Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 202 Document Number: D12122
Notes:
Online from organization. 34 pages., "State of the Plate" research during 2020 indicates that Americans have decreased their fruit and vegetable eating occasions by nearly 10 percent since 2004. Foundation suggests a behavioral framework for a path forward.
Online from publication. 3 oages,, Sponsored article summarizes IRI survey data on seasonality of potato sales, purchase levels, and shopper responses to several display strategies.
Online from periodical. 3 pages., Article reports observations from several marketers of potatoes. One marketing director observed, "We anticipate consumers will still maintain their shift to eating at home even when we approach a new normal."
Online from publication. 2 pages., Author reported on a presentation at the West Coast Produce Exposition. The speaker observed, "I think we've got a wild ride for the foreseeable future here, and noted that consumers will continue to order groceries online, and the "click and collect" model may have staing power through the crisis and beyond."
6 pages., via online journal., Sustainable agriculture is spreading in Japan in response to growing concerns about the environmental burden of the agriculture sector, but less than 1% of the total crop area for each vegetable in Japan is grown sustainably. Environmentally friendly agricultural products are produced by using organic and low-input farming techniques; low-input farming aims to reduce chemical inputs, such as fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, by half. Here, we used komatsuna (Japanese mustard spinach, Brassica rapa var. perviridis) as a model vegetable to study the environmental impact of low-input farming and ways to promote the purchase of organically and low-input farmed vegetables. We first assessed greenhouse gas emissions resulting from organic, low-input, and conventional farming of komatsuna. We also evaluated the effectiveness of providing consumers with detailed farm management and seasonality information to market organically and low-input farmed vegetables. We estimated marginal willingness-to-pay (MWTP) using choice-based conjoint analysis, based on attributes of price, fertilizer use, pesticide use, and region of origin. For seasonality, the questionnaire incorporating these attributes was conducted twice: once assuming purchasing in season, the other out of season. The greenhouse gas emissions of organic farming per area (196.7 kg CO2-eq/10 a/year) and per yield (72.3 kg CO2-eq/t/year) were less than those of low-input (322.6 kg CO2-eq/10 a/year, 120.7 kg CO2-eq/t/year) and conventional (594.0 kg CO2-eq/10 a/year, 220.7 kg CO2-eq/t/year) farming. MWTPs were highest for pesticide-free komatsuna (76.9 yen out of season, 66.2 yen in season), followed by full organic fertilizer (66.0 yen out of season, 63.4 yen in season), half organic fertilizer (35.8 yen out of season, 19.8 yen in season), and half pesticide (29.2 yen out of season, 21.0 yen in season). Consumers showed greater preference for organically and low-input farmed komatsuna out of season than in season. Consumers were more interested in pesticide information than in fertilizer and region of origin information. Our findings suggest that providing detailed cultivation and seasonality information would be a beneficial consumer communication tool to increase the market for sustainable agricultural products.
Online from publisher. 3 pages., The chief merchandising office of a New-York-City-based online grocer, FreshDirect, describes methods used for successful online food shopping experiences for prospects and continuing customers. He observes that more than 30 percent of the grocer's customers shop exclusively from their "re-shop" baskets. However, he explains ways used to give customers reasons to branch out from their normal baskets.
Via online issue. 3 pages., Results of a 2020 study by the Produce for Better Health Foundation indicate that fruit and vegetable consumption in the U.S. has declined almost 10 percent since 2004.
Online from publication. 3 pages., Author compares the produce departments of two food stores, in terms of appearance, organization, selection, and staff assistance. Emphasizes how loyal customer retention affects grocery bills, which are "everyone's single-largest bill, behind a mortgage or rent."
2 pages, Online from publication. 2 pages., Food Marketing Institute's 2020 Power of Produce Report indicated that the power of local produce is not fading. More than 50% of respondents said they would like to see a greater assortment of locally grown produce at their primary store. Great promotions, displaying items in season and eye-catching displays were identified as most effective at driving impulse purchases, which tend to involve local produce.
