Organic Food Consumption Intent Among Thomas Jefferson University Students

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Presentation

Publication Date

12-5-2013

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Committee Chair: Drew Harris, Thomas Jefferson University

Abstract

Organic food consumption is debated in the United States. The purpose of this research project was to understand the motives behind consuming organic foods among TJU students. A survey was developed based on Integrated Behavioral Model (IBM) and used it to measure organic food consumption among TJU students. Results showed that 50% of the students were regular organic food consumers and 30% were occasional organic food consumers. TJU students consumed more organic produce than other organic products. About half of the students (48.3%) had very good knowledge about organic foods. The most important criteria for TJU students in choosing healthy food was “not containing artificial hormones”. The constructs which were measured were experiential and instrumental attitude, injunctive and descriptive norms, perceived control and self-efficacy. Although each construct demonstrated had some relationship to the intent of using organic food; however, Multiple Linear Regression analysis of all subcomponents showed that the only subcomponents that demonstrated significance were experiential attitude (P=0.002) and descriptive norm (P=0.021). These results indicate student attitudes on organic food consumption, and the how much people in their environment consume organic foods, are the factors that affect organic food consumption among TJU students.

Presentation: 33 minutes

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