Frequenters of organic fairs: consumption and gender relations in Brazilian territories

Abstract

One of the marketing channels for organic products in large cities are organic and agroecological fairs, whose expansion has allowed greater accessibility for the population to healthy foods. There seems to be an increase in the search for and consumption of organic products by the Brazilian population. This panorama can be evaluated as a resource for health and food security. Considering this scenario, the objective of the present study was to identify who are the goers of organic fairs, in addition to analyzing whether they identify women as participants in the process of producing the food that is sold in these spaces. Through a structured questionnaire, answered online by 185 people from different states of the country, it was possible to characterize the target population. In this study, 84.4% of respondents identified themselves as female. People with a graduate degree and monthly income between medium and high are those who visit organic fairs more frequently. They are interested in buying healthy food, and in purchasing fresh products, sold in short circuits, in addition to being motivated to support environmental care and sustainability. Only a portion of 32.7% of respondents identifies the role of women in production and marketing in the context of agroecology. It is concluded, therefore, that a discourse that does not make visible the role of women, still prevails in society, even if their participation in agroecological production is wide.