Information and Consumer Choices - Two Stories

Two stories on the role that information can play in influencing our choices caught my eye today.

The first is a new report from the Food Standards Agency that claims that there is little difference in nutritional value and no evidence of any extra health benefits from eating organic produce. Given that organic food in most of the major supermarkets carries a price premium, will more people decide that, leaving aside ethical and environmental considerations, the supposed health benefits from organic produce has been exaggerated? The recession has made life tough for organic farmers; this report will do little to help them, no surprise that one of the leading stakeholders, the Soil Organisation has laid into the report!

The second is a damming report on the health effects of tanning machines from the International Agency for Research on Cancer - reported here by the BBC - that claims that sunbed use is on a par with smoking or exposure to asbestos. Again an industry stakeholder the Sunbed Association has been quick in putting forward a defence.

Information failure is a key cause of market failure. I suspect that consumers who enjoy flaunting their organic credentials and who swan around with a fake tan have both been conned for many years and spent a small fortune in the process!

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