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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to test the consumer-stated willingness to pay (WTP) of a native Texas plant fruit product, texas persimmon (Diospyros texana), for the restaurant industry, as well as for the consumer market. Farmers’ markets and restaurants specializing in either local foods, organic foods, or both were the focus of the market samples. Responses were gathered from five cities located in the geographic area of central Texas where the fruit is native including: San Marcos, Austin, New Braunfels, Wimberley, and Bastrop. About 400 quantitative survey responses were collected from farmers’ markets consumers during market days. Seven interviews collecting qualitative responses from restaurateurs provided more in-depth data on the value of the product to specialty restaurants. Restaurateurs responded positively to the texas persimmon and stated they would be willing to pay between $3.59 and $3.69/lb of texas persimmon. Results indicated the prime audience for the texas persimmon to be those who attend farmers’ markets in the age group of 25–34 years who value locally produced foods and are concerned about the environment. Farmers’ market consumers were willing to pay prices similar to specialty fruit prices.
Concerns over how food is grown, harvested, processed, and shipped have led to a revitalization of the local and organic movements (Curtis, 2011). The word revitalization is used because local and organic methods were how humans fed themselves historically until the last 200 years when industrial agriculture changed the agrarian landscape (Mazoyer and Roudart, 2006). The reasoning behind a resurgence of these ideas is that many of the diseases of civilization, such as diabetes, heart conditions, and high cholesterol, originated from a Western industrialized diet (Diamond, 1997). Some interested in a better diet, and a closer relationship with their food sources have begun to support small, local farmers rather than large-scale food corporations (Curtis, 2011). This alternative to industrial food comes with a higher price for the consumer, individually or combined, as higher food costs and increased effort to purchase noncorporate food (Curtis, 2011).
The crops grown by these small farmers tend to still be the same crops grown by the large corporations, just on a smaller scale. Most of this produce is not native to where it is being grown. A native or indigenous...