultural practices present potential methods of decreasing the food system’s environmental impact. However, the adoption of organic agriculture in Canada is still low compared to conventional systems. To increase the adoption of organic practices, it is important to examine the attitudes and beliefs of those who participate in organic systems, both as producers and consumers of organic food. Farmers who adopt organic systems tend to be focused on the environmental benefits of organic agriculture when making this decision, but other factors such as social influence and availability of support can play large roles in the decision to adopt organics as well. Those farmers who are unwilling to convert to organics have been shown to have greater risk aversion, and thus are more affected by the various perceived risks associated with organic systems when they are compared to conventional. Consumers are more focused on the health benefits of organic food, specifically the lack of chemicals that they perceive to be harmful, but are also influenced by environmental concerns and a desire to support local farmers. The higher prices of organic food can promote a negative attitude towards purchasing organic for some consumers, and confusion surrounding organic regulations can further negativity due to a lack of trust in organics. Understanding the differing perspectives of these groups can help in coming up with ways to further meet the needs of farmers and consumers who are considering being a part of the organic food system, or are already participants in some way.

Introduction

As the world continues to address climate change, agriculture is an area that receives a large amount of attention. It is well known that the food system has negative effects on the environment. A recent study by Clark et al. (2020) found that even if all emissions of fossil fuels were stopped, the emissions from only the food system in its current state would still prevent meeting the Paris Agreement’s goal of staying under 1.5° C of global warming. This clearly shows that great changes to the food system need to be made. Organic agriculture has been proposed as one possible method to help address some of the environmental problems associated with conventional agriculture. It has been shown to have positive effects on the environment in several different ways when compared to conventional agricultural systems, such as increased levels of soil organic matter and soil carbon, improved energy efficiency, and higher levels of biodiversity (Reganold and Wachter 2016).

However, views toward organic agriculture have not always been positive. Organic agriculture has been viewed negatively by scientists, policymakers, and other agricultural players in the past (Heckman 2006; Lockeretz 2007). The negative beliefs that permeated the general view of organic systems included the idea that organic agriculture was a “pseudoscience”, and that organics were a step backwards in terms of agricultural productivity and ability to feed the world’s population (Lockeretz 2007). As more information and research into organic agriculture became available, these attitudes began to change, and have now become the much more positive views of organics that are held generally today (Heckman 2006; Lockeretz 2007). But organic agriculture still lags far behind conventional methods in terms of production in Canada, with only 2.2% of farms having reported organic production in 2016 (Bialais 2020), and only 2.3% of Canadian farmland being under organic production in 2019 (FiBL 2021). These negative views of the past towards organic agriculture surely slowed its growth, and perhaps continue to have effects on its adoption to this day.

With this in mind, if organics is going to continue to grow in Canada, it is important to investigate and understand the views of those who play a role in the organics system today, starting with farmers. What drives farmers to adopt organic systems on their farms? What are the perceived barriers to making this change? What are the reasons that some farmers continue to view organics as a negative practice? Understanding both the positive and the negative opinions of farmers in organics can show what is continuing to drive the movement forward, and also what is holding it back from further growth.

Understanding the attitudes of farmers towards organic agriculture can also help predict the future of organics, and keep organics working toward its original goals. The IFOAM principles of organic agriculture – health, ecology, fairness and care – are central to the organic movement, and were considered and included in the Canadian organic standards (Government of Canada 2020). However, the nature of these principles means that it is difficult for regulations to fully encompass them; each farmer is required to consider what these principles mean in the context of their farm to fully apply them. Some studies have shown that the conventionalization of organic agriculture may be affecting the implementation of the IFOAM ideal, as farmers become less focused on the original principles behind organics and more focused on how to maximize individual gain while simply following the organic regulations (De Wit and Verhoog 2007). Thus, it is important to understand what drives farmers to see where they are taking the future of organic agriculture. Do farmers care solely for the regulations themselves, or are they willing to put in the effort required to meet the broader, less tangible aspects of the original goals of organics?

Understanding consumer motivations for purchasing organics can also be beneficial, as it can help farmers know what consumers are looking for from their products. This can potentially provide a method for farmers to increase demand for their organic products, which in turn provides more reason for farmers to enter the organic market. Without a demand for organic products, there is very little room for the growth of the organic agriculture movement, so understanding the views of consumers is essential to continued promotion of organic agriculture. Much like farmer attitudes, consumer attitudes can help show where the future of organic agriculture may be headed. In this chapter, both farmer and consumer attitudes towards organics will be examined, with the hope of lending an idea to the reader of the current priorities of those participating, or not participating, in the organic agriculture industry.

Farmer Attitudes Towards Organic Farming Adoption

Factors that Promote Positive Attitudes

Many attempts have been made to understand the factors that differentiate those farmers who choose to convert to organic farming from those who do not. One factor that has been shown to increase willingness to adopt organics, and which applies to many farmers, is an attitude of concern for the environment. Läpple and Van Rensburg (2011) looked at differences between early and late adopters of organic farming in Ireland but found that all groups of adopters had more environmental concerns than those who chose not to adopt organic farming at all. In other words, a farmer’s level of environmental concern correlated significantly with whether or not they had converted to organic farming. Interestingly, later adopters had less concern for the environment than early adopters, suggesting that other factors play more of a role in the decisions of later adopters of organic farming (Läpple & Van Rensburg 2011). Despite this, the fact that all groups of adopters had significantly higher levels of environmental concern than those who did not adopt organics shows the importance of environmental attitudes in those who choose to make the switch. The importance of environmental attitudes in the decision to convert to organics has been confirmed in Canada. A study performed in Ontario found that 88% of organic farmers surveyed said concern for the environment was “very important” to them when choosing organic farming, and only 1% of organic farmers said it was “not important” to them at all (Hall and Mogyorody 2001).

Not only is environmental concern a motivator for farmers to switch to organics in itself, but Läpple and Kelley (2013) found that having greater awareness of environmental issues also increased farmers’ positive perceptions of some of the other benefits of organic agriculture. For example, farmers in their study who had more environmental concern also had higher opinions of the economic benefits of adopting organic agriculture, in comparison to those farmers who weren’t as concerned for the environment (Läpple and Kelley 2013). This finding further suggests how integral environmental attitudes can be in farmers’ attitudes toward organic agriculture. This is understandable based on how much of a part the environment plays in the IFOAM principles and the heart of the original organic movement. It also suggests that efforts to continue to convert farmers to organic farming could be most effective by focusing on farmers who have a strong concern for the environment, and by focusing on education for farmers surrounding the environmental benefits of organic agriculture.

Social pressure is also important to the attitudes of farmers when they are considering converting to organic agriculture. Läpple and Kelley (2013) found that farmers who felt that others in their social group had high opinions of organic agriculture were more likely to convert to an organic system themselves. This shows the importance of social acceptance in making the decision to switch to organic agriculture. Although there are not many studies showing the importance of social support for the adoption of organic agriculture specifically, social influence is important in decision-making in general (Valente 1996; Cialdini and Goldstein 2004). Knowing this, it makes sense that social influence in the context of willingness to adopt an organic system would play a similar role.

Other forms of support such as economic, informational, and policy support are important factors for farmers who choose to farm organically as well. Farmers with monetary support and economic benefits available to them through subsidies and other programs are more likely to be willing to convert to organic agriculture (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010; Läpple and Kelley 2013). Higher availability of information about organic agriculture provided through methods such as agricultural extension has also been shown to positively influence farmers’ opinions towards organic agriculture (Wheeler 2008; Läpple and Van Rensburg 2011). A challenge in disseminating information about organics to farmers is that those experts who are providing the information to farmers, such as extension officers and scientists, must have access to greater levels of knowledge about organic agriculture themselves to be effective (Wheeler 2008). Having more knowledge about organic agriculture has been shown to increase the amount of information that experts choose to spread about organics, as well as increase the chances that the information they spread is positive (Wheeler 2008).

The forms of support mentioned above are areas that could be improved in Canada. For example, the current programs and supports available to organic farmers in Ontario are difficult to find, often require a large amount of time and research, and may not be well funded (Duncan 2020). By making programs more accessible to more farmers and increasing funding for these programs, it will become easier for farmers to adopt organics (Duncan 2020). As such, their attitudes are likely to become more positive as well. In contrast, a larger number of support programs in Quebec are believed to be causing faster growth of the organic industry there than in Ontario; the growth rate of land being used for organic agriculture in Quebec is almost double that of Ontario (Howe 2018). This further shows the benefits that increasing support for organic agriculture in Ontario, and across the rest of Canada, could have for the adoption of organics.

While useful in encouraging the adoption of organic farming, monetary support may have some downsides if it is promoted as the main reason for farmers to convert to organics. Monetary incentives may encourage more short-term adoption, and also adoption that more closely mimics conventional agriculture (De Wit and Verhoog 2007). In addition, this form of adoption may not be maintained if the monetary support no longer exists, or if the farmer finds more financial aid available to them through another avenue (De Wit and Verhoog 2007). This should be taken into consideration when using economic benefits as a motivator for adoption. To support a more stable, long-term adoption of an organic system, financial aid could be used in tandem with other factors that encourage farmers.

Lastly, lifestyle preferences are a factor that could influence a farmer in their decision to convert to organic agriculture. 83% of organic farmers in an Ontario study said that they viewed their farm as both a business and a “way of life”, and 61% of organic farmers said that their dissatisfaction with the lifestyle associated with conventional farming was “very important” to their decision to adopt organic farming (Hall and Mogyorody 2001). While many other factors certainly play into a farmer’s decision to adopt organic agriculture on their farm, this section has detailed some of the common factors that are likely to exist in many organic farmers’ decision-making processes.

Factors that Promote Negative Attitudes

While it is important to know the factors that increase farmers’ positive attitudes towards organic farming when encouraging farmers to adopt organic practices, it is equally important to understand the attitudes and perceptions of those farmers who have chosen to continue farming conventionally. One factor that has been shown to promote remaining in conventional agriculture is risk perception. Organic agriculture is generally perceived as having higher risks than conventional agriculture, especially by those who do not farm organically (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010). Factors within organic agriculture such as higher market variability, not being able to use synthetic pesticides to control pest damage, and the higher complexity of the system all contribute to the view within conventional agriculture that there are more risks associated with an organic system (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010). Beyond these risks that are perceived in the organic system, there is also the risk involved in making the conversion itself. It is inherently riskier for conventional farmers to deviate from their status quo rather than stay with their system that is evidentially successful (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010). In addition, farmers may believe that the conversion process will be high in cost, and potentially cause lower yields during the transition, further presenting risks to the adoption process (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010). While some or all of these risks may be considered by all farmers in their decision of whether or not to farm organically, conventional farmers are significantly more risk-averse than organic farmers (Gardebroek 2006; Läpple and Van Rensburg 2011). Thus, a higher risk aversion combined with a larger number of perceived risks may combine to decrease the willingness of conventional farmers to adopt an organic system.

Another factor that may promote a negative attitude toward adopting organics is social influence. Positive attitudes toward organic farming in a social group can lead farmers to be more willing to adopt organic farming. In the same way, a farmer is less likely to convert to organics if those exerting social influence on a farmer have a poor attitude towards organics (Läpple and Kelley 2013). This negative pressure may be very influential in causing farmers to continue farming conventionally not only because they are receiving negative social pressure, but also because they are failing to receive the positive social influence that was shown to help increase the adoption of organics. In this way, a lack of positive perception of organics can be a large barrier to adoption, and thus, shows the importance of creating support for organic farming to increase adoption.

Interestingly, there are certain cases where programs that are meant to support organic agriculture can decrease a farmer’s willingness to convert to organics. This can occur when the farmer perceives uncertainty in the future of a program that is meant to drive conversion to organic agriculture (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010). If a farmer believes that the program may not be permanent, or believes that the program is not yet fully developed and may provide more benefits in the future, then they may choose to postpone transitioning to organics until the program is more solidified and guaranteed to provide a longer lasting or larger benefit (Kuminoff and Wossink 2010). For example, if a farmer believes that a government program providing subsidies to organic farmers has the potential to be defunded in the future, that farmer will be more likely to delay conversion to organics until they have a clearer picture of the future of that policy. Though a policy may be in place, the uncertainty perceived may result in the belief that the transition time and cost would ultimately not be worth it unless there is a better guarantee of receiving the subsidy.

Consumer Attitudes Towards Organics

The other side of any organic system is the consumers, who drive the demand for organic food through their purchases. Knowing the attitudes of consumers can help with understanding what encourages them to purchase organic food, and thus give insight into the potential growth of the organic food industry from the demand side. The demand for organic food in Canada is driven mainly by health concerns and beliefs that organically grown food is healthier and more nutritious than food grown using conventional agricultural methods (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). Consumers are most often looking to avoid aspects of conventional agriculture they believe are unhealthy, such as synthetic pesticides, genetically modified organisms, hormones, and other chemicals. The fact that these things are excluded from organic production leads them to choose organics (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). Avoiding unhealthy substances is especially a motivator for parents of young children who are purchasing organics (AAFC 2010). Organic consumers also often believe that organic foods taste better than conventionally grown foods (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009; AAFC 2010). Another important consideration for many Canadian consumers of organic food is environmental impact, and a desire to eat food that is produced sustainably, although this consideration is considered to be less important than the health benefits of organics by the majority of consumers (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009; AAFC 2010). Animal welfare is also a concern for many consumers of organic foods (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009; AAFC 2010).

Several barriers to entry have been shown to discourage consumers from choosing organic foods. The main barrier for most Canadian consumers is the higher price associated with organics (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009; AAFC 2010). Most consumers are willing to pay between 10% and 20% more for organic food, but prices remain higher than this in many cases (AAFC 2010). Another problem that many consumers cite is a lack of availability of organic foods for purchase (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). A lack of understanding of the organic certification process also proves to be a barrier for many Canadian consumers, as it leads to a lack of trust in the organic food available for purchase (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). A consumer may decide that the price premium associated with an organic product is not worth it if they cannot be sure that it meets their personal standard. For example, this may be the result if the organics consumer’s motivation is to avoid certain chemicals, yet they have a lack of understanding of how organics regulates these chemicals.

Many consumers perceive organic food to be overlapping with another category: local food (Campbell et al. 2014). Canadian organic consumers cite a desire to support local farmers as a reason that they choose to buy organic food (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). However, this may be a misunderstanding of organics by consumers, stemming from a perception of organic being the same as local; the Canadian organic regulations do not regulate the locality of organic food (Government of Canada 2020). In addition, confusion over the differences between local and organic may lead consumers to purchase foods that are labeled local over foods that are labeled organic, due to a lack of understanding of what the differences are between the two, or a belief that local is the same as organic (Campbell et al. 2014). Alternatively, consumers may consider “organic” to be more broad and overarching, whereas, “local” is perceived as something more specific. This may draw them to purchase local food over organic (AAFC 2010). When asked to assign a range of characteristics to the two categories, consumers can do so with some degree of accuracy (Campbell et al. 2014). However, many consumers perceive an inaccurate overlap between the two categories, such as believing that non-genetically modified foods are associated with local, or that organic foods are associated with more local production (Campbell et al. 2014). These misunderstandings can draw consumers away from organics due to a belief that the quality they are looking for in their food can be found by purchasing products labeled local (Campbell et al. 2014). More education and marketing surrounding the true meanings of these categories can help to establish consumer trust, and hopefully increase the adoption of organic foods by more consumers.

Farmers and consumers have a fair amount of overlap regarding what is important in the organic system; for example, environmental concerns are frequently given as a reason for choosing organics by both farmers and consumers. However, this attitude of environmental concern is usually found to be the main motivator for farmers choosing organic systems, but not consumers, who most often have health concerns as their main motivator. Interestingly, organic farmers could be considered in most cases to be choosing organics to gain certain things in their farming system that they consider to be beneficial; for example, better soil health, higher biodiversity, lower energy use, improved lifestyle, or higher profits. In contrast, it appears many consumers are choosing organic foods to avoid certain things in their food that they consider to be potentially harmful, such as pesticides, genetically modified organisms, and other chemicals (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). While the possibility of additional nutritional value from organic food is still a consideration for Canadian consumers, it is the avoidance of unhealthy substances that is the main driver in the majority of consumers’ health beliefs surrounding organics (Essoussi and Zahaf 2009). This difference of viewpoint could be interesting to investigate further, in the quest to try and bring farmers and consumers further together in terms of goals and attitudes in organic food and farming.

To maximize growth in organics, a better job needs to be done of matching the needs and attitudes of farmers and consumers. One way to do this could be to increase both consumer and producer trust in the organic system by having more readily available information and clear regulations of what organics entails. For example, having an Ontario-specific organics certification process that clarifies what it means for a product to be labeled “organic” in Ontario could increase consumer trust in organics and understanding of the label. This may result in positive attitudes toward organics (Howe 2018). Having this more specific certification process for Ontario would also provide more clarity and reasons to adopt organics for farmers, which could increase the supply of organics for consumers further (Howe 2018). With an increased supply of organic products, prices for organic food could decrease, which would further put the needs of consumers and producers in line.

Conclusion

Understanding the factors that promote a positive attitude towards organic agriculture in farmers can help encourage current conventional farmers to consider adopting organic practices on their farms. Furthermore, understanding the factors that promote a negative attitude towards organic agriculture can provide the information needed to start reducing the barriers to entry for potential adopters, and thus encourage an even greater number of farmers to consider organics. Knowing that environmental concerns are a large motivator for organic adoption, it can be hoped that as climate change and other environmental issues persist, organic agriculture will become increasingly appealing to more and more farmers. However, continuing to improve other motivators such as monetary support and information availability could speed up acceptance and adoption. In addition, the more support for organic agriculture continues to grow, the more positive social influence will be present for farmers who are considering adopting an organic system, potentially further increasing the rate of adoption. If organic farming is to continue being a preferred method of bringing about positive environmental change in the food system, a faster rate of adoption should be pursued.

Understanding the positive and negative views of farmers can provide some answers to the question of how to increase the supply of organic foods. However, understanding the consumer perspective can help grow the organic food system by finding ways to increase demand. Matching the motivations of farmers, consumers, and organic farming itself is essential to the continued growth and success of the organic food and farming movement. To improve the food system, farmers and consumers must work together. Understanding the perspectives of these groups is crucial to predicting and shaping the future of the food system.

References

[AAFC] Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 2010. Market trends: Organics. Government of Canada.http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2015/aac-aafc/A74-2-2010-11-eng.pdf

Bialais C. 2020. Organic agriculture in Canada. Library of Parliament, Ottawa, Canada. https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/BackgroundPapers/PDF/2020-07-e.pdf

Campbell BL, Khachatryan H, Behe BK, Dennis J, Hall C. 2014. US and Canadian consumer perception of local and organic terminology. International Food and Agribusiness Management Review 17(2), 21-40.

Cialdini RB, Goldstein NJ. 2004. Social influence: Compliance and conformity. Annual Review of Psychology 55(1), 591-621.

Clark MA, Domingo NG, Colgan K, Thakrar SK, Tilman D, Lynch J, Azevedo IL, Hill JD. 2020. Global food system emissions could preclude achieving the 1.5° and 2° C climate change targets. Science 370(6517), 705-708.

De Wit J, Verhoog H. 2007. Organic values and the conventionalization of organic agriculture. NJAS – Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences 54(4), 449-462.

Duncan S. 2020. Strengthening incentive programs to increase uptake. Organic Council of Ontario.https://www.organiccouncil.ca/strengthening-incentive-programs-to-increase-uptake/. Accessed February 28, 2021.

Essoussi LH, Zahaf M. 2009. Exploring the decision-making process of Canadian organic food consumers. Qualitative Market Research 12(4), 443–459.

FiBL. 2021. Area data on organic agriculture in Canada 2000-2019. The statistics.FiBL.org website maintained by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland. https://statistics.fibl.org/world/key-indicators.html. Accessed February 27, 2021.

Gardebroek C. 2006. Comparing risk attitudes of organic and non-organic farmers with a Bayesian random coefficient model. European Review of Agricultural Economics 33(4), 485-510.

Government of Canada. 2020. Organic production systems: General principles and management standards. Canadian General Standards Board, Gatineau, Canada. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/ongc-cgsb/P29-32-310-2020-eng.pdf

Hall A, Mogyorody V. 2001. Organic farmers in Ontario: An examination of the conventionalization argument. Sociologia Ruralis 41(4), 399-322.

Heckman J. 2006. A history of organic farming: Transitions from Sir Albert Howard’s “War in the Soil” to USDA National Organic Program. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 21(3), 143-150.

Howe K. 2018. Evaluation Report. Organic Council of Ontario. https://www.organiccouncil.ca/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/OTF-Evaluation-Report-2018.pdf

Kuminoff NV, Wossink A. 2010. Why isn’t more US farmland organic? Journal of Agricultural Economics 61(2), 240-258.

Läpple D, van Rensburg TM. 2011.  Adoption of organic farming: Are there differences between early and late adoption?  Ecological Economics 70(7), 1406-1414. Doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2011.03.002

Läpple D, Kelley H. 2013.  Understanding the uptake of organic farming: Accounting for heterogeneities among Irish farmers.  Ecological Economics 88, 11-19. Doi:  10.1016/j.ecolecon.2012.12.025

Lockeretz W. 2007. What explains the rise of organic farming? In: Organic farming: An international history. CABI. p. 1-8.

Reganold JP, Wachter JM. 2016. Organic agriculture in the twenty-first century. Nature Plants 2(2), 1-8.

Valente TW. 1996. Social network thresholds in the diffusion of innovations. Social Networks 18(1), 69-89.

Wheeler SA. 2008. What influences agricultural professionals’ views towards organic agriculture? Ecological Economics 65(1), 145-154.