Center for Agroecology

This research brief reviews the findings from multiple regression analysis of date from a consumer survey on interest in food system issues. Three topics were analyzed, 1) preferences for alternative ‘ecolabels’, 2) willingness to pay for strawberries with criteria for a living wage and safe working conditions for farmworkers, and 3) interest in education topics. Variables included in these analyses were gender, age, ethnicity, income, education, frequent sourcing of local food, and frequent purchasing of organic food. Also tested, and included where statistically significant (p < .05) in at least one model, were the following variables: households with children and level of agreement with the following statements, “I try to consider how my purchase(s) will affect the environment,” “There isn’t much that an individual consumer can do about environmental problems” and “Most people don’t care about how their food is produced.” All of these variables were dichotomous (i.e. binary choices like yes or no) with exceptions of age, which had a range of 20 to 99, and those that asked for agreement with statements above, which were measured on a scale from 1 to 7.