scholarly journals Are Organic Food Labels Inadequate? Evidence from Consumers in Australia

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna Henryks ◽  
David Pearson ◽  
Tatiana Anisimova ◽  
Parves Sultan

The organic sector is one of the fastest growing food markets in the developed world, with a significant number of consumers continuing to prioritise these products that are perceived to be healthier and more sustainably sourced. The body of existing research has identified that very few consumers are dedicated organic food buyers hence most are purchasing it only some of the time. The most commonly identified barriers to purchasing more are associated with price premiums and limited availability. This paper adds to the literature by exploring another barrier, that of potentially inadequate information on product labels. Based on a large study of consumers in Australia (N=1011) findings show the majority feel information provided on labels is inadequate, and that this has a negative impact on their purchasing behaviour. Priorities for the organic industry to address this consumer concern are enhancing visibility and confidence in organic certification logos, and explaining what organic food is on product labels. Enhancing these marketing communications by providing supporting information via the Internet, as it is now more important than product labels, is likely to further enhance sales.

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 379-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Kuchler ◽  
M. Bowman ◽  
M. Sweitzer ◽  
C. Greene

English Today ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-19
Author(s):  
Lindsey N. Chen

The late 1990s saw a rapid growth in green marketing and organic food markets in the United States (Ottman, 2011). Widespread environmental awareness could explain the rise in the popularity of eco-friendly household products. More people than ever are discovering that going green is not only good for the body but also for the planet, as ‘consumers are concerned about the environmental and social impacts of the products they buy’ (Bonini & Oppenheim, 2008: 56). Concurrently, marketing researchers have sought to understand different retail strategies concerning the branding of organic products (cf. Hall, 2008; Ottman, 2011; Smith & Brower, 2012).


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong You Nie ◽  
Austin Rong-Da Liang ◽  
En Ci Wang

PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to examine the effect of organic food certification labels of different third-party verification institutions on consumers' choice of organic food in terms of willingness-to-pay (WTP) using cue utilization theory.Design/methodology/approachThe study conducted an experiment in which organic rice and organic certification labels were presented to 360 valid participants.FindingsWith different organic rice labels issued by various third-party verification institutions, including (1) foundations, (2) associations, (3) university certification centers and (4) private businesses, results indicate that consumers had different preferences and WTP for certain labels. The institutions preferred organic food labels issued by non-profit organizations. In addition, consumers showed different WTP as a result of different purchase motivations (e.g. health vs environmental protection).Originality/valueThese results imply that consumers might not have confidence in the organic labels issued by associations and private institutions. Therefore, different types of certification institutions can have significantly different impacts on consumers' WTP. The study further proposes that the extrinsic attributes of food products (i.e. the cues used in making a purchase decision) must be incongruent with the image of third-party certification institutions in order to develop more efficient communication of product information and to encourage consumers to give positive comments regarding organic food.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ioannis P. Kosmas ◽  
Antonio Malvasi ◽  
Daniele Vergara ◽  
Ospan A. Mynbaev ◽  
Radmila Sparic ◽  
...  

: In recent years, the development of Assisted Reproductive Technique, the egg and embryo donation changed substantially the role of the uterus in recent years. It provided a higher chance for a pregnancy even in women over 45 years or post-menopause. In fact, the number of aged patients and in peri/post-menopause in pregnancy is nowadays increasing, but it increases obstetrical and neonatal related problems. The human uterus is richly innervated and modified especially during pregnancy and labor, and it is endowed with different sensory, parasympathetic, sympathetic and peptidergic neurofibers. They are differently distributed in uterine fundus, body and cervix, and they are mainly observed in the stroma and around arterial vessel walls in the myometrial and endometrial layers. Many neurotransmitters playing important roles in reproductive physiology are released after stimulation by adrenergic or cholinergic nerve fibers (the so called sympathetic/parasympathetic co-transmission). Immunohistochemical study demonstrated the localization and quantitative distribution of neurofibers in the fundus, the body and cervix of young women of childbearing age. : Adrenergic and cholinergic effects of the autonomous nervous system are the most implicated in the uterine functionality. In such aged women, the Adrenergic and AChE neurofibers distribution in the fundus, body and cervix is progressively reduced by increasing age. Adrenergic and AChE neurotransmitters were closely associated with the uterine arteries and myometrial smooth muscles, and they reduced markedly by ageing. The Adrenergic and AChE neurofibers decreasing has a dramatical and negative impact on uterine physiology, as the reduction of pregnancy chance and uterine growth, and the increase of abortion risk and prematurity.


Author(s):  
Geoffrey Jones

This chapter examines the scaling and diffusion of green entrepreneurship between 1980 and the present. It explores how entrepreneurs and business leaders promoted the idea that business and sustainability were compatible. It then examines the rapid growth of organic foods, natural beauty, ecological architecture, and eco-tourism. Green firms sometimes grew to a large scale, such as the retailer Whole Foods Market in the United States. The chapter explores how greater mainstreaming of these businesses resulted in a new set of challenges arising from scaling. Organic food was now transported across large distances causing a negative impact on carbon emissions. More eco-tourism resulted in more air travel and bigger airports. In other industries scaling had a more positive impact. Towns were major polluters, so more ecological buildings had a positive impact.


2014 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudio Giberti ◽  
Fabrizio Gallo ◽  
Luca Francini ◽  
Alessio Signori ◽  
Marco Testa

Objective: Robotic surgical systems offer better workplace in order to relieve surgeons from prolonged physical efforts and improve their surgical outcomes. However, robotic surgery could produce musculoskeletal disorders due to the prolonged sitting position of the operator, the fixed position of the console viewer and the movements of the limbs. Until today, no one study has been reported concerning the association between robotics and musculoskeletal pain. The aim of this work was verify the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among Italian robotic surgeons. Material and methods: Between July 2011 and April 2012 a modified Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was delivered to thirty-nine Italian robotic centres. Twentytwo surgeons (56%) returned the questionnaires but only seventeen questionnaires (43.5%) were evaluable. Results: Seven surgeons (41.2%) reported musculoskeletal disorders, by since their first use of the robot which significantly persisted during the daily surgical activity (P < 0.001). Regarding the body parts affected, musculoskeletal disorders were mainly reported in the cervical spine (29.4%) and in the upper limbs (23.5%). Six surgeons (35.3%) defined the robotic console as less comfortable or neither comfortable/uncomfortable with a negative influence on their surgical procedures. Conclusions: In spite of some important limitations, our data showed musculoskeletal disorders due to posture discomfort with negative impact on daily surgical activity among robotic surgeons. These aspects could be due to the lack of ergonomic seat and to the fixed position of the console viewer which could have produced an inadequate spinal posture. The evaluation of these postural factors, in particular the development of an integrated and more ergonomic chair, could further improve the comfort feeling of the surgeon at the console and probably his surgical outcomes.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 56 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Smith ◽  
J. Russo ◽  
J. Fiegel ◽  
N. Brogden

The epidermal skin barrier protects the body from a host of daily challenges, providing protection against mechanical insults and the absorption of chemicals and xenobiotics. In addition to the physical barrier, the epidermis also presents an innate defense against microbial overgrowth. This is achieved through the presence of a diverse collection of microorganisms on the skin (the “microbiota”) that maintain a delicate balance with the host and play a significant role in overall human health. When the skin is wounded, the local tissue with a compromised barrier can become colonized and ultimately infected if bacterial growth overcomes the host response. Wound infections present an immense burden in healthcare costs and decreased quality of life for patients, and treatment becomes increasingly important because of the negative impact that infection has on slowing the rate of wound healing. In this review, we discuss specific challenges of treating wound infections and the advances in drug delivery platforms and formulations that are under development to improve topical delivery of antimicrobial treatments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 77-83
Author(s):  
Anna Yatsenko ◽  
Lidiya Trankovskaya ◽  
Olga Artyulova

Subject. The scientific works of recent years show an increase in the degree of negative impact of vitamin deficiency and vitamin-like substances on the state of health of the population. With the deficiency of most vitamins, synthetic processes and regeneration of oral tissues are reduced, so often the initial signs of hypovitaminosis are stomatitis, gingivitis, glossitis, and therefore, it is dentists who are the first to diagnose deviations in the body associated with vitamin deficiency. This justifies the relevance and practical value of studying and describing clinical cases of manifestations of deficient vitamin conditions in the oral cavity. The object – is to study the effect of B vitamins on the oral mucosa in order to increase the effectiveness of diagnosis of vitamin-deficient conditions of the human body. Methodology. These clinical examples illustrate the management experience of patients with manifestations of deficient vitamin conditions on the oral mucosa. Clinical and laboratory methods of diagnosing the analysed conditions of the organism were applied. Statistical processing of materials was carried out using the STATISTICA 10 software (StatSoft, Inc., USA). Results. The deficient condition of the organism in relation to vitamins B2, B6, B12 in patients 18-75 years old has been studied. Characteristic clinical changes on the oral mucosa of the examined patients were established. So, in most patients with vitamin B2 deficiency, the classic Sebrel triad was found: dermatitis, glossitis, cheilitis. In those examined with a lack of vitamin B6, language desquamations (smoothed, polished language) were determined in the 83.6%, often combined with glossodinia. Patients with vitamin B12 deficiency were characterized by a lesion in the form of Meller-Gunter glossitis in 74.9% of cases, moreover, 67.6% of patients showed paresthesia in the area of tongue and oral mucosa. Conclusions. The study found that the first clinical symptoms of deficient conditions of the presented vitamins of group B were found from the oral cavity. Thus, it is the dentist who is the first to diagnose the pathological states of lack of group B vitamins in the human body, which emphasizes the importance and relevance of continuing to study these states of the body.


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