Local food consumers in Wisconsin
People buy local food for many different reasons. They might believe it is fresher, healthier, tastier, or better for the environment. Or, they might be buying local to support local farmers. Local food consumers are not all the same. People also define “local” differently. To understand this complicated consumer behavior better, and to suggest messaging strategies that support local food, we surveyed Wisconsinites about their attitudes and behaviors related to on local food purchasing.
My collaborators
Dr. Bret Shaw
Dr. David Trechter
UW-River Falls survey Research Center
Research highlights
In terms of a definition of local, “Wisconsin” was the most agreed upon definition of local food. Most survey respondents (86%) agreed that food grown in Wisconsin meant local to them. Most (75%) also agreed that food grown within 50 miles and/or a one-hour drive from was “local” as well.
For people in Wisconsin, “Wisconsin” means local – 85% of survey respondents agreed that for them, “Wisconsin” meant local. Food from neighboring states? Not so much. Only 25% of survey respondents agreed food from Minnesota was local to them, for example.
Sounds simple, right? Well, there was less agreement about whether food from 100 miles away meant local – only 56% of respondents agreed. Yet…Wisconsin is hundreds of miles long. It seems as though food grown in Wisconsin gets some kind of pass, so even if food is grown a few hundred miles away, if it’s grown within the state’s borders it still counts as local. When we asked about whether food from neighboring states was local, the answer was most often a “no.” The key insight here might be that for many people, local is less about mileage and more about a feeling.
We also looked at the data with the social exposure framework in mind. We showed how information from different kinds of communication channels all contributed to normative perceptions about local food. We found that for people who go to farmers markets often, some communication channels impacted those normative perceptions less. We suggested that when information was available from first-hand experiences (i.e., attending the farmers market), information from mediated channels was less influential when it comes to forming norms.