International Journal of Consumer Studies ISSN 1470-6423

Organic and local food consumer behaviour: Alphabet Theory

ijcs_814 697..705

Lydia Zepeda and David Deal

Department of Consumer Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

Keywords Consumers, local food, organic food. Correspondence Lydia Zepeda, Department of Consumer Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1305 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA. E-mail: lzepeda@wisc.edu doi: 10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00814.x

Abstract
Semi-structured interviews are conducted to understand why consumers buy organic and/or local foods. The interview ndings are consistent with existing theoretical frameworks for explaining environmentally signicant behaviour: Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory and Attitude-Behaviour-Context (ABC) theory. Findings show that organic food shoppers in particular are motivated by values, beliefs and the creation of norms. However, the interviews indicate that knowledge (K), information seeking (IS) and habit (H) are also important in understanding why consumers choose organic and local foods. Incorporating demographics (D) as well, the resulting VBN-ABC-D-K-IS-H or Alphabet Theory is presented as a new framework to explain organic and local food purchase behaviour.

Introduction
Consumer interest in organic and local foods has exhibited continued growth for the past two decades. Organic food sales in the US have grown at a rate of approximately 20% per year from $1 bn in 1990 to $17 bn in 2006, currently representing about 2.5% of all food sales (Dimitri and Greene, 2002; Klonsky and Greene, 2005; Organic Consumers Association, 2007; Organic Trade Association, 2007). Outlets for local foods such as farmers markets and community-supported agriculture (CSA) have grown similarly in the US. CSA or box schemes are a direct buying contract between consumers and a local farmer in which the consumer pays upfront for periodic (often weekly) deliveries of food throughout the growing season. The concept was introduced to the US in 1984; by 2006 the number of CSA farms had reached 1140 (Robyn Van En Center, 2006). The number of US farmers markets more than doubled between 1994 and 2006, from 1755 to 4385 [US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Marketing Service, 2007]. The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of why consumers buy organic and/or local foods. Economic theory would point to rising incomes and changes in preferences, the latter proxied by demographic characteristics. Studies to develop economic and demographic proles of organic and local food purchasers have produced conicting results (e.g. Govindasamy and Italia, 1999; Wang and Sun, 2003; Zhang et al., 2006). This may be because of the studies being at different times and places, or it may be that demographic characteristics are poor proxies of preferences. Investigators delving beyond demographics have found differences in motivations for buying organic and local foods including concerns about personal health, the environment

and the local economy (Dimitri and Greene, 2002; Harper and Makatouni, 2002; Zepeda and Leviten-Reid, 2004), interest in cooking and lack of religious afliation (Zepeda and Li, 2007). Given the qualitative nature of data to address what motivates shoppers to buy organic or local foods, semi-structured interviews of food shoppers are conducted. The questions investigate ndings of previous studies (e.g. Dimitri and Greene, 2002; Harper and Makatouni, 2002; Zepeda and Leviten-Reid, 2004; Zepeda and Li, 2007). Existing theories on environmentally signicant consumer behaviour explain some of what is found. However, the ndings point to some gaps in current theory. A theoretical framework (dubbed Alphabet Theory) based on current consumer theory and modied to address these gaps is presented to explain organic and local food purchases.

Relevant consumer theory

The Health Belief model (Kirscht, 1974) can be used to frame decisions about diet that are health motivated; behaviour is driven by the trade-off of the perceived threat of a disease and the perceived benets minus any barriers or costs of the dietary change. This trade-off is inuenced by cues to action such as media campaigns or expert advice. While there is evidence that some organic food shoppers are motivated by health concerns, they are also motivated by environmental concerns (Dimitri and Greene, 2002; Harper and Makatouni, 2002). Local food shoppers are driven by environmental (distance travelled) as well as community (economic and social) concerns (Zepeda and Leviten-Reid, 2004). Because motivations for organic or local food purchases extend beyond personal health concerns, may be different and can be
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viewed as a subset of general environmental concerns, relevant theory is drawn from the environmental behaviour literature. Stern (2000) provides a theoretical framework for environmentally signicant behaviours in general, of which organic and local food purchases are examples. Stern et al.s (1999) Value-BeliefNorm (VBN) theory is prominent in Sterns (2000) framework. VBN is used to explain several categories of behaviours: activism, non-activist public sphere behaviours (such as memberships, supporting policies), private sphere behaviours (such as recycling or buying organic foods) and behaviours within organizations (such as promoting energy efciency). VBN theory encompasses three other theories used to explain environmentally signicant behaviour: value theory, the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) and normactivation theory. Value theory (Schwartz, 1994) essentially proposes that values underlie actions. The New Economic Paradigm (Dunlap and Van Liere, 1978) is a 12-point scale of environmental questions that measures the degree to which one agrees with the world view of the spaceship earth metaphor, i.e. the need to limit growth and be in balance with nature. Dunlap et al. (2000) have updated the NEP to a 15-point scale. Norm-activation theory (Schwartz, 1977) in the context of environmentalism implies that moral norms are activated when individuals become aware of adverse consequences (AC) to themselves and others, and accept responsibility (AR) that their actions can avert these consequences. The Health Belief model is consistent with the more general norm activation theory; the latter permits motivation of organic food purchase to avoid adverse personal health consequences and/or adverse environmental consequences. Overall, VBN theory asserts that values (value theory) directly determine beliefs (NEP, AC, AR), which in turn affects norms (normactivation theory), and this determines behaviours. White (1967) proposed a direct link between a particular set of VBN and environmental behaviours. He claimed that Christian theology is distinctly anti-environmental and Western technology and science were forged in and continue to maintain, however unwittingly, the Christian ethic of dominion over nature. Researchers investigating whether religious beliefs play a role in environmental concerns and behaviours have found evidence to support Whites views (Eckberg and Blocker, 1989; Schultz et al., 2000; Zepeda and Li, 2007). Empirical testing of VBN theory has shown that while it did signicantly better at explaining pro-environmental behaviours than the individual theories, it was able to explain less than onefth of the variation in consumer behaviour (Stern et al., 1999). Stern (2000) notes that empirically, attitudes matter only when there are no direct impediments or facilitations to the behaviours, while Kirscht (1974) states in reference to the Health Belief model, attitudes have rarely been demonstrated to predict specic behaviors . . . situational forces provide powerful constraints on behavioral expression of more general beliefs. Put into economic terms, all bets are off when there are costs or benets associated with the behaviors. Stern offers VBN theory as an approach that is best suited for explaining environmentally supportive attitudes and proposes Guagnano et al.s (1995) Attitude-BehaviourContext (ABC) theory to explain behaviours. This theory proposes that attitudes affect behaviour when context is neutral. Context includes policies, regulations, costs and other exogenous inuences. Schultz et al.s (2000) ndings are consistent with context trumping attitudes; while religious beliefs adversely affect
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environmental attitudes, they found no statistical difference on environmental behaviours. The ABC theory can be used to explain why studies nd conicting results for many demographic variables. While demographic variables might inuence values, beliefs and norms, ABC theory would argue that these attitudes would only be signicantly correlated with behaviours depending upon context. How then does one explain why education is one of the few demographic variables to consistently be associated with organic or local food purchase, while income is not (Yiridoe et al., 2005; Li et al., 2007)? It may be that education is measuring ones level of knowledge and information seeking. Certainly, marketers hope that information inuences behaviour.

Methods
To investigate why consumers buy organic and local foods and assess the relevance of VBN and ABC theories, semi-structured interviews were chosen. Given our interest in the lived experiences, values and beliefs of respondents, the interviews allow time for extensive probing, avoid group think, and avoid placing the interviewee in a position where he or she may be reluctant to reveal his or her inner thoughts because of the presence of others. Interviews were conducted during the period from October 2006 to February 2007 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. A convenience sample was recruited from a variety of sources to target specic ethnic and income groups: a South-East Asian gardening community, an AfricanAmerican church group, members of a Slow Food convivium (to target higher-income participants) and shoppers at a food co-op (to target lower-income participants). Potential interviewees were informed that they would be interviewed about their eating and food shopping habits the recruitment materials contained no mention of organic or local food to avoid sampling bias. No compensation was offered or given, and all respondents above the age of 18 were accepted. The rst 25 respondents to the recruitment effort were interviewed. Interviewing was stopped after 25 because the responses were very repetitive. The second author conducted all the interviews in a location of the interviewees choice. The most common locations were public (16, or 64%, of the interviews), with the remaining held in the interviewees home. All interviews began with information on the general nature of the research being conducted and the signing of a university-approved informed consent form. The interviews averaged 44.6 min, were digitally recorded and transcribed. The interviews were open-ended but followed a general set of questions (see Appendix 1). The resulting data were analysed for content, themes and patterns. The respondents were categorized into groups: heavy organic buyers (HOB), light organic buyers (LOB) and nonorganic/conventional buyers (NOB). These were based upon their narratives regarding the frequency and the proportion of their food purchases that are organic (see Table 1).

Motivations for buying organic foods

Consistent with VBN theory and with empirical ndings (Dimitri and Greene, 2002; Harper and Makatouni, 2002; Zepeda and Leviten-Reid, 2004), organic food shoppers almost universally cite protection of the environment and health through avoidance of

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Table 1 Summary of interview results Intensity of intentional organic consumption Heavy (11 interviewees) Reason for buying organic Avoid pesticides/hormones Avoid soil degradation Quality/taste Better animal treatment Avoid spread of disease Nutritional value is higher None of the above mentioned Specically mentioned impetus to buy organic Birth of children Death of a loved one Health issue in the family None of the above mentioned Reasons people do not buy organic Price/value issue Lack of knowledge of benets Cynical/do not trust the labels Habits/stuck in routine Lack of convenience or inability to cook Other None of the above mentioned Respondents dominant stereotype of organic food consumers Hippy Yuppy Both hippy and yuppy Foodie Not discussed Reason for buying local Concerns over wasted fuel Supporting local economy Trust issue/anti-corporate Avoid spread of disease National food security Quality/freshness Animal treatment Specic regions are better for specic foods Treatment of workers Adds uniqueness to a region Treatment of the land Average number of reasons discussed Not discussed/do not buy Average number of food outlets mentioned Shop at farmers market Reason for shopping at farmers market Interaction with farmers (social) Interaction with farmers (informational) Entertainment/ambiance Fresh/quality produce Other Average number of reasons discussed Not discussed/do not buy Dietary restrictions in the home Vegetarian Gluten intolerance Anaemia issue with child High cholesterol Light (7 interviewees) Rare or none (7 interviewees)

11 4 6 2 0 3 0 2 1 2 7 10 2 4 1 1 3 1 2 4 4 1 0

(100%) (36%) (55%) (18%) (0%) (27%) (0%) (18%) (9%) (18%) (64%) (91%) (18%) (36%) (9%) (9%) (27%) (9%) (18%) (36%) (36%) (9%) (0%)

5 2 2 3 1 0 1 1 0 2 4 4 5 4 1 4 3 0 1 3 1 1 1

(71%) (29%) (29%) (43%) (14%) (0%) (14%) (14%) (0%) (29%) (57%) (57%) (71%) (57%) (14%) (57%) (43%) (0%) (14%) (43%) (14%) (14%) (14%)

1 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1 0 6 6 4 3 1 1 0 1 5 0 1 0 1

(14%) (0%) (0%) (0%) (14%) (0%) (71%) (0%) (14%) (0%) (86%) (86%) (57%) (43%) (14%) (14%) (0%) (14%) (71%) (0%) (14%) (0%) (14%)

5 (45%) 11 (100%) 8 (73%) 2 (18%) 1 (9%) 7 (64%) 3 (27%) 0 (0%) 2 (18%) 2 (18%) 1 (9%) 3.8 0 (0%) 4.1 8 (73%) 7 (64%) 6 (55%) 6 (55%) 5 (45%) 2 (18%) 2.5 1 (9%) 4 0 0 0 (36%) (0%) (0%) (0%)

4 (57%) 6 (86%) 5 (71%) 1 (14%) 1 (14%) 2 (29%) 2 (29%) 0 (0%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 0 (0%) 3.4 0 (0%) 3.6 4 (57%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 4 (57%) 3 (43%) 2 (29%) 1.7 1 (14%) 2 0 2 0 (29%) (0%) (29%) (0%)

0 (0%) 3 (43%) 0 (0%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 3 (43%) 0 (0%) 2 (29%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 2.2 2 (29%) 2.9 3 (43%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 2 (29%) 3 (43%) 1 (14%) 1.3 4 (57%) 0 2 0 2 (0%) (29%) (0%) (29%)

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Table 1 Continued Intensity of intentional organic consumption Heavy (11 interviewees) Sodium issue None mentioned Age when cooking began Child Teen College-aged Adulthood Not discussed Reason for starting to cook Necessity Pleasure Not discussed Passionate about/enjoys cooking Yes No Not discussed Specically mentioned relying on other people for food knowledge Gendera Male Female Agea,b Under 30 3050 Above 50
a

Light (7 interviewees) 1 (14%) 2 (29%) 4 2 0 1 0 (57%) (29%) (0%) (14%) (0%)

Rare or none (7 interviewees) 0 (0%) 3 (43%) 3 1 2 0 1 (43%) (14%) (29%) (0%) (14%)

0 (0%) 7 (64%) 3 3 3 2 0 (27%) (27%) (27%) (18%) (0%)

5 (45%) 6 (55%) 0 (0%) 7 3 1 3 (64%) (27%) (9%) (27%)

4 (57%) 3 (43%) 0 (0%) 7 0 0 3 (100%) (0%) (0%) (43%)

4 (57%) 2 (29%) 1 (14%) 3 4 0 5 (43%) (57%) (0%) (71%)

2 (18%) 9 (82%) 0 (0%) 6 (55%) 5 (45%)

2 (29%) 5 (71%) 1 (14%) 6 (86%) 0 (0%)

3 (43%) 4 (57%) 0 (0%) 1 (14%) 6 (86%)

Demographic data are included for descriptive purposes only; these variables did not emerge as analytically relevant during the coding process (Strauss, 1987). b Ages of respondents were extrapolated from responses to questions 1 and 2 in Appendix 1.

pesticides and hormones as reasons to buy organic foods (Table 1). Four of the 11 HOB mention life events (birth, death, health of family members or friends) as motivators for buying organic, e.g. I know too many people with MS and Parkinsons and breast cancer and all of these disorders that are linked to estrogenic compounds in pesticides and other compounds in pesticides and their carriers (Respondent #7, HOB). The interviews revealed a trend wherein the more organics a person consumes, the more likely he or she is to espouse environmental motivations over health concerns, particularly reduced soil degradation, as a reason for buying organic foods, [Organic vegetables] come from a healthy soil that hasnt been depleted by those chemical fertilizers or whatever, so they are just so much more nutritious and better for you (Respondent #2, HOB). The fact that nearly all the organic consumers mention pesticide concerns suggests that this is the dominant motivation for initial purchase of these types of goods, whether for personal or environmental reasons. While these attitudes are given as the main reasons for buying organic foods, using national survey data, Zepeda and Li (2007) did not nd a signicant relationship at the 5% level between personal health and organic food purchase, nor more general environmental concerns and organic food purchase. Thus, as ABC theory predicts, context may be an important mitigating factor, overriding the inuence of attitudes. The interviews reveal that heavy organic shoppers are also more likely than light organic or conventional shoppers to believe that
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organic foods are more nutritious, have higher quality, or taste better. Typical comments about organic foods were the quality of the food is just hard to beat (Respondent #8, HOB) and it just tastes better (Respondent #7, HOB). This may reect differences in VBN. It may also reect greater information-seeking behaviour; scientic research conrms that organic produce have lower pesticide and nitrate residues than conventional produce and that some organic foods have higher levels of antioxidants than their conventional counterparts (Winter and Davis, 2007). Both organic and conventional shoppers provided many reasons why someone would not buy organic foods (Table 1), the chief reason being the price differential (context in the ABC theory). However, both light organic and conventional shoppers also cited lack of knowledge of benets as an important reason, e.g. I dont know that I do [see any advantages] because, you see, I cant taste the chemicals (Respondent #23, NOB). Heavy organic shoppers cited lack of availability (context) and cynicism or lack of trust (VBN) in the organic label as reasons preventing purchase of organics foods, Most places you cant even [buy organic food], you dont have those choices (Respondent #6, HOB); Im not sure you can trust the organic label at a WalMart, considering almost everything they sell is made in China . . . is it real or is it just fantasy organic? (Respondent #5, HOB). While both organic and conventional shoppers cited price as an impediment to buying organic foods, high-income people found

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price as much of a barrier as low-income people. Yet those who buy organic are no richer than those who do not. This is consistent with a quantitative study by Li et al. (2007), who found no signicant relationship between income and organic purchase. Thus, price differential (context) represents more of an attitudinal barrier rather than a nancial barrier. Zepeda et al. (2006) make similar ndings in a focus group study; attitudes about organic prices premiums are not tied to income. The implication is that strongly held attitudes can trump context. Indeed, many organic shoppers mention dealing with the price obstacle by placing healthy food higher on their list of priorities: Im not saying that we have a lot of money, because we dont. Its how we choose to spend our money that makes a difference. (Respondent #10, HOB) The interviews investigated the possibility that stereotypes (beliefs) regarding organic food consumers inuence their purchases. Conventional shoppers tended to view organic shoppers as hippies, whereas light organic shoppers believed the stereotype to be yuppies, and heavy organic shoppers tended to view the stereotype as both or as an evolution from hippy to yuppy. As one participant put it, Its gone from hippy to hip! (Respondent #9, HOB). Many conventional and light organic shoppers viewed organic shoppers negatively, characterized by one respondent as a long-haired, weeny-armed, solstice-celebrating, tree-hugging, ower punk (Respondent #11, LOB). These emotionally laden representations are likely to be an obstacle to purchase by those for whom the implied value system is unappealing. The yuppy stereotype, more common among actual organic purchasers, although not always presented in a positive fashion, tends to be more positive and mainstream: The soccer mom. Shes concerned about pesticides and health. Shes concerned about her health, and the health of her children. She wants to be, she fancies herself more holistic, shes into massage and yoga. She thinks plastics are bad, and her husband makes a lot of money, and she likes to think that she is making a good moral choice and protecting herself and her family. (Respondent #16, LOB) Focusing specically on religion as part of VBN, participants were asked about connections between lack of religious afliation and organic food purchases. Only one of the participants thought that there might be a connection; the rest did not see any connection until they were told about the Zepeda and Li (2007) nding. Overall, participants were reserved about discussing religion but offered several ideas as to why this correlation might exist. One theme was trust in authority, characterized as God will take care of it (Respondent #11, LOB). Another theme was avoidance of ideas associated with liberals or hippies, that organic food was associated with a liberal, licentious lifestyle that is viewed with suspicion (Respondent #11, LOB). Yet another theme was that the religious have their attention and time devoted elsewhere and simply do not know about or care to gather information about food issues: it just never comes up; they are busy focusing on other aspects of their lives (Respondent #2, HOB). A theme mentioned frequently was that nonreligious people may be more open minded, that they are by nature free thinkers and hence more open to new ideas: they probably dont subscribe to a set of beliefs that they let someone else dene (Respondent #16, LOB).

Knowledge and information seeking

The VBN theory suggests that consumers begin purchasing organic foods because of a belief that these foods are better for their health. However, the theory does not incorporate information seeking to justify the higher prices of organic foods. For some, this information-seeking behaviour leads to more in-depth knowledge of organic farming practices, reinforcing pre-existing environmentalist values and increasing purchases because of the belief that an environmentalist norm can be supported through these purchases. In contrast, conventional shoppers offered few explanations of why someone might buy organic foods, reecting low levels of knowledge and information seeking about organic products. Not surprisingly, heavy organic shoppers are knowledgeable about current trends in organic food and sustainable agriculture; several are even culinary activists,1 reecting strong valuesbeliefs-norms. In addition, they are more likely to gather information from the Internet, books and cookbooks than light organic or conventional food buyers. Many heavy organic food buyers subscribe to health and wellness magazines and read books on the subject; a number of the respondents brought books with them to the interview: I read cookbooks like novels (Respondent #3, HOB). For these HOB, VBN drive information-seeking behaviour, leading to more knowledge, which reinforces attitudes. On the other hand, conventional shoppers know little about organic foods and do not go to great lengths to seek out information on food and food issues. Two-thirds report getting their information from other people. One might view this sort of advice from friends as convenience information that will reinforce social norms because it originates from their social group.

Role of habits
In addition to providing support for the VBN and ABC theories, the interviews revealed that habits play a key role in foodshopping decisions (Table 1). Organic food buyers shopped at more venues (e.g. farmers markets, direct from farmers etc.) than did conventional shoppers. These shoppers indicated that they valued knowing where their food came from and having a relationship with farmers, indicating support for values, beliefs and norms inuencing food purchase habits. Dietary restrictions were another motivation or distinction between organic and conventional shoppers. Over half of the organic shoppers were vegetarian or vegan or had a household member who was, while none of the conventional shoppers had this dietary restriction. Cooking habits were also linked to organic food purchases. Conventional food shoppers were evenly distributed among those who learned to cook as a child, teen, college age or adult. Light organic shoppers learned to cook either as a child or a teen, while heavy organic users were more likely to have learned to cook when college-aged or adult. Those who tended to learn to cook earlier in life also learned associated shopping habits earlier in life. Because many heavy organic users learned to cook later in life, they may be less affected by familial habits and may also have been exposed
1

A culinary activist is dened as someone who actively promotes local food, e.g. by providing a CSA drop-off point, organizing a local food buying club and promoting local foods in restaurants.

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to greater availability of organic foods when they began to cook. Thus, light and heavy organic shoppers share common positive attitudes towards organic foods, but habits learned early in life mediate how those attitudes are translated into actual behaviour. Being forced to cook at a young age may also inculcate an attitude of cooking as work, an attitude that has not been conducive to a desire for greater information about food. Most conventional and light organic shoppers learned to cook out of need (context), while only half of heavy organic shoppers learned out of necessity, the rest being motivated by pleasure. Interestingly, all male organic shoppers said that they learned to cook for pleasure: Meals should be fun. Families should get together around food. You know, communities should get together around food. People should be celebrating their culture through food. (Respondent #1, HOB)

Local food
While the primary focus of the interviews was to determine what motivated consumers to buy organic foods, many heavy organic shoppers wanted to emphasize local foods and sustainability instead. One participant alluded to Michael Pollans The Omnivores Dilemma by stating, I am starting to agree with the statement that local trumps organic (Respondent #15, LOB). Many of the participants viewed their food purchasing behaviour as an evolution from organic to local in response to the increasing commercialization of organic foods and industrialization of organic farming practices (knowledge) because these enterprises represent values (VBN) that are discordant with their own: Id much rather be able to give my money straight to a farmer rather than four middlemen who are all taking their cut (Respondent #1, HOB). About a third of all organic food buyers felt that local food was more desirable than organic foods. Most of these supporters explained this in terms of being anti-corporate in general, not just with respect to food production. They believed that if local food were not supported, corporations would take over the food system completely. Their preference for local over organic foods was because they perceived that corporations had already taken over organic foods. They viewed the availability of organic foods at Wal-Mart through brands like Kelloggs, etc. negatively, with typical comments like Im just suspicious of Wal-Mart. I dont trust them at all (Respondent # 6, HOB). Their perceptions of corporations as a problem came out in two ways. One was the belief that corporations do not care about consumers or the environment, obtaining the poorest-quality products at the cheapest price to ensure the most prot even if what they do is bad for their customers. For example, one participant said, industrialization of organic agriculture, its the race to the bottom line (Respondent #11, LOB), and another, When you are buying things from a company whose bottom line is to make money and have a good looking product, or an easily shippable product, you give up a lot regarding taste and so forth (Respondent #8, HOB). The other line of concern was that corporations are destroying the uniqueness and variety that used to exist in the US by driving local businesses to bankruptcy: It puts small people out of business; Wal-Mart isnt going to be buying from Joe and Mary who raise, you know, 20 acres
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or something. They are going to be buying from the big food companies that will suddenly put half a million acres into organic because they got a market for it. (Respondent #23, NOB) The overall positive perception of local foods by all participants derived from different reasons for different shoppers, but all were based on values, beliefs and norms (Table 1). Conventional shoppers supported local foods for personal and cultural reasons; they believed that local food was fresher and better and that by buying it they were supporting their local culture and people: I like the fact that its local, I feel like I am supporting the community (Respondent #24, NOB). Organic food shoppers held these same views, but many were also motivated by the belief that local food used less energy and that local producers treated their workers and animals better. One shopper purchased a particular brand of milk because he knew some of the producers and knew they treated their cows well: I feel that the milk is the same, but I care about the cows enough that I am willing to pay that much more for it (Respondent #11, LOB). A key difference between conventional and organic shoppers was that for almost all heavy organic shoppers and over half of the light organic shoppers, support for local food stemmed from distrust of corporations. In describing local food as compared with corporately produced food, participants referred to concepts of trust, integrity and people who care, attributes perceived to be lacking in the industrialized food system. One participant described her CSA farmer as a nice Amish farmer . . . hes not going to screw us over (Respondent #12, LOB). As an example of how VBN affects behaviour, the theme that local farmers take care of their land, their animals and the consumer came up independently among nearly all the organic shoppers. The participants assigned almost parental characteristics to local farmers; they viewed them as nurturing, supportive, protective people who were looking out for the participants interests and feeding them safe food. In contrast, they believed that corporations could not be relied upon to do any of this. The perception was that in the pursuit of prot, corporations were hurting the environment, hurting animals, and so they must also be hurting them. One shopper characterized it as, I feel like there are too many secrets and too much to hide and they are large enough to do so by buying up smaller companies (Respondent #25, NOB). For that reason she preferred local foods: the closer to home it is, the safer youre ultimately going to be. The importance of VBN in inuencing attitudes and ultimately behaviour is reected in the notion that especially for organic shoppers, buying local was like belonging to a family. It is a way for organic shoppers to build community by fostering community interaction not just with farmers but with other likeminded consumers at farmers markets, CSA pick-up points and local food events. Many interviewees mused fondly about such interactions: I love to meet the vendors and hear their story and how they are producing their food and its just I love the atmosphere; everybody is in a happy mood and its social and its non-commercial compared to the grocery stores (Respondent #2, HOB). If the farmer is the parental gure, the likeminded consumers can be construed as siblings. For many organic shoppers, being a local food shopper provided a sense of membership in a community and was a salient part of their identity.

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Discussion
Semi-structured interviews of food shoppers indicate support that particular values, beliefs and norms about the environment, personal health, religion and the economy shape attitudes towards organic and local foods and motivate shoppers to purchase them. By buying local food in particular, many organic food shoppers are seeking to build community and establish or renew trust with their food system through development of personal relationships with farmers and like-minded food shoppers. The interviews lend credence to overtly linking VBN and ABC theories as a framework for analysing consumer behaviour. VBN theory provides a framework for how attitudes are formulated and ABC theory describes how attitudes are transmitted or not into behaviours. The interviews revealed that habits, information seeking and knowledge also inuence consumers organic and local food purchases. Habits can inuence other behaviours, but as behaviours themselves, ones habits are inuenced by ones context and attitudes. For example, organic shoppers tended to learn to cook later in life and were less motivated by need than conventional shoppers. Thus, habits mediate between behaviour and attitudes/context. Behaviour itself can reinforce or create new habits. The interviews reveal that knowledge and information seeking are important means through which attitudes are shaped and reinforced. Many of the organic shoppers characterized themselves as information junkies; knowledge not only affects their attitudes, their attitudes motivate information seeking. Although the small sample size of this study offers little information regarding the role of demographics, the latter are often used by researchers as proxies for preferences (e.g. Govindasamy and Italia, 1999; Wang and Sun, 2003; Zhang et al., 2006) and hence can be viewed as potential inuencers of attitudes. Explicitly linking the VBN and ABC theories and introducing the elements of demographics (D), knowledge (K), information seeking (IS) and habit (H) into this theoretical framework results in the VBN-ABC-D-K-IS-H theory, or more conveniently, Alphabet Theory (Fig. 1). Incorporating Stern et al.s (1999) VBN

theory and Guagnano et al.s (1995) ABC with demographics, knowledge, information seeking and habit is consistent with the ndings of the semi-structured interviews. In particular, organic food shoppers are motivated by values, beliefs and the creation of norms. Heavy organic food shoppers actively seek information about food, which appears to reinforce their VBN system and facilitate habits and hence behaviours. Both organic and conventional shoppers view context (such as price or availability) as strongly inuencing shopping behaviour. However, because behaviour is not linked to ability to pay, price serves as a barrier reecting attitudes or habits. In other words, attitudes can override context when attitudes are strong, even when context is not neutral. Lack of knowledge and lack of information seeking about organic foods characterize conventional food buyers. Because information is readily available about organic foods, it would appear that conventional food buyers lack of knowledge and information stem from their VBN. Whether deliberate exposure to information about organic foods would increase their likelihood of buying them is an empirical question. One possibility is that information exposure might not affect their behaviour because their VBN could prevent accepting the information. Alphabet Theory offers an explanation of why education is one of the few demographic variables that is consistently correlated signicantly with organic and local food purchase. Rather than reecting demographics, education may reect knowledge and information-seeking behaviour. This would imply that in future studies, one might wish to utilize variables that directly measure knowledge and information-seeking behaviour rather than education. Alphabet Theory also provides an explanation of the distinction between LOB and HOB. This distinction stems to some extent from context (e.g. when one began cooking/came into contact with food-buying decisions), the degree of information seeking, the degree to which ones VBN system is oriented to distrusting corporations, and the degree to which one seeks to build community and personal identity through food networks. For HOB, their path has evolved from organic food buyer to local food advocate.

Knowledge

Information Seeking

Attitudes: Demographics Values Beliefs Norms Context

Habits

Figure 1 Conceptual framework of Alphabet Theory.

Behavior

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The perception by organic shoppers of buying local food as community building, almost familial, may explain why Zepeda and Li (2007) found that organic shoppers are less likely to belong to an organized religion. The sense of belonging and trust invoked by the local food community is similar to that invoked by belonging to an organized religion. For many heavy organic food shoppers, being part of a local food community was a notable part of their identity. While these interviews represent a case study, they do provide insights to develop a framework for why shoppers buy organic or local foods. Overall, the interviews indicate that these food shoppers are motivated by values, beliefs and norms that shape their attitudes towards purchasing organic and local foods. The interviews identify the importance of knowledge in shaping their attitudes about organic and local foods and of information seeking in shaping that knowledge. They also highlight the importance of habits, particularly those developed early in life, and context in mediating the impact of attitudes on their food-shopping behaviours.

Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the National Research Initiative of the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, USDA, Grant #2002-01772 and is gratefully acknowledged. The authors would like to thank all those who participated in the interviews. Gratitude is extended to the staff of the University of Washington, Friday Harbor Marine Laboratory and to the Helen Riaboff Whiteley Center, where this paper was rst drafted.

References
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Appendix 1
Interview questions
Food questions 1. Tell me about your cooking habits relative to the living situation (i.e. other people). 2. Where did your ability/lack of ability in cooking come from? 3. How long ago did you start cooking for yourself? 4. Where do you buy food?

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5. What is one of your favourite dishes to cook? What criteria are used when choosing the ingredients? Where do you get the ingredients? For those with children: 6. How do(es) your child(ren) inuence your purchases of food? 7. Do they require special meals, or do they eat the same food as you? 8. Do they help with meal planning/shopping? 9. If not mentioned: Do they have an inuence on your decision to purchase/not purchase organic food? Organic questions 10. Describe for me the typical organic food buyer. 11. If not mentioned: What about political and religious afliation. 12. Why do you think they would be religion? 13. Why might someone buy organic foods? 14. Why might someone prefer not to buy organic foods?

15. What is your history with organic foods? 16. If an organic buyer: Please rank your reasons for buying organic from most to least important. If not an organic buyer: Please rank reasons for not buying organic. Local food questions 17. Do you ever think about where your food comes from? 18. How does the source of your food impact you? 19. Does it matter if your food comes from a region near you? How? 20. How would you dene a region near you? 21. If not already answered in the rst section: Do you shop at a farmers market? Why or why not? Future directions 22. Many major food corporations are now getting involved in the organic market. What do you think of that? 23. Do you think it will affect you? Will you buy more/less?

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