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Consumers Split on Organic, Natural

Consumer attitudes about natural and organic products, as well as the environment, are decidedly mixed, according to Parade magazine's 2007 What America Eats Survey, which was released last week. Only 8% of respondents said it was very important for a product to be organic, vs. 34% who said it was not important at all. All-natural products carried a little more weight with respondents, 15%

NEW YORK — Consumer attitudes about natural and organic products, as well as the environment, are decidedly mixed, according to Parade magazine's 2007 What America Eats Survey, which was released last week.

Only 8% of respondents said it was “very important” for a product to be organic, vs. 34% who said it was “not important at all.” All-natural products carried a little more weight with respondents, 15% of whom said it was very important for a product to be all-natural, vs. 15% who said it was not at all important.

Similarly, recyclable packaging and having an “environmentally friendly” label were each considered very important by 12% of respondents and not at all important by 16%. However, the survey also found that 70% said it was either very likely or somewhat likely that they will purchase a product that won't harm the environment, even if it is more expensive.

Convenience foods are more important than ever to grocery shoppers, the survey found, but only 1% of shoppers said they are serving supermarket-prepared meals for their family dinners. The vast majority of respondents to the survey, 87%, said that when they do have family dinners, those dinners are home-cooked, vs. only 5% that opt for restaurant takeout for at-home family dining.

Sixty percent of respondents said they sit down to a family meal most nights or every night, while 18% said they do so “a few times a week.”

Other findings from the survey:

  • Eighty-two percent of respondents said they use convenience foods, defined as foods that are pre-made fresh, frozen/refrigerated, or canned/packaged, and 22% said they are purchasing more such products than they did two years ago.

  • More than half of all respondents, 55%, said food is never prepared in advance of the day it will be served.

  • Forty-eight percent said they use a shopping list every time they shop.