Globally, the organic food market is the most successful green market. Young consumers, the decision-makers of the future, are perceived as being more environmentally concerned than older cohorts. The aim of this study was to consider young consumers’ attitudes and behaviours concerning organic food, where the organic food market in the UK is more mature than in Poland. Empirical research was conducted using a web-based survey questionnaire (CAWI) with consumers (n = 973) in both countries. The associations between four constructs (general pro-social attitudes, green consumption values, receptivity to green communication, and buying behaviour) were considered using CB-SEM. We extended the model with two new constructs to explain young consumers’ purchases of organic food. UK respondents are significantly more conscious green consumers with higher environmental attitude intensity than Polish residents. Intensity of pro-environmental attitude components influences directly and indirectly the choice of organic food. People with a higher intensity of pro-environmental attitudes are significantly more likely to choose organic food. Perception of organic food influences purchases only in Poland. The components of pro-environmental attitudes and perception of organic food alone do not explain the variability in behaviour, despite a good fit of the model. This suggests that other independent variables may be of influence.

Research background: Economic growth is unsustainable. However, a circular economy has the potential to lead to sustainable development, while decoupling economic growth from the negative consequences of resource depletion and environmental degradation. The EU's strategy of climate neutralization in 2050 developed, inter alia, into a European Green Deal action plan aiming at the efficient use of resources by moving to a cleaner, circular economy. More sustainable EU food system is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal. The European Commission's goal is 25% of agricultural land to be used for organic production in 2030. The question is if it is possible to reach the objective with the use of current incentives. What else may be done to encourage European farmers to convert to organic farming? Purpose of the article: The aim of this research is to review the development of organic agriculture in Europe and the EU and to identify incentives for farmers to convert to organic farming. Methods: First of all, the methodological approach is to iteratively review the existing literature to frame the problem. Secondly, the data on organic agriculture in Europe is to be analyzed to answer the research questions. The analysis is based on international statistics, mainly collected by FiBL, IFOAM, EC Agri-food data portal and Eurostat..Fitting the trend functions to the actual data has been made in three scenarios (pessimistic, realistic and optimistic). These trend functions were used for the long-term forecasts of the share of organic farmland in the EU. Findings & value added: The long-run forecast might be treated as a goal, which can motivate to act more intensively to achieve the objective. The existing measures, including organic farming payments, are not sufficient to meet the goal of massive increase in the acreage under organic production. It is necessary to develop new incentives e.g. Green Public Procurement, innovative and effective media campaigns, development of a dynamic network of actors within the organic food supply chain with the use of blockchain technology.

The main objective of the study was to compare young consumer purchasing behaviour towards organic food in Poland (PL) and the United Kingdom (UK), countries with different levels of organic market maturity. The study was conducted by means of an online survey questionnaire during the COVID-19 pandemic between December 2020 and February 2021. The sample consisted of 862 PL and 161 UK consumers. 31% of PL respondents and 58.4% of UK respondents indicated they purchase organic products. Descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test and the two proportion Z test were used for statistical analyses. The results indicate that young consumers pay particular attention to the freshness and quality of consumed products. Concern for their own health and that of their loved ones, as well as the desire to eat better-quality products were the main motivations for the respondents to purchase organic products. Organic vegetables and fruits, eggs, dairy products, and meat and meat products, were among the most frequently purchased products in the studied cohorts. Experts (e.g., a dietitian, physician) were declared to be the first source of information concerning food products for young consumers. Next, family members were indicated. Social media content (PL respondents) and information from websites managed by institutions (UK respondents) were mentioned as the third source. UK consumers preferred short supply chains. The present study can be used by government bodies and companies to select the most effective communication channels for education and advertising and to develop effective commercial strategies aimed at young consumers.

Barter exchange is a system of swapping goods or services for other goods or services in a moneyless and direct manner. Barter has become an effective model of a circular economy because it reduces the consumption impact. Bartering maximizes the utility of assets and existing resources, and can unleash the unspent social, economic, and environmental value of underutilized assets. The present article analyzes the price-setting newsvendor problem with a barter exchange option. The retailer facing a stochastic price-dependent demand sells a product on the market and, additionally, needs another product for its own purposes. Therefore, first, the retailer trades the unsold product for the product it needs by means of barter, and next disposes of the unsold product at a discounted price at the end of the selling season. The retailer’s optimal order quantity and optimal price are derived assuming additive uncertainty in demand. This type of demand function has special characteristics, for example, the actual demand may attain negative values in times of economic uncertainty. The possibility of negative demand realizations is taken into consideration in the study. It proves that, in certain cases, the optimal solution belongs to the set of high barter prices which implies that the actual demand may be negative.