Consumer evaluation of food from pesticide-free agriculture in relation to conventional and organic products

A challenge facing agriculture is the need to increase food production while at the same time reducing negative sustainability-related consequences. The use of synthetic chemical pesticides in conventional agriculture, which dominates worldwide, is particularly critical in terms of sustainability. Pesticide-free agriculture, which dispenses with synthetic chemical pesticides and uses mineral fertilizers, is an option that ensures sufficient yields and is associated with beneficial sustainability-related consequences. For the establishment of pesticide-free agriculture, knowledge about the evaluation of food from this agricultural system is central. The aim of the study was to analyze how consumers perceive food from pesticide-free agriculture in relation to established products from conventional and organic agriculture. By means of an online questionnaire, 559 German consumers were surveyed. Three products (fruit, vegetables, and cereals) were evaluated by the participants depending on the agricultural system in which they were produced (conventional, organic, and pesticide-free agriculture). Four criteria (health value, naturalness, environmental effects of production, and trustworthiness) were used for evaluation. The analyses show that fruit, vegetables, and cereals from pesticide-free agriculture were perceived as significantly healthier, more natural, more environmentally friendly produced, and more trustworthy than conventional alternatives. Although food from organic farming fulfills various requirements that go beyond the absence of pesticides, there were no significant differences between organically produced and pesticide-free fruit, vegetables, and cereals regarding the evaluation criteria. The organic and pesticide-free product variants were rated as above-average healthy, natural, environmentally friendly, and trustworthy. Overall, it is evident that consumers perceive pesticide-free foods as more advantageous compared to conventional products; there is a clear differentiation. In contrast, consumers do not differentiate between organic and pesticide-free foods. Clear communication of the characteristics of pesticide-free and organic food would be important to enable consumers to make a clearer distinction between the product categories and make an informed purchasing decision.