Consumer food safety concerns and interest in pesticide related information was measured by personal interviews with 479 consumers in 14 counties in California. Although concern about pesticide safety was noted by almost half of the respondents, nutritional considerations had the greatest impact on food selection criteria. Of those who volunteered pesticide safety concerns, 15% indicated they sought organic produce and 13% said they avoided or reduced produce purchases. In addition to information about the human health effects of pesticide use, consumers expressed high interest in the environmental effects of pesticide use. Consumers currently use television and newspapers as information sources and prefer these to other sources. segment on 60 Minutes claiming that children were at high risk of cancer due 'Correspondence should be addressed to Christine M. Bruhn, Center for Consumer Research, University of California, Davis, CA 95616.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Hispanic consumer acculturation on concerns about food safety and pesticide residues, and attitudes toward pesticide‐related agricultural practices. Two 3‐min bilingual, English and Spanish, videos presenting information on integrated pest management (IPM) farming practices were shown in controlled settings to Californian Hispanic consumers (n = 91). Findings reveal that acculturation among Hispanic consumers, language of use and length of residency in the United States, are significant factors associated with consumer concerns about the safety of domestic grown and imported produce at the supermarket. Overall, however the research suggests a substantial lack of information by Hispanic consumers regardless of level of acculturation. Pre‐ and post‐video survey results show significant change in attitude among Hispanic consumers toward food safety, farming practices, and university efforts to help farmers control pests and assist with other management techniques. These findings suggest that bilingual educational programmes on food safety and the use of pesticides by farmers would be appropriate.
Following a review of the history and organization of farmers' markets in Costa Rica, a comparison was made of prices offered to consumers at farmers' markets, produce markets and supermarkets in Costa Rica. Findings reveal there are substantial price savings to Costa Rican consumers that shop at local farmers' markets for fruit and vegetables compared to produce markets and supermarkets.
The objective of this study was to identify Hispanic consumer pesticide-related food safety concerns, present information on efforts to reduce pesticide use, and determine the impact on consumer attitudes toward food safety. There were significant changes in the attitudes of Hispanic consumers pre-and post-video towards food safety, farming practices, and university efforts to help farmers control pests and assist with other management techniques. These findings suggest that although Hispanic consumers are gener-
JOURNAL OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE 138ally confident in the safety of produce in the U.S.A., nevertheless they have stopped consuming certain fruits and vegetables due to food safety concerns. Hispanic consumer concerns were significantly reduced following the viewing of the Integrated Pest Management videos, suggesting that additional information and bilingual education programs on food safety and the use of pesticides by farmers will have a positive impact on consumer attitudes.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.