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The transition to a low-carbon economy emphasizes the importance of green and low-carbon consumption; yet, there is often a discrepancy between consumers' intentions and their actual behavior regarding organic foods. This study aims to identify strategies to bridge this gap. The research model of organic food consumption intention and behavior is constructed, and a structural equation model is used to test the research hypotheses based on a valid sample of 480 residents of Guangdong Province through an online questionnaire survey. Further, the intention‒behavior gap is defined and its determinants are investigated through multiclass logistic regression. Finally, we categorize and forecast the alignment between consumption intentions and behaviors using machine learning algorithms. The results reveal that attitudes, social interactions, and cognitive information play crucial roles in aligning intentions with behaviors. By enhancing social information exchange or improving cognitive understanding, consumers can reduce their intention‒behavior discrepancy. This research offers valuable policy recommendations for fostering green consumption among residents from various perspectives.

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The relationship between organic food consumption, awareness of reducing ecological footprint, and orthorexia nervosa (ON) tendencies has yet to be explored in detail. This study aimed to determine factors related to organic food consumption and ON tendencies in young adults. Also, the relationship between organic food consumption, awareness of reducing ecological footprint, and ON tendencies was investigated. This study was conducted with 887 young adults (58.4% female, 41.6% male, aged 18-25 years, mean age 20.8 ± 2.55 years). Study data were obtained with a web-based questionnaire. The questionnaire included socio-demographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, the Organic Food Consumption Scale (OFC), ORTO-11, and the Awareness Scale for Reducing Ecological Footprint (ASREF). While 17.2% were overweight or obese, 74.9% had a normal body weight. There were no differences by sex in terms of ORTO-11, OFC, and ASREF total scores (p > .05). Significant positive correlations were found between ASREF and OFC (p < .001), while negative correlations were found for ORTO-11 and OFC (p < .001). A higher ASREF and increased ON tendencies predicted increased organic food consumption (p < .05). Furthermore, higher organic food consumption behaviors and awareness of reducing ecological footprint predicted increased ON tendencies (p < .05). Findings from this study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors associated with organic food consumption and ON tendencies among individuals. By shedding light on the interplay between ecological awareness, organic food consumption, and orthorexic tendencies, policymakers and health professionals can develop targeted interventions to promote sustainable and healthy food consumption.

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AIM: To investigate the association between organic food consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. METHODS: Among 41,286 cohort participants, aged 50-65 years, organic food consumption of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, eggs, meat, and cereal products, was summarized into an organic food score evaluated as never, low, medium and high consumption and as continuous intake. During follow-up, 4,843 cases were identified in the National Diabetes Register. Organic food consumption was associated to the disease incidence in Cox regression models. RESULTS: Organic food consumption was linearly associated with a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (Women, HR: 0.94, 95% CI: 0.89-1.00, Men, HR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.90-1.00). Organic food consumption frequency, compared to never consumption, showed HRs below 1.00 for both women (medium intake HR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.84-1.10, high intake HR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.74-1.05) and men (low intake, HR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.85-1.05, medium intake, HR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.83-1.03, high intake, HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.75-1.05) but were not statistically significant. Similar patterns were observed with consumption of the specific organic food groups for women, but not for men. CONCLUSIONS: Organic food consumption was associated with a suggested lower incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

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The organic food industry has significantly gained currency due to consumers being increasingly health conscious. However, more insight is needed to decipher the impact of organic food consumption on consumer well-being. Quantitative methods using a cross-sectional design were applied to collect data from 578 organic food consumers residing in South Africa. The results revealed that organic food consumption plays a central role in providing pleasure, positive emotions, a sense of accomplishment and personal growth to consumers. Moreover, the findings indicate that consumers' health consciousness significantly influences the interplay between dimensions of well-being. These findings shed important light on the scholarly debate around the influence of sustainable consumption on well-being. The study also provides crucial insights into new strategies that actors in the organic food industry as well as policymakers will use to effectively promote sustainable consumption and a healthy lifestyle.

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PURPOSE: Expected beneficial health effects is a major reason why people purchase organically produced foods, although the existing evidence is limited. We investigated if organic food consumption, overall and by specific food groups, is associated with the incidence of cancer. METHODS: We used data from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort. Organic food consumption was reported for vegetables, fruits, dairy products, eggs, meat, and bread and cereal products. Consumption was summarized into an overall organic food score, evaluated as a continuous variable and in categories specified as never, low, medium, and high consumption. We followed 41,928 participants for a median of 15 years, during which 9,675 first cancer cases were identified in the Danish Cancer Registry. We used cox proportional hazard models adjusted for sociodemographic and lifestyle variables to estimate associations between organic food consumption and cancer incidence. RESULTS: No association was observed between intakes of organic foods and incidence of overall cancer. When compared to never eating organic foods, overall organic food consumption was associated with a lower incidence of stomach cancer (low: HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.32-0.78, medium: HR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.32-0.80, high: HR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.27-1.07, p-trend = 0.09), and higher incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (low: HR = 1.45, 95% CI: 1.01-2.10, medium: HR = 1.35, 95% CI: 0.93-1.96, high: HR = 1.97, 95% CI: 1.28-3.04, p-trend = 0.05). Similar patterns were observed for the specific food groups. CONCLUSION: Our study does not support an association between organic food consumption and incidence of overall cancer. The scarce existing literature shows conflicting results with risk of specific cancers.

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The organic food industry in China has been developing fast with the increasing consumer demand for healthier, safer, and more nutritious foods since the epidemic outbreak. It is of great significance to understand the psychological preference of consumers for organic food and adjust the marketing strategy accordingly. In this study, we adopted the multi-group structural equation model (SEM) to analyze 571 questionnaire data and explored the effects of consumers' perception on the sensory appeal of organic food, perception on promotional stimulation, positive emotion, and perceived social value on the purchase intention of organic food. Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model, this study divides the route affecting organic consumption behavior into the rational route and emotional route. It was proved that the emotional route (positive emotion) has a greater impact on the purchase intention of organic food than the rational route (perceived social value). In addition, there are different purchase intentions among different product types. Specifically, compared with organic tea, positive emotion has a greater effect on the purchase intention for organic rice. This study provides an important reference for the organic food-marketing strategy of enterprises.

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OBJECTIVE: To study the association between organic food consumption and lifestyle, socio-demographics and dietary habits. DESIGN: Cohort participants completed detailed questionnaires about organic food consumption, diet and lifestyle between 1999 and 2002. Polytomous logistic regression models were used to estimate the association between organic food consumption, and lifestyle, socio-demographics, and dietary habits. SETTING: This cross-sectional study uses data from the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health cohort. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 43 209 men and women aged between 54 and 73 years were included in the study. RESULTS: Overall, 15 % reported never consuming organic food, 39 % had low organic food consumption, 37 % had medium organic food consumption and 10 % had high organic food consumption. The relative risk of consuming organic food versus never consuming organic food was highest among women, persons with BMI < 25 kg/m2, persons with low alcohol intake, persons participating in sports, persons who did not smoke or were former smokers, and among persons who adhered to the Danish national dietary guidelines. Associations were more distinct with higher levels of organic food consumption. CONCLUSION: Based on a historical cohort of Danish adults, organic food consumption was associated with a generally healthy lifestyle, more favourable socio-demographics and dietary habits. These findings have to be considered in the adjustment strategy for future studies linking organic food consumption with health outcomes.

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Whether health awareness is self-awareness or conformity awareness is a question worth discussing. Especially under the current trend of organic food consumption, whether it is driven by health consciousness or herd mentality is worth exploring. This is not only about the government's formulation of health policies for the industry (for example, paying more attention to health standards), but also about the sustainable development of organic food consumption (for example, suppliers highlighting their own health advantages). However, there is still little research in this area. Based on data from 1,658 respondents in four first-tier cities in China, this paper explores whether consumers are consuming organic food under health consciousness or herd mentality. This paper uses a logit model to explore the key causes of health consciousness or herd mentality, and uses a propensity score matching (PSM) method to measure the impact of health consciousness and herd mentality on organic food consumption, comparing the effects across age and education groups. The results show that: (1) Individual characteristics, family characteristics, health status, volition, social trust and market education significantly influenced consumers' health consciousness or herd mentality; (2) The main motivation for organic food consumption is health consciousness, but herd mentality plays a role of amplifying this effect.

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Few studies have investigated the relationships between organic food consumption, dietary patterns, monetary diet cost, health, and the environment. To address these issues, a consortium of French epidemiologists, nutritionists, economists, and toxicologists launched the BioNutriNet project in 2013. In 2014, an FFQ documented the usual organic and nonorganic (conventional) food consumption of approximately 35,000 NutriNet-Santé participants. Then, individual organic and conventional food intakes were merged with price, environmental, and pesticide residue data sets, which distinguished between conventional and organic farming methods. Many studies were conducted to characterize organic consumers and their environmental impacts (i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, energy demand, and land use) and organic food consumption impacts on health. We observed that organic consumers had diets that were healthier and richer in plant-based food than nonorganic consumers. Their diets were associated with higher monetary costs, lower environmental impacts, and reduced exposure to certain pesticide residues. Regular consumption of organic food was associated with reduced risks of obesity, type 2 diabetes, postmenopausal breast cancer, and lymphoma. Although several observations have been confirmed by several studies conducted in other countries, our results should be replicated in other cultural settings and coupled with experimental studies to be able to draw causal conclusions. Finally, the main finding of the BioNutriNet project is that while organic food consumption could be associated with positive externalities on human health and the environment, organic-based diets should be accompanied by dietary shifts toward plant-based diets to allow for better planetary and human health.

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Socially responsible consumption benefits the environment, the consumer, and the producer. In Mexico, smallholder farmers are vulnerable, and the consumption of organic food products is low. Analysing the purchase intention of organic food products contributes towards generating the most appropriate marketing strategies. Previous models provide evidence that the attitude of the consumer is the biggest predictor of purchase intention. However, little is known about the results of the mediating effect of desire on said relationship. The objective of the study is to analyse the mediating effect of desire on the relationship between attitude and purchase intention. 204 consumers of organic food products were surveyed using a structured, self-administrated questionnaire or through face-to-face interviews, in established retail stores, alternative street markets, and via the web. It was found that when the benefits of organic food products to the consumer, environment, and smallholder farmers are evaluated favourably, then consumer desire is higher, and thus also purchase intention. Consumers have the highest purchase intention for organic food products when their desire to buy them to achieve a goal related with social, personal, and environmental benefits intervenes.

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OBJECTIVE: The association between organic food consumption and biomarkers of inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP) and cystatin C (CysC) was explored in this cross-sectional analysis of older adults. DESIGN: Dietary data and organic food consumption was collected in 2013 from a FFQ. Alternative Mediterranean diet score (A-MedDiet) was calculated as a measure of healthy eating. Biomarkers CRP and CysC were collected in serum or plasma in 2016. We used linear regression models to assess the associations between organic food consumption and CRP and CysC. SETTING: This cross-sectional analysis uses data from the nationally representative, longitudinal panel study of Americans over 50, the Health and Retirement Study. PARTICIPANTS: The mean age of the analytic sample (n 3815) was 64·3 (se 0·3) years with 54·4 % being female. RESULTS: Log CRP and log CysC were inversely associated with consuming organic food after adjusting for potential confounders (CRP: ß = -0·096, 95 % CI 0·159, -0·033; CysC: ß = -0·033, 95 % CI -0·051, -0·015). Log CRP maintained statistical significance (ß = -0·080; 95 % CI -0·144, -0·016) after additional adjustments for the A-MedDiet, while log CysC lost statistical significance (ß = -0·019; 95 % CI -0·039, 0·000). The association between organic food consumption and log CRP was driven primarily by milk, fruit, vegetables and cereals, while log CysC was primarily driven by milk, eggs and meat after adjustments for A-MedDiet. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis that organic food consumption is inversely associated with biomarkers of inflammation CRP and CysC, although residual confounding by healthy eating and socioeconomic status cannot be ruled out.

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This paper applied a self-administered survey to investigate the impact of organic food behavior and the intention-behavior gap in organic food consumption (OIBG) on consumers' subjective wellbeing including physical, emotional, social and intellectual dimensions. The survey was carried out with 385 consumers. Furthermore, the study conducted a food test to explore the different impacts of organic and conventional food samples on the mental and physical conditions of consumers' wellbeing applying a psychological questionnaire. The food test took place in a sensory lab with a panel of 63 untrained German consumers. The research findings demonstrated a positive impact of the organic food consumption on consumers' subjective wellbeing, while no negative impact of OIBG has been perceived. Moreover, during the food test, consumers distinguished no differences between the impact of organic and conventional stimuli on their mental and physical status. Understanding how consumers perceive the impact of organic food consumption on their wellbeing is one important aspect. However, in the interest of narrowing the OIBG, it is more important to understand how consumers perceive the impact of this gap on their daily-life wellbeing.

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The aim of the paper was to determine the relationship between the physical activity undertaken by Polish consumers and their attitude towards organic food. The motives for the selection of organic food, the barriers that consumers face when buying it, and the requirements set by consumers were determined. The research was carried out by means of a diagnostic survey using the author's questionnaire and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). In total, 3436 respondents from all over Poland were examined using the selected research sample. Statistica 13.1 PL was used for statistical analyses. The results of the research indicate that the main reasons for the selection of organic food, especially among physically active respondents, were the perceived lack of harmful substances and that it is healthy in itself. The study showed that physically active respondents preferred to purchase, to a greater extent, less processed food produced in a natural way and on organic farms. The main reason for purchasing organic food in physically inactive respondents was due to its taste values. The originality of the paper stems from demonstrating differences and similarities in the motives for buying organic food expressed by physically active consumers and those preferring passive lifestyles.

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BACKGROUND: Organic food consumption has steadily increased over the past decade in westernized countries. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study, based on observational data, was to compare some sustainability features of diets from consumers with varying levels of organic food. METHODS: The diet sustainability among 29,210 participants of the NutriNet-Santé study was estimated using databases developed within the BioNutriNet project. Four dimensions (nutrition, environment, economy, and toxicology) of diet sustainability were assessed using: 1) nutritional indicators through dietary intakes and dietary scores, and BMI; 2) environmental indicators (greenhouse gas emissions, cumulative energy demand, and land occupation); 3) economic indicators via diet monetary costs; and 4) estimated daily food exposures to 15 pesticides. Adjusted means (95% CI) across weighted quintiles of organic food consumption in the diet were estimated via ANCOVA. Breakdown methods were used to disentangle the contribution of the production system (organic compared with conventional) from the dietary pattern in the variation of diet-related environmental impacts, monetary costs, and pesticide exposure, between the 2 extreme quintiles. RESULTS: Higher organic food consumption was associated with higher plant-food and lower animal-food consumption, overall nutritional quality (higher dietary scores), and lower BMI. Diet-related greenhouse-gas emissions, cumulative energy demand, and land occupation gradually decreased with increasing organic food consumption, whereas total diet monetary cost increased. Diet exposure to most pesticides decreased across quintiles. CONCLUSIONS: Diets of high organic food consumers were generally characterized by strong nutritional and environmental benefits. The latter were mostly driven by the low consumption of animal-based foods, whereas the production system was responsible for the higher diet monetary costs, and the overall reduced dietary pesticide exposure.

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Our society has been marked by mounting discourses on the necessity of sustainable and environmentally friendly food consumption, as sustainability problems regarding food systems will likely become more severe in the future. Hence, calls have been made for more research on consumer behavior with respect to organic food consumption. Using a survey of 462 adults in a European Union country, this study investigates the role of past behavior in determining several consequences in the context of organic food consumption. The relationships among past organic food consumption, attitudes, environmental concern, personal norms and organic food buying intentions are examined. The results reveal that past organic food consumption positively affects attitudes toward buying organic food, personal norms and buying intentions. In addition to past consumption, attitudes and personal norms are also significant antecedents of organic food buying intentions. The total effect of past behavior on the intention is the strongest compared to other antecedents. The study also discusses the implications of the findings and identifies areas for future research.

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[This corrects the article on p. 8 in vol. 5, PMID: 29479530.].

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BACKGROUND: Studies investigating diet-related environmental impacts have rarely considered the production method of the foods consumed. The objective of the present study, based on the NutriNet-Santé cohort, was to investigate the relationship between a provegetarian score and diet-related environmental impacts. We also evaluated potential effect modifications on the association between a provegetarian score and the environmental impacts of organic food consumption. METHODS: Food intake and organic food consumption ratios were obtained from 34,442 French adults using a food frequency questionnaire, which included information on organic food consumption for each group. To characterize the overall structure of the diets, a provegetarian score was used to identify preferences for plant-based products as opposed to animal-based products. Moreover, three environmental indicators were used to assess diet-related environmental impacts: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, cumulative energy demand (CED), and land occupation. Environmental impacts were assessed using production life cycle assessment (LCA) at the farm level. Associations between provegetarian score quintiles, the level of organic food consumption, and environmental indicators were analyzed using ANCOVAs adjusted for energy, sex, and age. RESULTS: Participants with diets rich in plant-based foods (fifth quintile) were more likely to be older urban dwellers, to hold a higher degree in education, and to be characterized by an overall healthier lifestyle and diet. A higher provegetarian score was associated with lower environmental impacts (GHG emissionsQ5vsQ1 = 838/1,664 kg CO2eq/year, -49.6%, P < 0.0001; CEDQ5vsQ1 = 4,853/6,775 MJ/year, -26.9%, P < 0.0001; land occupationQ5vsQ1 = 2,420/4,138 m2/year, -41.5%, P < 0.0001). Organic food consumption was also an important modulator of the relationship between provegetarian dietary patterns and environmental impacts but only among participants with diets rich in plant-based products. CONCLUSION: Future field studies should endeavor to integrate all the components of a sustainable diet, i.e., both diet composition and production methods.

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BACKGROUND: Organic food intake has risen in many countries during the past decades. Even though motivations associated with such choice have been studied, psychological traits preceding these motivations have rarely been explored. Consideration of future consequences (CFC) represents the extent to which individuals consider future versus immediate consequences of their current behaviors. Consequently, a future oriented personality may be an important characteristic of organic food consumers. The objective was to analyze the association between CFC and organic food consumption in a large sample of the adult general population. METHODS: In 2014, a sample of 27,634 participants from the NutriNet-Santé cohort study completed the CFC questionnaire and an Organic-Food Frequency questionnaire. For each food group (17 groups), non-organic food consumers were compared to organic food consumers across quartiles of the CFC using multiple logistic regressions. Moreover, adjusted means of proportions of organic food intakes out of total food intakes were compared between quartiles of the CFC. Analyses were adjusted for socio-demographic, lifestyle and dietary characteristics. RESULTS: Participants with higher CFC were more likely to consume organic food (OR quartile 4 (Q4) vs. Q1 = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.62, 2.20). Overall, future oriented participants were more likely to consume 14 food groups. The strongest associations were observed for starchy refined foods (OR = 1.78, 95% CI: 1.63, 1.94), and fruits and vegetables (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.58, 1.92). The contribution of organic food intake out of total food intake was 33% higher in the Q4 compared to Q1. More precisely, the contribution of organic food consumed was higher in the Q4 for 16 food groups. The highest relative differences between Q4 and Q1 were observed for starchy refined foods (22%) and non-alcoholic beverages (21%). Seafood was the only food group without a significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides information on the personality of organic food consumers in a large sample of adult participants. Consideration of future consequences could represent a significant psychological determinant of organic food consumption.

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PURPOSE: Metabolic syndrome (MetS), a multicomponent condition, is a cardiovascular disease predictor. Although exposure to agricultural pesticides has been suggested as a potential contributor to the rising rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other features of metabolic disorders, no studies have focused on the association between consumption of organic food (produced without synthetic pesticides) and MetS. We aimed to investigate the cross-sectional association between organic food consumption and MetS in French adults to determine whether it would be worth conducting further studies, particularly large prospective and randomised trials. METHODS: A total of 8174 participants from the NutriNet-Santé study who attended a clinical visit and completed an organic food frequency questionnaire were included in this cross-sectional analysis. We evaluated the association between the proportion of organic food in the diet (overall and by food group) and MetS using Poisson regression models while adjusting for potential confounders. RESULTS: Higher organic food consumption was negatively associated with the prevalence of MetS: adjusted prevalence ratio was 0.69 (95% CI 0.61, 0.78) when comparing the third tertile of proportion of organic food in the diet with the first one (p value <0.0001). Higher consumption of organic plant-based foods was also related to a lower probability of having MetS. In addition, when stratifying by lifestyle factors (nutritional quality of the diet, smoking status, and physical activity), a significant negative association was detected in each subgroup (p values <0.05), except among smokers. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that a higher organic food consumption was associated with a lower probability of having MetS. Additional prospective studies and randomised trials are required to ascertain the relationship between organic food consumption and metabolic disorders.

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The purpose of this study was to examine food choice motives associated with various organic and conventional dietary patterns among 22,366 participants of the NutriNet-Santé study. Dietary intakes were estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. Food choice motives were assessed using a validated 63-item-questionnaire gathered into nine food choice motive dimension scores: "absence of contaminants", "avoidance for environmental reasons", "ethics and environment", "taste", "innovation", "local and traditional production", "price", "health" and "convenience". Five consumers' clusters were identified: "standard conventional food small eaters", "unhealthy conventional food big eaters", "standard organic food small eaters", "green organic food eaters" and "hedonist moderate organic food eaters". Relationships between food choice motive dimension scores and consumers' clusters were assessed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models adjusted for sociodemographic factors. "Green organic food eaters" had the highest mean score for the "health" dimension, while "unhealthy conventional food big eaters" obtained the lowest mean score for the "absence of contaminants" dimension. "Standard organic food small eaters", "green organic food eaters" and "hedonist moderate organic food eaters" had comparable scores for the "taste" dimension. "Unhealthy conventional food big eaters" had the highest mean score for the "price" dimension while "green organic food eaters" had the lowest mean scores for the "innovation" and "convenience" dimensions. These results provide new insights into the food choice motives of diverse consumers' profiles including "green" and "hedonist" eaters.

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