Effect of organic food production and consumption on the affective and cognitive well-being of farmers: analysis using prism of NVivo, etic and emic approach

• Published in: Environment, development and sustainability development and sustainability, 2024-05, Vol.26 (5), p.11027-11048
• Main Authors: Tomar, Sushant, Sharma, Neeraj, Kumar, Rupesh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adoption; Agricultural production; Anthropocene; Anthropocene epoch; cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Cognitive-behavioral factors; Cold storage; Cryopreservation; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Economic Geology; Economic Growth; Economic wellbeing; Emic and etic; Emotions; Environment; Environmental Economics; Environmental Management; Farmers; Farming; Fieldwork; Food; Food consumption; Food contamination; Food intake; Food production; Food security; Fringe benefits; Health status; Healthy food; Humans; Infrastructure; issues and policy; Natural & organic foods; Organic farming; organic foods; Peasants; Pesticides; physical health; Psychological factors; Seeds; Social well being; society; summer; Sustainable Development; transportation; villages; Well being
• ISSN: 1573-2975; 1387-585X; 1573-2975
• DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-03195-z

Extant research studies support has stressed the significance of nourishment on the physical health of humans. Some of the past academic literature has also hinted at an interconnect between food, thoughts, and action that becomes especially significant in the current era of Anthropocene. Organic farming production and consumption can not only enhance economic well-being but also promote social well-being along with subject well-being. Beyond the individual level, a community level facilitates fostering physical emotional physical and emotional ecosystems. However, several studies have inferred seemingly dubious claims about the impact of natural food intake on the mental well-being of an individual. In light of this impinging need, this first-of-its-kind study focused to search the impact of organic food consumption on the cognitive behaviour of individuals. Interview-based qualitative field research with 30 peasants’ families was conducted in two phases in the model organic village of Manj Gaon of Uttarakhand. Results indicate that organic farming has positively impacted the mental well-being of the farmers, and apart from it, physical health, food security, and financial security are the fringe benefits for native organic farmers. However, there are many bottlenecks from the policy perspective such as non-availability of organic seeds, lack of marketplaces, lack of transportation infrastructure, and almost no facility of cold storage and warehouse, especially during the time of summer season. All these significantly hamper the adoption and sustenance of organic food production and consumption. Although many farmers exhibit the attributes of subjective well-being, as an outcome, it is rooted in the consumption of organic food, because better intake leads to a better thought process and eventually the results get reflected in the form of a better human being. To conclude, better thoughts, emotions, mind, and health of a human individual and society are strongly rooted in the adoption of chemical and pesticide-free food, i.e. organic.