Environmentally sustainable food production and marketing - Opportunity or hype?

Purpose - To identify and analyse the beliefs of value-chain intermediaries regarding the production and marketing of food products conforming to environmentally sustainable standards. Design/methodology/approach - The methodology was in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face inter-views with senior managers of food companies across the value chain. Findings - In Australia, the demand for foods that are produced under environmentally sustainable standards has been slow to take-off because customers do not perceive these products as offering any special benefits; customers distrust the claims made by organisations; these products are much more expensive than traditional products, and the implementation of environmental standards is expensive. Customers claim that the use of different terminologies such as organic, green and environmentally friendly in promoting food products is confusing. Research limitations/implications - Findings are not generalisable because the study is based on a small sample. Practical implications - Value-chain intermediaries are unlikely to voluntarily adopt environmental standards because of low demand for such foods and the high costs of adopting and monitoring environmentally sustainable production and marketing regimes. Originality/value - The story supports previous research findings from the USA and EU.