scholarly journals The impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on access to organic food in San José, Costa Rica

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia Sylvester

Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic has led to increased awareness of food security in urban areas and to the role of farmers’ markets in providing essential services to consumers. Objective: To better understand how Covid-19 affected consumer access to organic food at two major organic farmers’ markets in the Costa Rican metropolitan area. Methods: In April 2020 after the strict Costa Rica lockdown, 52 organic market consumers completed online questionnaires regarding their purchasing and consumption patterns. Results: The majority of participants reported decreasing or stopping visits to organic markets (81%). The most frequent source of food during the pandemic was large supermarkets (52%) followed by online or direct delivery from farmers (15%). The majority of participants reported less access to organic products since the onset of the pandemic (71%). Conclusion: Covid-19 has impacted access to organic food at farmer’s markets; recommendations include greater support for direct and online delivery of organic products to increase access to health food.

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-126
Author(s):  
Neeraj Dangi ◽  
Sapna A. Narula

PurposeThis paper explores the contextual relevance of sharing economy for the organic food market in an emerging economy like India.Design/methodology/approachCase study approach was used to collect empirical data from different types of organic food markets.FindingsOrganic food farmers markets compared to online and health food stores tends to facilitate sharing economy more since it helps them to build value, scale and trust. By sharing resources, skills and spaces, organic farmers markets have increased organic food availability, reduced its cost of certification and operation besides managing consumer trust. Subjective influence through social media and offline interaction reduces information asymmetry at zero marginal cost. Organic food producers/retailers can get a competitive advantage by tapping underutilized assets to create value and opportunities besides overcoming their demand and supply constraints.Originality/valueThe research offers a fresh perspective to the organic food sector, particularly in emerging economies like India. It could assist all stakeholders to overcome the current demand and supply challenges faced in organic food markets.


2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 255-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Oberholtzer ◽  
Carolyn Dimitri ◽  
Edward C. Jaenicke

AbstractOver the past decade, organic food sales and farmland have grown rapidly worldwide. As the US market for organic food has expanded, anecdotal evidence indicates that imports of organic food have increased. US organic handlers may be importing to meet consumer demand for out-of-season products, as well as products not grown domestically. Handlers may also be importing organic products that are in short supply or to reduce input costs. This paper provides the first examination of imports of organic products into the USA. Data from a national survey of certified organic handlers in 2007 are used to examine the extent, types and origins of imported organic commodities. A Heckman model is employed to investigate the factors that influence an organic handler's decision to import organic products, and the level at which organic handlers import a product. Summary results show that while many of the products being imported into the USA are those that cannot be produced domestically, such as coffee and tropical fruits, some oft-imported commodities are those that can be produced in the USA, such as soybeans, wheat, barley and berries. The summary results also show that organic handlers are procuring almost a half of their imported products from a few countries, including Canada, China, Mexico, Brazil and Indonesia. In the econometric analysis, we found those handlers prioritizing local suppliers negatively affected the facility's decision to import products. The use of a social label, such as Fair Trade, positively affected a handler's decision to import. The size of organic sales was important to both the decision to import and the share imported, with larger firms more likely to import and smaller firms less likely to import. However, once a smaller firm had decided to import, they imported a larger share. Finally, our analysis found that experiencing limited supplies or prioritizing price with suppliers did not influence a handler's decision to import products. Based on the findings, we suggest future research avenues, including studies that address consumer preferences and the impact of increased imports on domestic organic farms.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 13673
Author(s):  
Dušanka Gajdić ◽  
Željka Mesić ◽  
Kristina Petljak

Due to insufficient research on the relationships in the supply chain (SC) of agri-food products, and especially organic food products, the main goal of this study was to examine the perceptions of organic food producers about the importance of collaboration and trust to their performance in the organic food SC. An analysis of previous research has concluded that the important categories of relationship quality (RQ) are the following: appropriate inter-organisational collaboration, effective communication, mutual exchange of information, resource sharing (physical, financial, human, and organisational), willingness to share risks, transparency between partners, relationship quality and commitment, and the presence of trust between partners in the SC. An empirical study based on in-depth interviews was conducted on a sample of six organic food producers in Croatia. The results indicated that the producers’ perceptions of the impact of collaboration and trust on overall performance differs depending on the length of the collaboration with retailers, the types of products, and the percentage of overall sales they sell through retailers. The results of this research can serve as an information base for all stakeholders in the SCs of organic products by encouraging them to participate in activities that will strengthen trust and collaboration as a prerequisite for increasing SC organic food performance.


Agriculture ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Stanislav Rojík ◽  
Martina Zámková ◽  
Martina Chalupová ◽  
Ladislav Pilař ◽  
Martin Prokop ◽  
...  

This article compares attitudes to buying organic food in selected countries in Central Europe. The current research was conducted in 2019 on a total sample of 2800 respondents in the Czech Republic, Slovakia (Central Europe, with a relatively new organic food market), and Germany (a traditional Western Europe country with a mature food market). The study results demonstrate significant differences between the three selected markets. The product quality is the most important for German consumers. Slovak consumers consider organic food to be the least recognizable and least promoted of all the regions surveyed, and they are also the least likely to encounter targeted advertising for organic products. Germany is the country where most respondents regularly or occasionally buy organic food. In Slovakia, an interesting finding is the highest proportion of respondents who do not buy organic food at all. Czech respondents often buy organic products in specialized shops and like to grow organic products themselves. The results also suggest that Slovak consumers slightly more often prefer foreign organic products to the local ones, whereas consumers in Germany select regional organic products more often and prefer to buy regional products at farmers’ markets.


2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Pikora ◽  
Katarzyna Trzaska ◽  
Alicja Ponder

Abstract Food waste is a global problem with 5% of the European Union's (EU's) retail sector responsible. The reasons cited for food waste at retail level among others: undesirable customer behaviour, inadequate packaging, irregular demand, overestimated deliveries, small store area and warehouse space, inappropriate replenishment policies in shops and increased product quality requirements. The requirement to keep shelves full in stores and inappropriate storage logistics lead to overstocking of products, the arrangement of which disregards the first in-first out (FIFO) principle. It contributes to the amplification of food take-offs and may lead to the occurrence of products with exceeded use-by dates, which is the most common cause of food wastage [Federacja Polskich Banków Żywności 2020]. The aim of the study was to evaluate the functioning of the FIFO system in specialist stores, discount stores and large-format stores that have organic food on offer. To evaluate the FIFO system, unannounced inspections were conducted in the stores. During the inspections, errors in the arrangement of products according to the FIFO system were detected. The items found to be out of order were both long and short-dated products, stored in refrigerated as well as on regular shelves, indicating that stores have a problem with storage logistics in all departments. Improving solutions and implementing appropriate measures in this area could reduce food wastage at the retail level.


2012 ◽  
Vol 52 (No. 7) ◽  
pp. 321-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Živělová ◽  
J. Jánský

The consumption of the organic food in the Czech Republic is, in spite of its permanent growth, still on a very low level. The reasons are both on the side of supply and demand of organic food. The reasons on the side of the supply are especially the insufficient amount and the structure of the organic products. Demand is not met especially in the case of the livestock products, further also in the fruits, vegetables, bread, pastry and others. The lack of the organic food is solved by imports. The important factor is also the lack of the processing capacities, especially for meat and dairy products. The sale is provided under the way of short-term contracts. The prices that the organic farmers get for their products fall short of the quality of products. The main distribution channels are the supermarkets. The organic products are here, however, only the marginal products. For the increase of the supply, the advertising and advertisement should be intensified. The demand is obstructed especially by the low consumer awareness, while the consumers are not sufficiently familiar with the quality of the organic products and are not willing to pay higher price for the higher quality of foodstuff. 


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-378
Author(s):  
I-Liang Wahn

Recurrent food safety scandals have prompted Beijing consumers to organize farmers’ markets and buyers’ clubs as a way to access organic food. This article draws on practice theory to understand the way in which these networks use the idea of “good food” to reorganize practices of farming, food purchase, cooking, and eating. The article uses the Polanyian concept of “instituted economic processes” to analyze specific modes of orientation and exchange between organic farmers and urban consumers and specific instituted forms of production and consumption. The article illustrates that “good food” became a shared element in practices and the system of provision. Through the qualification of food and associated discourse relating good food to practices and the food system, practices from production to exchange and consumption share an orientation and institute distinctive economic processes.


Author(s):  
Guilherme Domingos De Luca ◽  
Laura Bazzote Borges

DA PRISÃO POR DÍVIDA ALIMENTAR E O PACTO SAN JOSÉ DA COSTA RICA  IMPRISONMENT FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH CHILD SUPPORT ORDER AND THE PACT OF SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA   Guilherme Domingos de Luca*Laura Bazotte Borges**  RESUMO: O presente estudo, inserido na linha de pesquisa “Fundamentos dogmáticos da experiência Jurídica”, visa a analisar o instituto da “Prisão civil por dívida alimentar na relação de parentesco em face do impacto gerado pelo Pacto de San José da Costa Rica”, sob enfoque da aplicação do instituto dos alimentos na relação de parentesco. Em razão das controvérsias, será estudado o status normativo ao qual o Pacto foi elevado no ordenamento jurídico brasileiro, em decorrência da promulgação da Emenda Constitucional nº 45/2004. A pesquisa foi pautada na análise de doutrinas, em especial das obras de direito de família, buscando apontar o status normativo do Pacto, visto que este tratado prevê a prisão civil do inadimplente da obrigação alimentar, após a promulgação da Emenda Constitucional nº 45/2004. Trata-se da metodologia dedutiva, que levou em consideração as comparações bibliográficas, para se concluir qual a real importância desta norma internacional no direito positivo vigente. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Alimentos. Prisão Civil. Pacto de São José da Costa Rica. ABSTRACT: This study aims to analyze the institute of “civil imprisonment for noncompliance with child support order in face of the impact generated by the Pact of San José, Costa Rica”. Because of the controversy, the legal status of this Pact in the Brazilian legal system and the implications of the enactment of Constitutional Amendment 45/2004 will be studied. The research was based on the analysis of opinions from legal theorists, especially in the family law field, seeking to identify the legal status of the Pact, since this treaty enables the imprisonment for noncompliance with child support order and was enacted after the Constitutional Amendment 45/2004, which forbids civil imprisonment. Through a deductive methodology, which took into account comparative literature, this research will help to dimension the real importance of this Pact in the current positive law.  KEYWORDS: Child Support. Civil Imprisonment. Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica. SUMÁRIO: SUMÁRIO: Introdução. 1 Origem e Conceituação. 2 Condições para se Decretar a Prisão Civil. 3 Ingresso dos Tratados no Ordenamento Jurídico Brasileiro. 4 Controvérsias do Status Jurídico da Prisão Civil. 5 Da Análise Jurisprudencial. Considerações Finais. Referências.* Mestre em Teoria do Direito e do Estado pelo Centro Universitário Eurípedes de Marília (UNIVEM), São Paulo. Especialista em Direito do Trabalho e Previdenciário pela Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais. Bolsista CAPES/PROSUP.** Especialista em Direito do Trabalho e Previdenciário pelo Centro Universitário Eurípedes de Marília (UNIVEM), São Paulo.


1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Michelsen

AbstractIn 1993, a breakthrough occurred for sales of organic food products in conventional supermarkets in Denmark. Since then, sales have increased markedly and consumers now have a choice between organic and conventional food products in nearly all supermarkets. This success owes much to the intense efforts of three main groups since the mid-1980s. First, organic farmers have increased production and successfully managed economic and organizational problems. Second, the Danish State has supported sales of organic products and farmers' conversion to organic farming by supporting marketing and product innovation and by organizing producers. Third, the largest Danish supermarket chain has contributed by its steady demand for organic products since 1981. Today, all major supermarkets in Denmark are supplied by conventional distributors that handle the products of small organic producer organizations. For nearly two years the system has kept up the positive effects of a market expansion process that was initiated by a major advertising campaign and a modest drop in consumer prices.


2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 116-123
Author(s):  
A. P. Korzh ◽  
T. V. Zahovalko

Recently, the number of published works devoted to the processes of synanthropization of fauna, is growing like an avalanche, which indicates the extreme urgency of this theme. In our view, the process of forming devices to coexist with human and the results of his life reflects the general tandency of the modern nature evolution. Urbanization is characteristic for such a specific group of animals like amphibians, the evidence of which are numerous literature data. Many researchers use this group to assess the bioindicative quality of the environment. For this aim a variety of indicators are used: from the cellular level of life of organization up to the species composition of the group in different territories. At the same time, the interpretation of the results is not always comparable for different areas and often have significantly different interpretations by experts. Urban environment, primarily due to the contamination is extremely aggressive to amphibians. As a consequence, the urban populations of amphibians may be a change in the demographic structure, affecting the reproductive ability of the population, the disappearance of the most sensitive species or individuals, resizing animals, the appearance of abnormalities in the development, etc. At the same time play an important amphibians in the ecosystems of cities, and some species in these conditions even feel relatively comfortable. Therefore, it is interesting to understand the mechanisms of self-sustaining populations of amphibians in urban environments. To assess the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the development of amphibian populations were used cognitive modeling using the program Vensim PLE. Cognitive map of the model for urban and suburban habitat conditions were the same. The differences concerned the strength of connections between individual factors (migration, fertility, pollution) and their orientation. In general, factors like pollution, parasites, predators had negative impact on the population, reducing its number. The birth rate, food and migration contributed to raising number of individuals. Some of the factors affected on the strength to of each other as well: the majority of the factors affected the structure of the population, had an influence on the fertility. Thanks to it the model reflects the additive effect of complex of factors on the subsequent status of the population. Proposed and analyzed four scenarios differing strength and duration of exposure. In the first scenario, a one-time contamination occurs and not subsequently repeated. The second and third scenario assumes half board contamination, 1 year (2 scenario) and two years (scenario 3). In the fourth scenario, the pollution affected the population of amphibians constantly. In accordance with the results of simulation, much weaker than the natural populations respond to pollution - have them as an intensive population growth and its disappearance at constant pollution is slow. Changes to other parameters of the model showed that this pollution is the decisive factor -only the constant action leads to a lethal outcome for the populations. All other components of the model have a corrective effect on the population dynamics, without changing its underlying trand. In urban areas due to the heavy impact of pollution maintaining the population is only possible thanks to the migration process – the constant replenishment of diminishing micropopulations of natural reserves. This confirms the assumption that the form of existence metapopulations lake frog in the city. In order to maintain the number of amphibians in urban areas at a high level it is necessary to maintain existing migration routes and the creation of new ones. Insular nature of the placement of suitable habitats in urban areas causes the metapopulation structure of the types of urbanists. Therefore, the process of urbanization is much easier for those species whicht are capable of migration in conditions of city. In the initial stages of settling the city micropopulationis formed by selective mortality of the most susceptible individuals to adverse effects. In future, maintaining the categories of individuals is provided mainly due to migration processes metapopulisation form of the species of existence is supported). It should be noted that the changes in the previous levels are always saved in future. In the case of reorganizations of individuals we of morphology can assume the existence of extremely adverse environmental conditions that threaten the extinction of the micropopulations. 


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