Consumers' Attitude Toward Ethical Food: Evidence from Social Farming in Italy

The article focuses on the opportunities to market products of the so called social farms, i.e., farms that are involved in fostering rehabilitation, work integration and social inclusion. Empirical evidence on consumers’ awareness and attitudes about social farm foods (SFF) are presented with reference to a survey conducted among two different groups of Italian consumers. The main findings are: (1) consumers with a strong concern for ethical issues and critical consumerism are very much interested in SFF; (2) people joining consumer buying groups are more likely to buy SFF; (3) lack of information on these farm activities seems to be, at the moment, the major limiting factor of consumer consideration of buying SFF; (4) direct personal interaction with the farm, and its nonprofit nature, resulted in a more trustworthy guarantee of this credence.