“Organic” is a word we encounter every time we visit the supermarket. It’s also one that can mean very different things to different people.
Surveys show that taste, quality, environmental concerns and perceived health and safety benefits all influence consumers’ decisions to buy organic food. But less is known about how people interpret “organic” and incorporate it into their everyday lives.
Drawing on videos recorded by consumers themselves, my new research explores how these ideas influence people’s relationships with food.
It shows how the search for food they can trust can lead shoppers from supermarkets to growers and their own gardens, with important lessons for producers, retailers and researchers.
Looking past the organic label
As in other countries, organic food in New Zealand is big business. Organics Aotearoa New Zealand’s 2025 market report showed the national organic sector to be worth NZ$1.18 billion in 2024.
While a 2020 government-led consumer survey found price was a barrier for most respondents who didn’t buy organic products, around three-quarters of all respondents still reported buying organic food or drink. So, what exactly are they paying for?
Organic agriculture is generally understood as a system that supports the health of soils, ecosystems and people. Certification helps ensure organic products meet recognised standards throughout the supply chain.
Yet my research highlighted that consumers don’t necessarily define organic food by what’s on the label.
Across three related studies, I drew on the experiences of 33 Chinese consumers of organic food, examining how trust, personal values and migration experiences shaped their food practices. While not representative of all Chinese or New Zealand consumers, the findings offer insights into how people practise organic living.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions made it difficult to observe participants’ routines. So I asked participants in one of the studies to record short videos showing their food and how they obtained it.
They could film their groceries, unpack a delivery or take the camera into their garden. I then used their videos to guide interviews, asking why they had chosen to show particular things.
The recordings highlighted how organic consumption could involve growing and sharing food as well as buying it. Some participants showed vegetables growing at home, while others presented produce from a community garden.
One person filmed her supermarket shopping. After returning to China from studying in the United States, she began buying organic products in Shanghai. Later, she started making tofu, growing bean sprouts and harvesting vegetables on her balcony.
Another person unpacked a box of produce, explaining how he’d asked the supplier to pack it tightly and use less plastic to reduce waste. Both examples showed how people’s interest in organic food influenced their everyday habits in ways that simply asking about their shopping might not have uncovered.
The videos also challenged some assumptions. One participant described himself as an enthusiastic organic consumer but showed expensive supermarket products without organic labels.
Further discussion revealed that he’d linked organic food with premium prices, luxury packaging and upmarket shops, rather than certification or production methods. His understanding differed markedly from the researchers’ definition of organic food.
The videos were selective accounts of everyday life, with participants deciding what to show. But examining those choices alongside interviews helped explain why particular products and activities felt important to them.
Why trust is key
Trust emerged as a central theme across my research – and it’s also a concern for shoppers more generally. In the 2020 survey, for instance, 21% of New Zealand respondents who didn’t buy organic products cited a lack of trust in organic claims as a barrier.
While certain participants in my research relied on certification, others placed greater faith in personal recommendations, community networks or direct relationships with growers.
Doubts about conventional food systems sometimes extended to organic claims, prompting people to change their food sources or grow and prepare more themselves. Consumers could share a desire for trustworthy food while holding very different ideas about what made it trustworthy.
For producers and retailers, the findings reinforce the need for clear information about where organic food comes from, how it is produced and how its claims are verified. For researchers, they demonstrate the value of videos and interviews in exploring consumers’ habits and attitudes beyond their purchasing decisions.
Someone who grows more of their own food might buy less from an organic retailer, all while becoming more committed to the values they associate with organic living.
Ultimately, what people do with food, what they value and whom they trust can tell us just as much about their choices as what they put in their shopping trolley.
