Locally Grown Produce Preferred

Study shows that freshness beats organic.

According to a nationwide survey of more than 1,600 people, 75 percent of consumers prefer locally grown produce and meat, regardless of whether pesticides or antibiotics were used in their production. The study, conducted by researchers at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University, showed that consumers were most responsive to labels that indicated the products were the most fresh and spent the least amount of time traveling from farm to store. In addition, 25 percent of respondents said they would pay as much as 6 to 15 percent more for such products.

Researchers also conducted a smaller study of grocery managers, meat locker managers and food distributors with similar results.

"The term 'locally grown,' when combined with 'family farms,' appears to be a powerful marketing message," states Rich Pirog, Leopold Center Marketing and Food Systems coordinator, in a Dec. 1 announcement at the Leopold Center. "Consumers said that if price and appearance were equal, they would choose products with these features over organic options."

As part of the survey aimed at helping to refine food "ecolabels," consumers responded to label prototypes for grapes that conveyed information on their origin, the distance from the grape farm to point of sale, the transport method and the environmental impact of its transport measured by the amount of fuel emissions, according to the announcement.