近幾年在台灣, 顧客對於購買有機食品的傾向低於在競爭市場的一般產品. 又因為2008 年的金融風暴, 導致顧客對於有機食品的價格敏感度提高, 顧客會考慮成本效益來進行購買。根據研究顯示化學農業無法避免而造成自然環境的資源跟土壤的破壞, 影響到食物品質跟衛生。而有機食品具有一般食品所沒有的整合性農業處理過程, 且ATOAP有機認證標準在有IFOAM跟USDA的設定的法規下整合. 缺乏有獨自的特性, 因為季節性跟資源性的問題，法定標準是含有瑕疵的，加上 2011 跟 2013發生了食品安全事件, 導致消費者食品存有懷疑心態跟購買信心。而且資源跟有機農業的限制使得消費者對有機認證的過程有一定程度的在意。因此在本研究中，我會針對台灣消費者去了解他們的認知和意識對於認證標準做評估. 研究過程會討論消費者的三種特性: 關懷, 認知, 偏好。本研究結果只判定消費者所對有機食品的認知為顯著而產生認證標章及認證過程的懷疑心態影響了購買信心。

Of the prior years in Taiwan, consumers’ tendency to purchase organic products had been frequently low in competitive markets with conventional products. Having high level of sensitivity to higher price premiums of organic marketing due to the influence of global financial decline back in 2008, consumers have been relying on cost-effective approach to their purchasing. However, studies proven that the concept of chemical farming cannot avoid the damage that impacts the ecological resources and land that are associated with conventional agricultural systems and management. Some scales of certified organic farming in Taiwan that were known to have little or no pesticides have not matched the required standards of IFOAM and USDA. Though Taiwan has enforced its own ATOAP standards onto domestic agriculture, the policies have not been clearly noted. Also, the food scandal of 2011 and 2013 troubled most consumers’ purchase confidence of conventional cheaper products. The limitation to food quality certification assurance and resources to develop fully organic farming access to health benefits pose concerns to the standards that are not addressed through the organic certification process. In this study, I evaluated the consumers in Taiwan about their knowledge and awareness of the organic certification process, whether influencing their perception, and the motives for purchasing organic foods. The process of study will discuss the consumers’ insufficient general knowledge about Association of Taiwan Organic Agriculture Promotion and its certification standards proposes that their understanding of organics, concerns, and preferences of the organics may result in skepticism which originated from their skeptical beliefs in the conventional products.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Introduction	
1.1	Research Background	1
1.2	Soil Structure	2
1.3	Organic Standards	3
1.4	Plasticizer and Food Scandals	5
1.5	Organic Agriculture, Market, and Supply Chain	7
1.6	Organic Consumers	10
1.7	Research Intent	11
1.8	Research Objectives and Procedures	12
		
Chapter 2 Literature Review	
2.1	Skepticism of Organic Certification	15
2.2	Consumer Education	17
2.3	Concern for the Environment	18
2.4	Concern for Food Safety	19
2.5	Health and Nutritional Concern	21
2.6	Nostalgia	22
2.7	Concern for Taste Preference	23
2.8	Trust and Skepticism Motives	24
		
Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1	Conceptual Framework	26
3.2	Survey Design	27
3.3	Data Collection	28
3.4	Survey Mainframe	33
3.5	Data Analysis	40
		
Chapter 4 Data Results and Analysis	
4.1	Descriptive Statistics	43
4.2	Reliability Analysis	47
4.3	Correlation Analysis	48
4.4	Regression Analysis	50
4.5	Data Result	53
		
Chapter 5 Conclusion and General Discussion
5.1	Knowledge		55
5.2	Broader Implication	57
		
Reference	60
Appendix	64
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 1.1	2006 List of Organic Companies	8
Table 2.1         Motives of Trust and Skepticism	24
Figure 3.1	Research Framework	26
Table 3.2	Control and Operational Definition	37
Table 4.1	Descriptive Statistics	43
Table 4.2	Cronbach’s Alpha	47
Table 4.3	Pearson’s Correlation	48
Table 4.4	Linear Regression with Moderator	50
Table 4.5	Hypothesis Statement Result	53

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