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04.27.2004

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For more Hartman Group articles on ORGANIC CONSUMERS, click here...

HARTBEAT
December 13, 2002"Hanging On to Your Organic Consumers" The Hartman Group

December 6, 2002"The Gateway to Organics" The Hartman Group

December 27, 2002 "The Organic Consumer May Not Be Who You Think It Is" The Hartman Group

NATURAL SENSIBILITY
October 15, 2002"The True Effects of Regulation on Organic Consumers" Laurie Demeritt

July 16, 2002"Wellness Myth #2: The Organic Consumer Is Limited to a Specific, Well-Defined Demographic" Jack Whelan

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The Symbolic Power Of "organic"

"Are consumers buying organics for health or the environment?"

As organic foods make the transition from being a counter-culture practice of the 1960s to one that is increasingly moving into mainstream, the meanings of organic simultaneously deepen and become vague as the uses of organic foods change. Most of the discourse around organics has, for years, been centralized around a narrative of preserving the environment, on being "green" (i.e., environmentally conscious). However, most public discourse has shifted to one of organics representing a "healthier" choice. These messages are resonating at multiple levels for an American public increasingly fixated on health and well-being.

Essentially, organic foods play various roles in mediating different bodily, moral and community beliefs and values. Using a cultural analysis of the consumption of organic foods, we find that decisions are most often based on perceptions of bodily and moral risk. Consumers' sense of impending risk is driven largely by discourse disseminated through media and social networks, where the purchase and consumption of organic foods is an active attempt towards managing risks, giving consumers illusions of control.

For those less involved with organics, the symbol "organic" has become primarily a matter of agricultural practice and capitalism ("it's a way of growing food" and "it costs more"). However, for the majority of organic consumers, "organic" symbolizes self-improvement, control and improved odds of good health and longevity.

Narratives about "health" or "healthier" appear most frequently as consumers talk about using organic foods to avoid pesticides, chemicals and hormones in order to manage one's physical bodily health. "Health" as the most basic premise, extends into conversations and beliefs about mental (and/or emotional) health as one becomes more committed to consuming organic foods. Discussions about mental health are associated with achieving a "peace of mind," by "knowing that I'm doing everything I can to keep my family safe." Consumers also believe that farmers who grow and distribute organic foods are more likely to be honest and truthful about the benefits of consuming organic foods. These beliefs ultimately overlap, giving consumers the impression that they are thinking and behaving morally and responsibly.

We find that once an individual has made organic foods a more routine part of their daily consumption, they begin to talk about and think about organic in terms of being "safe," "simple" and "whole." Many consumers say that organically grown food is a "safer alternative" to conventionally grown foods due to the lack of chemicals, pesticides and hormones used in the growing process. These expressions are exceedingly common among new parents who are attempting to protect and manage the health of their child, essentially trying to maintain the "clean slate."

Those who are more committed include but move beyond discussions about personal or internalized benefits of organic foods, and begin to talk about being responsible to one's community. These notions of responsibility are grounded in making moral decisions and being held accountable for the well-being of others (physically, economically and socially) through the consumption of organic foods.

Community, as it relates to organics, is largely understood by consumers as having knowledge about how, where and by whom one's food is grown. Notions of community also include engaging in "authentic experiences" (i.e., food from "real" places with "real" stories) and communing within social networks that share a set of values (i.e., participating in community-supported agriculture groups). The most common community desire is that people will "come together through organic foods" to "get back to the origins of things" and rekindle connections between people, places and their food.

At the core of organic consumers (i.e., those most intensely involved with organic products), ideas about synergism, grassroots, human spirit and values begin to dominate. This lexicon is particular to a much smaller segment of the population of organic foods users. These ideas include, but also extend well beyond, elements of physical health. For this segment of consumers, health becomes more intimately intertwined with connections between people and earth. This is the small space where consumers are most likely to be driven to purchase organic foods based on environmental reasons, although these reasons are typically not altruistic but serve the individual in some form.

For those who are most deeply committed, organic foods are not just something one does but who one is. The act of consuming organic foods reaches beyond special interest and becomes a symbol for a way of living and being. In this core segment we find that much of these consumers' lives are ultimately organized around the ideals mentioned above.

The word "organic" is a multi-vocal symbol, appealing to different types of people by virtue of its ability to mean many different things at once. From this perspective, organic products become systems of communication, signifying not only growing methods and dietary choices, but expressions of consumers' beliefs and values about how they wish to live.

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