Journal articles on the topic 'Food consumption – Environmental aspects'
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Mlček, Jiří, Anna Adámková, Martin Adámek, Marie Borkovcová, Martina Bednářová, Lenka Kouřimská, and Veronika Hlobilová. "Selected aspects of edible insect rearing and consumption – A review." Czech Journal of Food Sciences 39, No. 3 (June 29, 2021): 149–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.17221/288/2020-cjfs.
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The presented work brings a comprehensive study of edible insect farming with an impact on the environment and human health. The review focuses not only on commonly monitored parameters such as carbon footprint or feed conversion but also on waste management. It also highlights the positive and negative aspects of eating edible insect regarding human health. Compared to other livestock, the rearing of edible insect brings less environmental burden and higher environmental protection. This review aimed to summarise current knowledge and broaden the complex view of the issue.
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Ruscheva, Darina. "ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD PRODUCTS." Trakia Journal of Sciences 17, Suppl.1 (2019): 324–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.15547/tjs.2019.s.01.053.
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The purpose of the report is to assess the main environmental aspects of the food products industry in Bulgaria. It focuses on the quantitative dimensions of food products and the opportunities for satisfying their consumption in the country; observance of ecological requirements during the production process, at the entrance and at its exit, as well as in the other units of the food chain: production-storage-transport-realization-consumption. The main result of the study is to outline problems and justify their causes. The conclusions are in the context of national food security, enhancing the competitiveness of the food products, protecting the environment and improving the quality of life and the agricultural policy pursued in the country.
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Malinowska, Ewa. "Using the Concept of the Weighted Ishikawa Diagram for Defining the Impact of Catering Enterprises on the Environment." Equilibrium 5, no. 2 (December 31, 2010): 165–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/equil.2010.033.
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Every organization uses the various resources to achieve its aim. Among them are those that are taken from the environment, for example, energy carriers, or water. As a result of organization’s activity, some pollution is emitted to the water and atmosphere. In Poland at the moment it is seen that there is high growth rate in services in the field of institutional food that is legally obliged by polish law to implement and maintain institutional food safety system (HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points). The organizations that implement HACCP cause as well the environmental loads that have negative impact on environment. Concerning above mentioned issue, the article undertakes a study on the answer of the question, which environmental aspect closely connected with the maintenance of the HACCP system in an institutional food service unit, has the largest impact on the pollution of the environment. The weighted Cause and Effect Ishikawa Diagram is used as a research tool to achieve this target. Its modification that is presented in scientific literature, enables to display next to qualitative information also quantitative one. In accordance with this method “critical paths” are indicated to the most important causes that create given effect. As an effect in this article is defined – generating of environmental loads on the environment by institutional food service unit. While causes are defined as environmental aspects, characterize this organizational part of the unit that is covered by institutional food safety system. One of them is: water consumption, municipal wastes generation, energy carriers consumption: natural gas and electric energy, inorganic waste generation, cleaning supply measures consumption, the consumption of the office materials and exploitation materials to office equipment. The analysis of the quantity of particular factors that create environmental aspects show which environmental aspects have the largest impact on environment and cause its pollution. That are: water consumption, cleaning supply measures consumption and electric energy consumption.
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Ferraro, Danielle M., Richard S. Cottrell, Gordon D. Blasco, Halley E. Froehlich, and Benjamin S. Halpern. "Historical food consumption declines and the role of alternative foods." Environmental Research Letters 17, no. 1 (December 30, 2021): 014020. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac4072.
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Abstract The adoption of sustainable alternative foods could potentially reduce the environmental burden of human food production if it can reduce demand for products with higher environmental impact. However, there is little empirical evidence for how frequent food consumption declines are when alternative foods are introduced, limiting our knowledge of the potential for such introductions to drive food system transformations. Using 53 years of food supply data for 99 crop, livestock, and seafood commodities in 159 countries, we use regression analyses on 12 883 time series—each representing a single country-commodity pair—to detect sustained declines in apparent national food consumption, as well as corresponding consumption increases of other food commodities. First, we show that sustained declines in the consumption of any food item are rare, occurring in 9.6% of time series. Where declines are present, they most frequently occur in traditional plant-based staples, e.g. starchy roots, and are larger compared to animal-source foods, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where much of the future increase in food demand is expected to occur. Second, although declines were rare, we found national production rather than trade was identified as the most common proximate driver of declines in consumption, suggesting that shifts in diets have the potential to translate into reduced environmental impacts from food production. Third, we found consumption increases were nearly twice as common as declines, but only 8% of declines (from within 4% of total time series) occurred parallel to incline events within the same food group, suggesting limited interchangeability. An examination of case studies suggests that alternative foods can facilitate food system transitions, but strong relative disadvantages for existing foods across aspects of technology, markets, policy and culture need to exist in parallel to support for alternative foods across the same factors. Where existing foods are already produced in highly efficient systems, a lack of systematic disadvantage may provide a barrier to alternative foods driving change.
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Ariani, M., A. Gantina, AVR Mauludyani, and A. Suryana. "Environmentally friendly household food consumption behavior." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 892, no. 1 (November 1, 2021): 012023. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/892/1/012023.
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Abstract Natural resources, namely land and water, as the main input factors for food production have undergone degradation in quantity and quality. On the other hand, demand for food has been growing due to population increase, which requires to intensify the use of natural resources that may harm environment. One of the solutions to this problem is by managing household food consumption pattern. This study aimed to analyze current and eco-friendly household consumption behavior in Indonesia to overcome the above problem. A technical review was conducted to various nationally representative publications, mainly from Statistics Indonesia, Indonesian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture. Results of this study indicated that in 2020 the Indonesian average daily energy and protein intake has met the recommendation. However, based on Desirable Dietary Pattern score, food consumption pattern was not balanced, dominated by cereals as carbohydrate food sources, while consumption of tubers, legumes, animal protein sources, vegetables, and fruits were still inadequate. Among high income households, consumption of animal products exceeded the recommendation whereas production of this food requires the highest environmental resources. Meanwhile, a large proportion of food waste are produced by household, mostly in the form of vegetables and fruits. Driving factors of household food selection were mainly based on social, economic, and cultural aspects rather than environmental consideration. Therefore, to reduce environmental damage, environmentally friendly food consumption behavior should be promoted. Government together with nutritionist and agronomists should create a grand design of food system which balances productivity, sustainability, and community nutrition fulfillment.
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Modlinska, Klaudia, and Wojciech Pisula. "Selected Psychological Aspects of Meat Consumption—A Short Review." Nutrients 10, no. 9 (September 14, 2018): 1301. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/nu10091301.
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Eating meat is deeply entrenched in Western culture. It is often associated with wealth and a highly nutritional diet; and for many people it is also an established habit that is difficult to change. The second half of the 20th century was a period of rapid growth in meat consumption, which resulted in intensified meat production. At the same time, eating meat has recently become subject to criticism for health-related, environmental or humanitarian reasons. This review aims to signal the potential consequences of a change of diet or switching to diets that are rich/poor in certain ingredients on the functioning of the hormonal and nervous system, which translates into changes in mood and behavior. This paper discusses the psychological phenomena which underlie the difficulty of changing one’s food preferences and problems encountered while adding new products to the daily diet. Finally, this study summarizes the limitations of modifying eating habits that have resulted from established attitudes and habits.
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Serra-Majem, Lluís, Laura Tomaino, Sandro Dernini, Elliot M. Berry, Denis Lairon, Joy Ngo de la Cruz, Anna Bach-Faig, et al. "Updating the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid towards Sustainability: Focus on Environmental Concerns." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17, no. 23 (November 25, 2020): 8758. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17238758.
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Background: Nowadays the food production, supply and consumption chain represent a major cause of ecological pressure on the natural environment, and diet links worldwide human health with environmental sustainability. Food policy, dietary guidelines and food security strategies need to evolve from the limited historical approach, mainly focused on nutrients and health, to a new one considering the environmental, socio-economic and cultural impact—and thus the sustainability—of diets. Objective: To present an updated version of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid (MDP) to reflect multiple environmental concerns. Methods: We performed a revision and restructuring of the MDP to incorporate more recent findings on the sustainability and environmental impact of the Mediterranean Diet pattern, as well as its associations with nutrition and health. For each level of the MDP we provided a third dimension featuring the corresponding environmental aspects related to it. Conclusions: The new environmental dimension of the MDP enhances food intake recommendations addressing both health and environmental issues. Compared to the previous 2011 version, it emphasizes more strongly a lower consumption of red meat and bovine dairy products, and a higher consumption of legumes and locally grown eco-friendly plant foods as much as possible.
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Vellinga, Reina E., Mirjam van de Kamp, Ido B. Toxopeus, Caroline T. M. van Rossum, Elias de Valk, Sander Biesbroek, Anne Hollander, and Elisabeth H. M. Temme. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Blue Water Use of Dutch Diets and Its Association with Health." Sustainability 11, no. 21 (October 30, 2019): 6027. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11216027.
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Food consumption patterns affect the environment as well as public health, and monitoring is needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the Dutch food consumption patterns for environmental (greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and blue water use) and health aspects (Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015), according to age, gender, and consumption moments. Food consumption data for 4313 Dutch participants aged 1 to 79 years were assessed in 2012 to 2016, by two non-consecutive 24-h recalls. The environmental impact of foods was quantified using a life cycle assessment for, e.g., indicators of GHG emissions and blue water use. The healthiness of diet, operationalized by the Dutch Healthy Diet index 2015, was assessed for 2078 adults aged ≥19 years. The average daily diet in the Netherlands was associated with 5.0 ± 2.0 kg CO2-equivalents of GHG emissions and 0.14 ± 0.08 m3 of blue water use. Meat, dairy and non-alcoholic beverages contributed most to GHG emissions, and non-alcoholic beverages, fruits, and meat to blue water use. More healthy diets were associated with a lower GHG emission and higher blue water use. Different associations of environmental indicators (GHG emissions and blue water use) with health aspects of diets need to be considered when aligning diets for health and sustainability.
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Abejón, Ricardo, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Jara Laso, Alba Bala, Ian Vazquez-Rowe, Gustavo Larrea-Gallegos, María Margallo, et al. "Multi-Objective Optimization of Nutritional, Environmental and Economic Aspects of Diets Applied to the Spanish Context." Foods 9, no. 11 (November 16, 2020): 1677. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods9111677.
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Current food consumption patterns must be revised in order to improve their sustainability. The nutritional, environmental, and economic consequences of these dietary patterns must be taken into consideration when diet guidelines are proposed. This study applied a systematic optimization methodology to define sustainable dietary patterns complying with nutritional, environmental, and economic issues. The methodology was based on a multi-objective optimization model that considered a distance-to-target approach. Although the three simultaneous objectives (maximal nutritional contribution, minimal greenhouse gas emissions, and minimal costs) could be divergent, the proposed model identified the optimal intake of each food product to achieve the maximal level of nutritional, environmental, and economic diets. This model was applied to six different eating patterns within the Spanish context: one based on current food consumption and five alternative diets. The results revealed that dietary patterns with improved nutritional profiles and reduced environmental impacts could be defined without additional costs just by increasing the consumption of vegetables, fruits, and legumes, while reducing the intake of meat and fish.
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Purike, Era. "Analysis Of Food System Resilience In Kampong Cireundeu, Leuwigajah, South Cimahi, Cimahi." International Journal of Environmental, Sustainability, and Social Science 1, no. 1 (April 1, 2020): 61–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.38142/ijesss.v1i1.47.
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Sustainable agriculture and food system resilience are two interrelated things where the assessment of the sustainability of social, ecological, economic and consumption aspects is the main consideration in assessing the resilience of a food system. Kampong Cireundeu is an area that has a group of people who choose staple foods made from cassava instead of rice. Food systems are exposed to natural environmental resources that can be utilized (ecological conditions), political policies and structures, consumption culture and social safety nets that exist in society. This study aims to analyze the conditions of the resilience of the existing food system in Kampong Cireundeu. The food system in Kampong Cireundeu also implements sustainable agriculture. There are four dimensions that are used to explain the resilience of the food system in Kampong Cireundeu, where all three aspects are also included in the indication of sustainable agriculture. The four dimensions are (1) Ecological Dimensions; (2) Economic Dimensions; (3) Consumption Dimensions; (4) Social Dimensions. All of these dimensions are analyzed and the authors conclude that the food system in Kampong Cireundeu is in a vulnerable condition but the choice of cassava staple food could increase the resilience of the food system.
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Liobikienė, Genovaitė, and Jānis Brizga. "Sustainable Consumption in the Baltic States: The Carbon Footprint in the Household Sector." Sustainability 14, no. 3 (January 28, 2022): 1567. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14031567.
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Sustainable consumption is one of the main aspects while implementing sustainable development goals. The main feature of sustainable consumption is the reduction of environmental impact. Thus, it is vital to understand and evaluate the environmental impact caused by consumption. In this paper, carbon footprint analyses of the Baltic States for the period of 2000–2019 were used to study sustainable consumption and pro-environmental behavior development. The results show not only how carbon footprint changes in different consumption categories (e.g., mobility, housing, food, and services), but whether it is related to changes in pro-environmental behavior as the promotion of sustainable consumption is crucial to reduce the consumption-based carbon footprint. The results from multi-regional input-output analyses show that in the Baltic States 62–71% of all the household carbon footprint is attributed to the three main consumption categories—transport, food, and housing. These categories are also responsible for 53–56% of the household expenditure. Consequently, changes in our mobility, food consumption, and housing management practices can significantly reduce the household environmental impacts. However, to minimize carbon footprints, behavioral changes are not enough; structural changes in the agro-food, housing, energy, and transport systems are also needed.
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Van Huy, Le, Mai Chi, Antonio Lobo, Ninh Nguyen, and Phan Long. "Effective Segmentation of Organic Food Consumers in Vietnam Using Food-Related Lifestyles." Sustainability 11, no. 5 (February 26, 2019): 1237. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11051237.
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The consumer purchase of environmentally friendly products like organic food is essential to environmental sustainability. This study applies the unique food-related lifestyles (FRL) approach to segment organic food consumers in Vietnam, a country in which there is increasing concern about food safety and quality. The FRL model was intentionally selected because it enables better understanding of how consumers employ food and its culinary aspects to achieve certain values in their lives. Data were obtained from 203 organic food consumers, and a two-step cluster analysis established three identifiable market segments which we named “Conservatives”, “Trendsetters”, and “Unengaged”. The Conservatives were interested in the health aspects of food and preferred natural products. The Trendsetters were interested in healthy food, liked to cook, and held a positive attitude toward organic food and local food products. The Unengaged consumers were not concerned about food-related issues, and they reported the least consumption of organic food. The findings of this study have important academic and practical implications for marketers, policymakers, organizations dealing with food, and socio-environmental organizations that aim to promote organic food consumption. Importantly, marketing efforts should focus on enhancing consumers’ knowledge about organic food and their love of cooking, as well as ensuring adequate availability of organic food.
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Strid, Anna, Elinor Hallström, Ulf Sonesson, Josefin Sjons, Anna Winkvist, and Marta Bianchi. "Sustainability Indicators for Foods Benefiting Climate and Health." Sustainability 13, no. 7 (March 24, 2021): 3621. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13073621.
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New methods for combined evaluation of nutritional and environmental aspects of food products are needed to enable a transformation of dietary guidelines integrating both health and environmental perspectives. We evaluated two sustainability aspects; nutrition and climate impact, of foods commonly consumed in Sweden and the implications of using parallel or integrated assessments of these two aspects, also discussing the usability and suitability of these food sustainability indicators in relation to Swedish dietary guidelines, industry food product development, and consumer communication. There were large differences in both nutrient density and climate impact among the different foods. The parallel assessment easily visualized synergies and trade-offs between these two sustainability aspects for the different foods. Coherence with dietary guidelines was good, and suitability and usability deemed satisfying. The integrated indicator showed better coherence with dietary guidelines than indicators based solely on nutrient density or climate impact; however, the difficulty to interpret the score limits its usability in product development and consumer communication. With both methods, advantageous as well as less advantageous plant-based and animal-based food alternatives were suggested. The two alternative methods evaluated could serve as useful tools to drive individual and societal development towards more sustainable food production and consumption.
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RATOSHNIUK, Tatiana, Alla SOKOLOVA, Viktor RATOSHNIUK, and Mykhailo MARTYNYUK. "THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF REGULATION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE PRODUCTION OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS." Herald of Khmelnytskyi National University. Economic sciences 310, no. 5(1) (September 29, 2022): 182–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.31891/2307-5740-2022-310-5(1)-30.
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The socio-economic development of Ukraine requires increasing the level of food security of the state, providing the population with high-quality and ecologically safe food products in order to preserve their health and improve the welfare of society. The safety of food for the health of the population can be guaranteed only under the condition of organizing strict quality control of food products entering the domestic market, as well as through the implementation of a stimulating policy for the production of ecological products. In this connection, there is an objective need to develop and introduce a set of coordinated organizational and economic measures, which should be based on stricter public, state and self-government control over compliance with established norms and standards regarding production technologies and be implemented at all stages of the product life cycle. An important role in this context will be played by increasing the social responsibility of business, popularization of environmentally safe and energy-saving technologies, greening of all production and consumption processes, which requires coordinated cooperation of managers, managers and employees of agricultural, agro-industrial and processing enterprises, scientists, educators and the public. The legal regulation of the agro-industrial complex of Ukraine has the greatest influence on the regulation of ecologically safe production of agricultural products. Ecological safety of agricultural products is the state of agricultural products, in which the state has established and established in current legislation mandatory safety parameters for this type of products, special sanitary and veterinary measures and requirements for both products and their producers, establishment of uniform standards safety, uniform systems of certification and marking, state control and supervision of the fulfillment of requirements and standards of environmental safety in the production and sale of agricultural products, as well as establishing norms of administrative, criminal, and civil liability for their violation. The main goals of state regulation of the agricultural sector are: guaranteeing the food security of the state; providing the population with quality food products; providing industry with raw materials; solving the problems of the economic and social nature of the development of the agricultural industry; ensuring the investment attractiveness of the agricultural sector; increasing the export potential of the agricultural sector.
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Vorne, Virpi, Lila Patrikainen, Mari Kovero, Yrjö Virtanen, Matti Verta, Elina Lice, Karin Pai, Liina Laumets, Liisa Lang, and Anne Aan. "Food choices and environmental responsibility – protect the Baltic Sea." Suomen Maataloustieteellisen Seuran Tiedote, no. 28 (January 31, 2012): 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.33354/smst.75669.
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‘The Baltic environment, food and health: from habits to awareness – FOODWEB’ is a project that aims to raise public awareness about the links between food quality and its origin, focusing on the Baltic Sea and its surroundings. Cultivation of food for humans and related production activities can impact negatively on the Baltic Sea, and aquatic food products from the Baltic Sea may cause problems to humans as a result of toxins in the marine environment. This is a circular problem in the Baltic ecosystem. The project is a part of Central Baltic IVA Programme 2007- 2013. Finland, Estonia and Latvia take part in the Foodweb-project. The population is projected to grow in Finland and decrease in Estonia and Latvia. Regarding food consumption habits over the long term, the differences diminish among the countries and result in accordance with the assumption that social, economic and political changes influence eating habits. These changes might have had an effect on eating habits, especially increased consumption of meat. Baltic Sea is generally considered one of the most polluted seas in the world. Agriculture and the food chain are largely responsible for eutrophication and pollution of waterways. Food consumption forms a significant part of the environmental load of households. In the project area we share the common concern of environment and food safety issues. Majority of the residents are concerned about toxicants found in food. Environmental aspect is coming more important when selecting the diet and increasing knowledge of food safety are taking into account in national food recommendations. The eutrophication intensity varies among different foodstuffs: beef has the highest eutrophication intensity of all meats, about three times higher than that of pork, and seven times that of poultry. The eutrophication intensity of milk is relatively low. Nevertheless, the values associated with beef and milk are partly bound together, since a significant share of beef comes from milking cows. The eutrophication impacts of plants also vary among species: grain has the highest intensity of the plant-based raw materials. The modelling shows that in Finland eutrophication can be reduced by about 7 % by changing the food consumption habits towards a recommended direction, and currently private food consumption is not far from being in accord with recommendations. The major shift, about 7 % units from protein to carbohydrates, was reached in the scenario by applying a reduction to all protein foods, and an increment to all carbohydrate foods. This is because the foods containing animal proteins have greater eutrophication potential than carbohydrate foods, and shifting from the use of protein foods to carbohydrate foods should influence the state of eutrophication. In countries with nutrient-extensive agriculture, like Estonia and Latvia, the agricultural sector needs to develop without increasing nutrient surpluses.
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Clark, Michael A., Marco Springmann, Jason Hill, and David Tilman. "Multiple health and environmental impacts of foods." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116, no. 46 (October 28, 2019): 23357–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1906908116.
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Food choices are shifting globally in ways that are negatively affecting both human health and the environment. Here we consider how consuming an additional serving per day of each of 15 foods is associated with 5 health outcomes in adults and 5 aspects of agriculturally driven environmental degradation. We find that while there is substantial variation in the health outcomes of different foods, foods associated with a larger reduction in disease risk for one health outcome are often associated with larger reductions in disease risk for other health outcomes. Likewise, foods with lower impacts on one metric of environmental harm tend to have lower impacts on others. Additionally, of the foods associated with improved health (whole grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, olive oil, and fish), all except fish have among the lowest environmental impacts, and fish has markedly lower impacts than red meats and processed meats. Foods associated with the largest negative environmental impacts—unprocessed and processed red meat—are consistently associated with the largest increases in disease risk. Thus, dietary transitions toward greater consumption of healthier foods would generally improve environmental sustainability, although processed foods high in sugars harm health but can have relatively low environmental impacts. These findings could help consumers, policy makers, and food companies to better understand the multiple health and environmental implications of food choices.
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Ghai, Sneha, Ashok Sharma, and Pinaki Dasgupta. "Is eating organic a healthy or safer option? Health claims for organic food consumption, food quality and safety – A systematic review." Indian Journal of Community Health 29, no. 4 (December 31, 2017): 340–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.47203/ijch.2017.v29i04.002.
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Universally, there has been an increased awareness about the harmful effects of chemical inputs used for production of food on soil composition, environment and human health. This has triggered the consumption level of organic food products. India has witnessed a tremendous growth in domestic as well as export market. The demand is mainly driven by consumer perceptions that organic farming is more sustainable, produces healthy food, pesticide-free and safeguards the environment & biodiversity. Organic food producers also manifests the quality and safety of food. These claims which are perceived and professed as beneficial can only be accepted if they are tested and validated. Therefore, the foremost objective of this review paper is to provide an update on set of studies related to scientific evidence for nutritional composition marking the quality of organic foods vis-à-vis conventional foods and its impact on human health. Secondly, the paper examines the comparison of the sensory quality of the organic food, and thirdly the food safety aspect of organically as compared with conventionally grown foods. Past few controlled studies have proved that there is no such evidence of differences in concentration of various nutrients amongst organic and conventional foods. Furthermore, there are certain issues related to the impact and assessment of these nutrients in organic food which requires some future directives. Owing to the heterogeneity in results observed related to nutritional quality and safety of organic foods, technological aspects together with sensory parameters are the best for future comparative studies. To safeguard the public health and to avoid the difference in sampling and sample results, testing laboratories should also be adhering to uniform standards. Organic food business in India lack standard guidelines for quality, policy framework for domestic and export market. Also, traceability is another factor which should be given prime importance to ensure removal of fraudulent practices.
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Formoso, Gloria, Caterina Pipino, Maria Pompea Antonia Baldassarre, Piero Del Boccio, Mirco Zucchelli, Nicola D’Alessandro, Lucia Tonucci, Angelo Cichelli, Assunta Pandolfi, and Natalia Di Pietro. "An Italian Innovative Small-Scale Approach to Promote the Conscious Consumption of Healthy Food." Applied Sciences 10, no. 16 (August 15, 2020): 5678. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/app10165678.
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An unhealthy diet is considered to be one of the main causes for increases in obesity and chronic diseases. Food choices are frequently influenced by food systems and environments along with the availability and affordability of healthy and sustainable food. In this context, a major contemporary challenge lies in improving these aspects in order to support healthy dietary choices. Hence, to address this issue, here, we propose a small-scale approach called SANI (Italian for “healthy”) which involves experts in science and marketing. Two typical agri-foods of the Abruzzo area (center of Italy), tomato sauce and extra virgin olive oil, are characterized as high-quality products in terms of their nutrient content, absence of chemical contaminants (chromatographic, spectrophotometric, and magnetic resonance techniques), and ecological footprint (lifecycle assessment and carbon footprint). Hence, their consumption is promoted, with strict attention being paid to several aspects of the food system, such as production, processing, distribution, labeling, and promotion, as well as marketing strategies and dissemination activities. Overall, these SANI actions, especially labeling and dissemination, have proven to be a valuable learning tool for consumers moving toward more conscious consumption, which can be extended and applied to additional food products. Future applications of similar research strategies in a wider context could positively affect human and environmental health.
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Ivashura, Andrii, Oksana Borysenko, and Maryna Tolmachova. "Sustainable eating behavior." Bulletin of the National Technical University «KhPI» Series: New solutions in modern technologies, no. 4 (10) (December 30, 2021): 88–93. http://dx.doi.org/10.20998/2413-4295.2021.04.12.
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With the growing impact of agriculture and modern food processing on the natural environment and growing concerns about all aspects of their sustainability, urgent solutions are required to promote healthy, low-impact diets. Sustainable diets are those with low environmental impact and high availability that ensure food and nutritional security. A comprehensive overview of different approaches to the analysis of sustainable eating behavior is provided. It is argued that preserving the environment is critical, including in designing programs to improve health, address inequalities in affordability, food access and availability in food system models. However, dietary advice and food policy should not be based solely on the environmental aspect of sustainability and should be carefully formulated. Economy, culture and other sociological factors should be taken into account in appropriate policies when planning ways to provide adequate nutrition to the population. It is emphasized that building sustainable food systems that support healthy communities requires a multidimensional, interdisciplinary approach. A sustainable healthy diet is based on improving the energy balance and changing the diet towards a predominantly plant-based diet, which is in line with the data on healthy eating. Updating national guidelines to reflect the latest data on healthy diets may in itself be important for improving health and reducing environmental impact, and may not only clearly define but expand the criteria for sustainability. Key principles of environmental sustainability and well-being are applied in shaping a national sustainable food strategy and are directly related to food production and consumption. To implement an integrated health and environment modeling framework, it is necessary to take different approaches to sustainable nutrition, motivating environmental, food security and public health goals. To develop a methodology for assessing indicators of sustainable nutrition, it is important to simultaneously take into account all aspects: nutritional value of products, indicators of environmental impact, availability of products, climatic, geographic and national characteristics. This methodology will allow to make competent decisions in the field of food production and consumption, will help to minimize the negative impact on the natural environment through sustainable eating behavior.
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Kuzlyakina, Yu A., Z. A. Yurchak, and B. D. Baskhamdgieva. "ANALYSIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS AT MEAT PROCESSING PLANTS ACCORDING TO ISO 14001." Food systems 2, no. 3 (October 5, 2019): 23–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.21323/2618-9771-2019-2-3-23-28.
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The purpose of this article was to represent the environmental indicators of meat production chain and highlight the main environmental aspects. Meat industry is recognized as one of the leading polluting industries in food production. Meat production chain was analyzed in terms of three levels of environmental aspects: severity of impact, probability, and the calculated quantitative estimate of the emerging aspects. Meat production requires natural resources (water and energy), which leads to the discharge of waste and wastewater. As a result, it has a major impact on climate change, consumption of natural resources and environmental pollution. Future research should focus on the environmental impact of meat production chain in terms of existing and newly developed environmental indicators and on finding solutions to reduce the overall environmental impact.
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Tekinbaş Özkaya, Feyza, Mustafa Gürol Durak, Onur Doğan, Zeki Atıl Bulut, and Rainer Haas. "Sustainable Consumption of Food: Framing the Concept through Turkish Expert Opinions." Sustainability 13, no. 7 (April 2, 2021): 3946. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13073946.
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The scarcity of natural resources together with the exponentially increasing world population has made the sustainable consumption of food (SCF) a crucial issue, as it has impacts on a variety of environmental, health, economic, and social dimensions. Considering the rarity of a holistic view in previous studies, this study aims to assess the current situation in sustainable food consumption and develop suggestions from all aspects, depending on the opinions of experts. In this direction, semi-structured interviews are conducted with 25 experts from Turkey to frame the concept of SCF, reveal the level of consumers’ awareness, and provide suggestions to support SCF implications. Experts have considered SCF from ecologic, social, economic, and health perspectives; ecologic aspects being the most important, followed by economic and social perspectives. Deficits on the consumer side are lack of awareness, unplanned shopping, and mistakes in post-consumption behavior. Lack of awareness about the consequences of meat production, difficulties in changing lifestyles and lack of motivation of adults were identified barriers to SCF. Finally, suggestions of the experts for achieving sustainability are mostly relevant to raising awareness on balanced nutrition and food waste, with the help of training programs and the efficient use of communication channels, such as social media.
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López-Gálvez, Francisco, Perla A. Gómez, Francisco Artés, Francisco Artés-Hernández, and Encarna Aguayo. "Interactions between Microbial Food Safety and Environmental Sustainability in the Fresh Produce Supply Chain." Foods 10, no. 7 (July 17, 2021): 1655. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods10071655.
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Improving the environmental sustainability of the food supply chain will help to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This environmental sustainability is related to different SDGs, but mainly to SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 12 (Responsible Production and Consumption), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). The strategies and measures used to improve this aspect of the food supply chain must remain in balance with other sustainability aspects (economic and social). In this framework, the interactions and possible conflicts between food supply chain safety and sustainability need to be assessed. Although priority must be given to safety aspects, food safety policies should be calibrated in order to avoid unnecessary deleterious effects on the environment. In the present review, a number of potential tensions and/or disagreements between the microbial safety and environmental sustainability of the fresh produce supply chain are identified and discussed. The addressed issues are spread throughout the food supply chain, from primary production to the end-of-life of the products, and also include the handling and processing industry, retailers, and consumers. Interactions of fresh produce microbial safety with topics such as food waste, supply chain structure, climate change, and use of resources have been covered. Finally, approaches and strategies that will prove useful to solve or mitigate the potential contradictions between fresh produce safety and sustainability are described and discussed. Upon analyzing the interplay between microbial safety and the environmental sustainability of the fresh produce supply chain, it becomes clear that decisions that are taken to ensure fresh produce safety must consider the possible effects on environmental, economic, and social sustainability aspects. To manage these interactions, a global approach considering the interconnections between human activities, animals, and the environment will be required.
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Dergachova, Victoriia, Serhii Smerichevskyi, Tetiana Kniazieva, and Svitlana Smerichevska. "Tools for formation and development of the environmentally friendly food products market: regional aspect in Ukraine." Environmental Economics 11, no. 1 (July 15, 2020): 96–109. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ee.11(1).2020.09.
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Utilization of modern technologies in food production causes several negative consequences having a long-term impact on public health due to the consumption of food containing components of inorganic origin. This circumstance requires the formation and development of the market of organic food in Ukraine. The paper aims to substantiate the possibility of using economic and organizational tools to rationalize environmentally friendly food consumption and eliminate their negative consequences for the region’s population. The study’s basis is the classical provisions of modern economic theory, environmental economics, and the concept of socio-ethical marketing. Based on the analysis of official statistics, the parameters and opportunities for the growth of the organic food products market in Ukraine by region are determined. The conformity of the product offer of ecologically clean products to different consumer segments in the region is revealed according to the criteria that characterize the groups of goods according to the degree of their ecological purity compared to the price parameter, frequency of purchase, and place of purchase. The priorities for the gradual expansion of the organic food market in the region have been determined with an emphasis on its expansion by attracting new consumer segments. The need for additional organizational measures in the region, aimed at both non-commercial and commercial promotion of healthy lifestyles and proper nutrition, is argued, which increases consumers’ involvement in these processes and increases awareness and interest in regular consumption of organic food.
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Walaszczyk, Anna, Małgorzata Koszewska, and Iwona Staniec. "Food Traceability as an Element of Sustainable Consumption—Pandemic-Driven Changes in Consumer Attitudes." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 9 (April 26, 2022): 5259. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095259.
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A conscious approach to the issue of food traceability on the part of consumers is essential for making rational food purchases, which in turn contributes to sustainable consumption and globally, is an element of sustainable development. The study aims to assess the changes in consumers’ buying behaviors in the context of food traceability before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of sociodemographic factors on those changes. Therefore, an online survey was conducted on a sample of 1000 respondents who were Polish food consumers. The study covered aspects related to the traceability of food by consumers before and during the pandemic. The results allowed for positive verification of the H1: Polish consumers attitudes related to food buying process changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results didn’t allow for fully positive verification of the H2: Sociodemographic factors significantly influence Polish consumers attitudes to the food shopping during COVID-19 period compared to pre-pandemic period. The significant influence was supported in almost all (in 6 out of 8) analyzed aspects in case of age, education, and place of residence. However, in case of gender it was confirmed only in terms of two out of eight aspects: choosing product of national origin and using the online form of ordering purchases.
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Walaszczyk, Anna, Małgorzata Koszewska, and Iwona Staniec. "Food Traceability as an Element of Sustainable Consumption—Pandemic-Driven Changes in Consumer Attitudes." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 9 (April 26, 2022): 5259. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095259.
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A conscious approach to the issue of food traceability on the part of consumers is essential for making rational food purchases, which in turn contributes to sustainable consumption and globally, is an element of sustainable development. The study aims to assess the changes in consumers’ buying behaviors in the context of food traceability before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impact of sociodemographic factors on those changes. Therefore, an online survey was conducted on a sample of 1000 respondents who were Polish food consumers. The study covered aspects related to the traceability of food by consumers before and during the pandemic. The results allowed for positive verification of the H1: Polish consumers attitudes related to food buying process changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results didn’t allow for fully positive verification of the H2: Sociodemographic factors significantly influence Polish consumers attitudes to the food shopping during COVID-19 period compared to pre-pandemic period. The significant influence was supported in almost all (in 6 out of 8) analyzed aspects in case of age, education, and place of residence. However, in case of gender it was confirmed only in terms of two out of eight aspects: choosing product of national origin and using the online form of ordering purchases.
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Nestorowicz, Renata, Ewa Jerzyk, and Anna Rogala. "In the Labyrinth of Dietary Patterns and Well-Being—When Eating Healthy Is Not Enough to Be Well." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 3 (January 23, 2022): 1259. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031259.
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This paper aims to identify the relation between food consumption and well-being, and the level of well-being depending on a diet followed. Moreover, we analyze whether people driven by single motives, such as the health, pleasure or social dimension of food declare the lower or higher level of well-being than those motivated by a larger number of factors. The survey was conducted online (CAWI, n = 1067). The following scales were used: Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), Satisfaction with Food-related Life Scale (SWFL), Health Taste Attitude Scales (HTAS) and Social Dimension of Food Meaning. The data analysis was carried out with the application of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), partial eta squared, a t-Student’s test, the Hochberg test, the Games-Howell test, and Pearson’s correlation. Levels of Subjective Well-Being (SWB) and Food Well-Being (FWB) are strongly correlated with consumers’ dietary pattern. The frequency of consumption of organic food and following vegan, low salt, and low sugar diets leads to higher levels of SWB, while FWB is additionally affected by the regular consumption of low-fat products and foods that improve one’s mood. The level of well-being is linked with the motivation to follow specific diets and attentiveness related to dietary patterns. People paying attention to the health aspects, pleasure and social dimension of food meaning show higher level of FWB than people focusing exclusively on health aspects.
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Duram, Leslie, and Lydia Oberholtzer. "A geographic approach to place and natural resource use in local food systems." Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 25, no. 2 (March 30, 2010): 99–108. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1742170510000104.
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AbstractThis article illuminates the geographic concept of ‘place’ in local foods. Because the social aspects of local food have been more fully addressed in previous literature, this review focuses instead on the ecological aspects of farming and food. First, the literature on natural resource use in agriculture provides contextual understanding of water use, biodiversity, soils and agro-ecological methods. The complex relationship between climate change and agriculture is described and models assessing the impacts of climate change on agriculture are detailed. The geography of local food is specifically addressed by describing methods for assessing natural resource use in local food, including food miles, consumer transportation, scale and community, agricultural methods and diet. Finally, future research paths are suggested to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental impact of local food. Such research would encompass the geography of local food through development of broader, more inclusive strategy, including the concept of the ‘ecological appetite’ of crops and foods, the union of both social and ecological aspects of resource use, the linkages between rural and urban producers and consumers and the inclusion of farmers’ ecological knowledge. Overall, the geography of local food seeks to assess the where of food production and consumption, while incorporating key issues of how (agro-ecological methods benefiting the community) and what (locally appropriate crops).
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Tseng, Ming-Lang, Chun-Wei Remen Lin, Raditia Yudistira Sujanto, Ming K. Lim, and Tat-Dat Bui. "Assessing Sustainable Consumption in Packaged Food in Indonesia: Corporate Communication Drives Consumer Perception and Behavior." Sustainability 13, no. 14 (July 18, 2021): 8021. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13148021.
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Sustainable consumption has been addressed in the literature in recent years, especially in relation to changing from a traditional consumption to sustainable consumption. Reducing environmental impacts from waste generation has been the focal point of sustainable consumption. However, a large number of attributes has caused a complexity in understanding which attributes effectively enhance the consumption. In particular, sustainable consumption has been facing a negative trend due to low levels of knowledge about packaging’s environmental impact, failed communication which leads to misperception and irresponsible behavior. This study contributes to proposing a set of attributes for enhancing sustainable consumption in the Indonesian food industry, to fulfill the lack of understanding of the attribute interrelationships using qualitative information. This study proposes a set of attributes to enhance sustainable consumption with qualitative information by assessing the interrelationships among the attributes employing the Delphi method and fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method to provide causal and effect relationships. As a result, corporate communication, consumer perception, consumer behavior, and product packaging are major aspects for sustainable consumption enhancement. Corporate communication becomes a major driver to affect perception and behavior. This study proposes a managerial insight for the packaged food industry on improving several criteria including green marketing, green consumerism, verbal features, and importance of information.
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Zadka, Katarzyna, Ewelina Pałkowska-Goździk, and Danuta Rosołowska-Huszcz. "Family Factors Associated with Selected Childhood Nutrition Aspects in Central Poland." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16, no. 4 (February 13, 2019): 541. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16040541.
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Childhood diet has a significant influence on diet-related diseases in adulthood, so an understanding of environmental influences on nutrition, is important. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to indicate family factors associated with some aspects of children’s nutrition in Central Poland. A questionnaire was used to investigate 892 mothers’ approach to breastfeeding, frequency of eating with children at fast food restaurants, and serving them snacks, sugary drinks, and fried food. Prevalence of dental caries among children, based on the mothers’ self-assessment, was also assessed. Majority of the mothers breastfed for a period not longer than six months. There was a positive association between breastfeeding duration and mothers’ education level and the number of children in a family. Sweets were used as a reward, more often among younger children and in families with higher number of children. The frequency of consumption of sweet beverages rose with the child’s age and decreased with mother’s education level and family income. It was also more frequent in rural areas. Most children received snacks and fried food at least once a week. There was a negative association between eating with parents at fast food restaurants and, both, the number of children in the family and living in a village. Fast food consumption rose with the mother’s education level and family income. Prevalence of dental caries according to mothers’ declarations was much lower than in national studies but was associated with frequent consumption of snacks and sweet beverages in the examined population. Extensive activities to reduce the occurrence of dental caries at the national level and education concerning the role of a family environment in providing a proper childhood nutrition, with a special emphasis on breastfeeding benefits, seems necessary for Polish parents. Designing community-wide education campaigns referencing population-based programs and other health and disease prevention activities, need to be promoted.
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Baskin, Monica L., Ivan Herbey, Ronnie Williams, Jamy D. Ard, Nataliya Ivankova, and Angela Odoms-Young. "Caregiver perceptions of the food marketing environment of African-American 3–11-year-olds: a qualitative study." Public Health Nutrition 16, no. 12 (July 5, 2013): 2231–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1368980013001766.
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AbstractObjectiveTo assess caregivers’ perceptions of the extent to which the food marketing environment influences food consumption among African-American children (aged 3–11 years) in order to generate potential strategies to make the marketing environment more favourable to healthier eating.DesignIndividual semi-structured interviews with caregivers were conducted by trained community leaders to ascertain their awareness of and perceptions about food marketing environments contributing to African-American children's food consumption.SettingSix predominantly African-American communities in metro Birmingham, Alabama, USA with high proportions of school-age children and lower-income residents.SubjectsCaregivers (n 25) were predominantly female (93 %) and either parents/guardians (64 %) or grandparents (28 %) of African-American children aged 3–11 years. Caregiver mean age was 43 years and 46 % had lived in their current residence for over 10 years.ResultsCaregivers reported all aspects of the food marketing matrix as supporting unhealthy eating among African-American youth. Child preference for foods higher in fat and sugar, lower pricing of less healthy foods, limited access to healthier food retailers and targeted advertisements were particularly influential on the food selection, acquisition and consumption of children. Company loyalty, corporate sponsorship of local events and conflicts over parental v. food company responsibility contributed to less consensus about the overall impact (positive or negative) of food companies in African-American communities.ConclusionsWhile caregivers perceived aspects of their food marketing environments as primarily contributing to unhealthy eating among African-American children, framing the demand for changes in the food marketing environments of African-American youth may be particularly challenging.
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Wojciechowska-Solis, Julia, and Anetta Barska. "Exploring the Preferences of Consumers’ Organic Products in Aspects of Sustainable Consumption: The Case of the Polish Consumer." Agriculture 11, no. 2 (February 7, 2021): 138. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11020138.
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The dynamically developing trend of sustainable consumption is manifested, among others, by the growing interest in organic products on the part of consumers. The aim of this article was to identify the behavior of Polish consumers in the market of organic products and to establish a link between their environmental awareness and willingness to buy organic products. The authors hypothesized that there is a relationship between consumer awareness of the concept of sustainable consumption and the consumption of organic products. Consumer awareness means making conscious choices based on the knowledge expressed in the attitudes and, sometimes, preferences of the food brand. The research was conducted using a proprietary survey questionnaire. A total of 1067 respondents participated. A statistical analysis was performed by using Statistica 13.1 PL software, which includes descriptive statistics, the discriminant function analysis, and regression analysis. Motives were identified that are of crucial importance to the consumer deciding to purchase organic products. These include: beneficial health effects, contents of nutrients, no additional substances used in food production, taste, and others. A statistical relationship was established between environmental awareness and the tendency to buy organic products. Among the organic products, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, honey, cow’s milk and its derivatives, as well as cereal products, are the most preferred by consumers of both genders. The proposed model, which outlines the relationship between environmental awareness and the tendency to buy organic products, includes the following variables: care for the environment and animal welfare, no harmful substances used in food production, low level of processing, short shelf life.
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Mancini, Paola, Andrea Marchini, and Mariarosaria Simeone. "Which are the sustainable attributes affecting the real consumption behaviour? Consumer understanding and choices." British Food Journal 119, no. 8 (August 7, 2017): 1839–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bfj-11-2016-0574.
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Purpose This is an exploratory study on consumer information and behaviour towards green, health, local, social and environmental credentials on labels. It focusses on many dimensions of sustainability in the food products that affect consumer choices with a dual purpose: to identify and define “sustainable consumption” behaviour in broad sense and to investigate empirically the factors affecting the real consumption behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to shed light on consumers’ understanding, motivation and use of sustainable labelling in order to understand the role sustainability information plays in the food products market. Design/methodology/approach Two focus groups in order to investigate consumer motivation and behaviour in-depth and to prepare the questionnaire. Identification of the outcomes that could summarize sustainable consumption combining: purchase of local products, consume only seasonal fruit, prefer products with recyclable packaging, attention to the fat content in foods, give importance to traceability and purchase products only in the place of origin. Identification of the “at risk” virtuous consumer, using a binary logistic regression approach, taking into account demographic characteristics, the food and nutrition value system, experience, knowledge, institutional factors and marketing. Findings Results from the focus groups are mainly in line with the empirical analysis, highlighting the key role of education in influencing consumer attitude and behaviour. Consumers give little attention to information provided on the label for sustainable food consumption and environmental protection and have little knowledge of environmental problems. The virtuous consumer appears to give importance to a better food nutrition value system, to pay more attention to ingredients and instructions on the label, to be more attentive to environmental and sustainable attributes, to be concerned about product quality and to be slightly influenced by brands and special offers. Research limitations/implications The findings from the empirical analysis confirm the results from focus groups even if it was not possible from the empirical analysis to investigate in-depth the marketing aspects concerning the food choice. This limit probably comes from the low number of observations. Further research will focus on these marketing aspects. Practical implications Products with sustainable attributes can become a strategic variable and allow companies to gain a competitive advantage, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises. This may encourage the development of new marketing channels based on the direct relationship between producer and the new consumer demand, increasingly sensitive to the food security issues. Social implications There is a potential interest and sensitiveness to having sustainable behaviour in a broad sense, but there is a lack of knowledge about how to behave to be sustainable. In the absence of binding rules, it is necessary that government promote information and campaigns to generate greater awareness on sustainability, aiming at increasing knowledge to drive the consumer’s choices. This may lead to virtuous results in terms of reducing social costs related to an unhealthy diet, food waste and unsustainable consumption. Originality/value The results show that despite the appearance of attention to the environment and to healthy food which is associated with this emerging critical consumer in the literature, there remains the problem of the consumer giving little attention to information provided on the label for sustainable food consumption and environmental protection. This is the problem of “rules of thumb” in purchasing decisions that prevail in the following situations: when consumers have an overload of information that exceeds their processing limits; when they tend to base their decision making on heuristics, focussing their choices on brands as a proxy for high-quality, product-related characteristics.
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Sauka, Anne. "A Bite of the Forbidden Fruit: The Abject of Food and Affirmative Environmental Ethics." Open Philosophy 5, no. 1 (January 1, 2022): 281–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/opphil-2022-0200.
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Abstract This article explores the negative framing of environmental concern in the context of food procurement and consumption, through the lens of the myth of Eden considering the ontological and genealogical aspects of the experienced exile from nature. The article first considers the theoretical context of the negative framing of food ethics. Demonstrating the consequences of the experience of food as abject, the article then goes on to discuss the exile from Eden as an explanatory myth for the perceptual inbetweenness of humankind. The aim of the article is to outline the genealogical markers of the negative framing of food ethics via the discussion of the exile from Eden. In the context of a new materialist understanding of the nature–culture continuum, the article depicts the exile as a perceptual rather than ontological divide that does not reflect a factual human inbetweenness but mirrors the objectification of nature by stripping the flesh of its spirit. Such reenvisioning is thought to be a pivotal aspect for mitigating the affectual abjectivity of food and recapturing the factual entanglement of body–environment to enable affirmative environmental ethics.
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Nguyen, Hoang Viet, Ninh Nguyen, Bach Khoa Nguyen, and Steven Greenland. "Sustainable Food Consumption: Investigating Organic Meat Purchase Intention by Vietnamese Consumers." Sustainability 13, no. 2 (January 19, 2021): 953. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su13020953.
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Promoting sustainable food consumption contributes to the achievement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. This study investigated the key determinants of consumer intention to purchase organic meat in an emerging market and a unique model was developed by incorporating environmental concern and guilt with the key components of the Theory of Planned Behavior. This model was then validated by obtaining data from a sample of 402 Vietnamese consumers at five food stores in Ho Chi Minh City, using a paper-based survey. The findings reveal that consumers who are concerned about the environment are likely to formulate favorable attitudes and downplay monetary barriers associated with organic food purchase. In addition, while attitudes and guilt about buying conventional meat have a positive effect on organic meat purchase intention, perceived monetary barriers significantly reduce the intention. These findings highlight both the rational and emotional aspects of organic food purchase intention and have important implications for key stakeholders and the encouragement of organic meat consumption.
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Taylor, Anne W., John Coveney, Paul R. Ward, Julie Henderson, Samantha B. Meyer, Rhiannon Pilkington, and Tiffany K. Gill. "Fruit and vegetable consumption – the influence of aspects associated with trust in food and safety and quality of food." Public Health Nutrition 15, no. 2 (August 2, 2011): 208–17. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1368980011001698.
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AbstractObjectiveTo profile adults who eat less than the recommended servings of fruit and vegetables per day.DesignAustralia-wide population telephone survey on a random sample of the Australian population, with results analysed by univariate and multivariate models.SettingAustralia.SubjectsOne thousand one hundred and eight interviews, respondents’ (49·3 % males) mean age was 45·12 (sd 17·63) years.ResultsOverall 54·8 % and 10·7 % were eating the recommended number of servings of fruit and vegetables. Variables included in the multivariate model indicating low fruit consumption included gender, age, employment, education and those who were less likely to consider the safety and quality of food as important. In regard to low vegetable consumption, people who were more likely to do the food shopping only ‘some of the time’ and have a high level of trust in groups of people such as immediate family, neighbours, doctors and different levels of government were included in the final model. They were also less likely to neither consider the safety and quality of food as important nor trust organisations/institutions such as the press, television and politicians. In the final model depicting both low fruit and low vegetable servings, sex, age and a low level of importance with regard to safety and quality of food were included.ConclusionTo increase fruit and vegetable consumption, research into a broad range of determinants associated with behaviours should be coupled with a deeper understanding of the process associated with changing behaviours. While levels of trust are related to behaviour change, knowledge and attitudes about aspects associated with safety and quality of food are also of importance.
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Garcia, Ada L., Elisa Vargas, Po S. Lam, David B. Shennan, Fiona Smith, and Alison Parrett. "Evaluation of a cooking skills programme in parents of young children – a longitudinal study." Public Health Nutrition 17, no. 5 (November 19, 2013): 1013–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s1368980013000165.
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AbstractObjectiveTo evaluate longitudinally the effectiveness of a cooking programme on self-reported confidence about cooking skills and food consumption patterns in parents of young children.DesignAn evaluation of cooking programmes delivered by National Health Service (NHS) community food workers using a single group pre-test/post-test repeated measures design. A shortened version of a validated questionnaire at baseline, post intervention and 1-year follow-up determined confidence in cooking using basic ingredients, following a simple recipe, tasting new foods, preparing and cooking new foods on consumption of ready meals, vegetables and fruit.SettingDeprived communities in Ayrshire and Arran, Scotland.SubjectsParents of nursery age children, 97 % were female and <45 years old.ResultsOne hundred and two participants had completed baseline and post-intervention questionnaires. Forty-four participants contacted by telephone completed a follow-up questionnaire. In participants who completed all questionnaires (n 44), median confidence in four aspects of cooking increased significantly from baseline to post intervention (P < 0·001) but was retained at 1-year follow-up only for following a simple recipe and preparing and cooking new foods. Improved food consumption patterns were reported from baseline to post intervention (ready-meal consumption reduced from 2-4 times/week to 1 time/week, P < 0·001; vegetable consumption increased from 5–6 times/week to 1 time/d, P < 0·001; fruit consumption increased from 5–6 times/week to 1 time/d, P < 0·001) and remained at 1-year follow-up.ConclusionsThe cooking programmes appeared to improve cooking confidence and food consumption patterns in the target group and some of these changes were retained after 1 year.
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Pich, Jordi, Lluís Ballester, Mònica Thomàs, Ramon Canals, and Josep A. Tur. "Assimilating and following through with nutritional recommendations by adolescents." Health Education Journal 70, no. 4 (September 1, 2010): 435–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0017896910379695.
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Objective: To investigate the relationship between knowledge about a healthy diet and the actual food consumption habits of adolescents. Design: A survey of several food-related aspects applied to a representative sample of adolescents. Setting: One thousand, six hundred and sixty three individuals aged 11 to 18 from 40 schools randomly selected from among all the schools in the Balearic Islands. Method: The survey was administered under the supervision of a researcher during the school day. The adolescents were asked about proper eating habits and invited to classify 43 food items as healthy or not healthy. The subjects later reported the frequency with which they consumed these foods, as well as the types of products they consumed between meals. Results: The adolescents in the sample considered the abundant consumption of vegetables, fish and fruit to be the key to a healthy diet and, as of 15 years of age, recognized the need for a balanced, varied diet. They also correctly identified all the healthy foods, whereas typical fast food items, sweets and alcoholic drinks received highly negative ratings. However, only the girls’ lower consumption of unhealthier products was consistent with this knowledge. The consumption of foods such as vegetables and fish by the older subjects even declined, despite their higher dietary ratings. Three-quarters of the subjects also reported that they customarily snack on calorie-rich food with scant nutritional value. Conclusion: While dietary ratings are consistent and seem to be reinforced by the constant messages in favour of the Mediterranean diet aimed at adults, the minimum impact of this knowledge on the subjects’ habits observed in the study poses the need to seek new communicative strategies that are not exclusively based on providing adolescents with more information on proper diet.
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Schestak, Isabel, Jan Spriet, David Styles, and A. Prysor Williams. "Introducing a Calculator for the Environmental and Financial Potential of Drain Water Heat Recovery in Commercial Kitchens." Water 13, no. 24 (December 7, 2021): 3486. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/w13243486.
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Food service providers like restaurants, cafes, or canteens are of economic importance worldwide, but also contribute to environmental impacts through water and energy consumption. Drain water heat recovery from commercial kitchens, using a heat exchanger, has shown large potential to decarbonise hot water use across food services, but is rarely deployed. This work translates previous findings on the technical feasibility and heat recovery potential for commercial kitchens into a publicly available calculator. It facilitates decision-making towards recovery and reuse of the freely available heat in kitchen drains by estimating both financial costs and payback time, as well as environmental burdens associated with the installation and environmental savings from avoided energy consumption. Environmental burdens and savings include, but are not limited to, carbon emissions. Further, the tool highlights key aspects of the technical implementation to understand installation requirements. The tool is freely available and could contribute to the uptake of heat recovery in the food service sector, ideally in conjunction with policy support through financial incentives or subsidies.
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Diaz, Fabian, Francesco Romagnoli, Lisa Neusel, Simon Hirzel, Jasmin Paulus, Beatrice Marchi, and Simone Zanoni. "The ICCEE Toolbox. A Holistic Instrument Supporting Energy Efficiency of Cold Food and Beverage Supply Chains." Environmental and Climate Technologies 26, no. 1 (January 1, 2022): 428–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/rtuect-2022-0033.
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Abstract Cold supply chains of food and beverage sectors represent one of the main drivers of the EU total final energy consumption. Within this context, food quality losses, changes in temperature regimes, energy use, environmental burdens, and the economic viability of energy efficiency measures are essential aspects to consider for improving cold supply chains’ overall sustainability. This paper presents a dedicated toolbox, developed within the Horizon 2020 project ICCEE, for supporting decision-making and actors to assess energy efficiency path within a specific type of food cold-supply (i.e., meat, fish, milk and cheese products, fruits, and vegetables). More in specific the toolbox offers support for decision-makers to understand and minimize the specific energy consumption, to decrease the overall environmental impact even including non-energy benefit evaluation many times underestimated. The six separated tools merged within a unique toolbox consider different methodological approaches such as: assessment of the whole energy requirements in stock and flows considering the storage impact, the logistics and quality losses over time, implementation of Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle costs within the environmental and financial assessment of energy efficiency measures, based on a benchmarking approach. Finally, a specific approach implementing Multi Criteria Analysis was developed on selected key performance indicators such as specific and cumulated energy consumptions, quality losses and environmental burdens (i.e., global warming potential and water scarcity). The latest version of the ICCEE toolbox is available as free downloadable package on the ICCEE website.
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Havryshko, Marianna, Olena Popovych, and Halyna Yaremko. "Ecological aspects of modernization of alcohol industry enterprises at the present stage of development." Environmental Problems 5, no. 3 (2020): 179–84. http://dx.doi.org/10.23939/ep2020.03.179.
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At the present stage of development, the entire world industry has faced the problem of rational use of renewable natural resources, in particular the most efficient ways of wastewater treatment and the use of accumulated waste in the production process as a secondary raw material. In particular, the alcohol industry, as one of the components of food, medical, chemical and various industries,leads to the formation of huge amounts of waste, including wastewater. The food industry, like any other industry, has a negative impact on the environment. Water bodies are the most affected by the food industry. Almost the first place in terms of water consumption per unit of production is the production of alcohol. Consumption of large amounts of water leads to the formation of wastewater, which is highly polluted and adversely affects the environment. Due to the high chemical and biological consumption of oxygen, specific color and odor, suspended solids, low pH value, the purification of such waste in the filtration fields and discharge into water bodies is not possible. The purpose of our work is: 1) conducting the analysis of the alcohol industry potential in Ukraine in recent years, and methods of waste disposal as a potential source for the development of bioenergy. 2) environmental aspects of the alcohol industry modernization at present stage of development and implementation of modern wastewater treatment technologies.
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Leggett, Angela. "Bringing green food to the Chinese table: How civil society actors are changing consumer culture in China." Journal of Consumer Culture 20, no. 1 (September 4, 2017): 83–101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1469540517729009.
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Environmental and health effects of China’s rapid economic growth since the 1980s have been especially tangible in the food sector, with ‘green’ products emerging as alternatives for consumption networks wishing to avoid ‘conventional’ foods produced using chemicals. Despite state support for increased sustainability in large-scale farming over the past decade, formal institutional voids remain, with regard to consumer trust and small-scale farmers. Green food consumption is increasing in China, as civil society actors work to fill voids and promote green purchasing behaviour. In this article, I investigate how civil society organisations are changing Chinese consumer culture around green food through two stages of empirical research. Qualitative content analysis of microblogs of four Chinese environmental non-governmental organisations was conducted in 2013, and insights were further explored through fieldwork interviews and participant observation in Beijing during 2016. Responding to previous consumer behaviour studies which over-emphasise individual rationality, marginalising contextual and collective aspects, this analysis adopts Bajde’s enrichment of Consumer Culture Theory with Actor Network Theory to explore microelements and macroelements, their interrelations and processes of change. Based on co-production of subject and object within Consumer Culture Theory with Actor Network Theory, this study analyses engagement with and re/creation of materials, discourse and social meanings by green food consumption networks, including non-governmental organisations, farmers, retailers and consumers. Although findings reflect particularities of the Beijing cultural context, themes parallel wider phenomena at the national and international levels.
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de Sousa, Janice Ramos, Rita de Cássia C. A. Akutsu, Renata Puppin Zandonadi, and Raquel B. A. Botelho. "Breakfast Characterization and Consumption by Low-Income Brazilians: Food Identity and Regional Food." Sustainability 12, no. 12 (June 18, 2020): 4998. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su12124998.
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The study aimed to evaluate the breakfast (BF) of the Brazilian low-income population, analyzing cultural aspects, such as the habit of consuming regional foods and the BF food identity markers. This cross-sectional study used a sample of 1872 low-income Brazilians. For the food consumption analysis, three 24–hour dietary recalls were used. For the qualitative analysis of the BF, we used three classifications: standard, full, partial, and without BF. Also, BF was considered as regional when at least one regional food (contained in a predefined list of regional foods) was consumed. For the analysis of BF's food identity markers, we evaluated all food groups and their frequencies. Of the 5616 possible BF meals available for the three days of consumption, 17.3% were skipped, a low percentage. A total of 4642 BF examples were analyzed. Standard type BF was prevalent in all regions, and full BF was rarely consumed by participants. Women during the weekend skipped BF less often. Out of all five Brazilian regions, the ones with the highest consumption of regional foods were the Midwest (46.6%) and the South (45.9%). The highest frequency of consumed foods in BF were coffee with cow’s milk (or milk with coffee), added sugar, bread, and margarine, indicating that these are the identity markers of BF in the studied sample. Considering that the percentage of standard type BF was very high and that the consumption of added sugar and margarine was accentuated, actions to stimulate the intake of fresh fruits and foods in all meals are necessary, especially in the first meal of the day. There is a need for new proposals for actions and programs with the purpose of expanding access to healthy and adequate regional foods, especially to low-income families.
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Cellura, Maurizio, Maria Anna Cusenza, Sonia Longo, Le Quyen Luu, and Thomas Skurk. "Life Cycle Environmental Impacts and Health Effects of Protein-Rich Food as Meat Alternatives: A Review." Sustainability 14, no. 2 (January 16, 2022): 979. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14020979.
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The food sector is responsible for a considerable impact on the environment in most environmental contexts: the food supply chain causes greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, reduction in cultivable land, and other environmental impacts. Thus, a change in food supply is required to reduce the environmental impacts caused by the food supply chain and to meet the increasing demand for sufficient and qualitative nutrition. Large herds of livestock are inappropriate to achieve these goals due to the relevant impact of meat supply chain on the environment, e.g., the land used to grow feed for animals is eight times more than that for human nutrition. The search for meat alternatives, especially for the intake of critical nutrients such as protein, is a consequent step. In the above context, this paper summarizes the health aspects of protein-rich food alternatives to meat and carries out a literature review on the life-cycle environmental impacts of this alternative food.
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Fagaras, Pia-Simona, Silvia-Violeta Teodorescu, Anca Bacarea, Renato-Gabriel Petrea, Adela-Ioana Ursanu, Geanina Cozmei, Liliana-Elisabeta Radu, and Gynetta-Ionela Vanvu. "Aspects Regarding the Consumption of Dietary Supplements among the Active Population in Romania." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 1 (January 2, 2023): 850. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010850.
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Food supplements contain a variety of combinations of vitamins, minerals, plant extracts, and other substances. Any physical effort requires energy from balanced and healthy nutrition. This research aimed to identify the categories of dietary supplements used by active and very active participants who attend the sports and leisure centers from Targu Mures city. The survey was developed in paper and online forms using the Internet and supported multimedia and self-administration. The sample consists of 517 subjects chosen randomly from the research population and divided into the active and highly active PAI subgroups based on age, education, and gender. IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20.0 was used to process the collected data. All data were analysed descriptively. Differences between independent groups were assessed using an Independent sample t-test and a Chi-square test. Statistical significance was accepted when p < 0.05. Additionally, a Pearson correlation was done. The most representative age category was between 18 and 22 years old (42.7%), the ones using dietary supplements most frequently. There were significant differences by group of age regarding the consumption of food supplements (p < 0.05) and also by gender (p < 0.05).
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Novak, Masuma. "Food supplementation, nutritional intake of recipients and operational aspects: an integrated pilot nutrition initiative of BRAC." Public Health Nutrition 9, no. 5 (August 2006): 557–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/phn2005896.
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AbstractObjectivesTo explore the nutritional quality of supplementary foods and additional energy consumption by the recipients in a pilot nutrition initiative of BRAC.DesignIn-depth interviews, observations during feeding at feeding centres, and laboratory analyses of supplementary foods for nutrient contents performed at the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh.SettingMuktagacha thana (sub-district) in Mymensingh district, a rural area of Bangladesh.SubjectsPregnant and lactating mothers and children below 2 years of age.ResultsAnalysis revealed that supplementary food, if taken completely, could provide daily energy equivalent to 752 kcal to a mother and 212 kcal to a child below 2 years of age. Mothers consumed about 75% of the food provided (∼ 564 kcal day−1). The food was shared mostly with young children and husbands. In-depth interview with mothers also suggested that they usually skipped breakfast if the food was given in the morning. The children liked the taste of food, and unless the child was sick or had some food before coming to the centre, she/he ate all the food provided. Although the main purpose of the project was to provide nutrition education, it was observed that activities at feeding centres were limited to food distribution with little time devoted to the communication of nutritional messages.ConclusionsTraining should be given to service providers to communicate nutritional messages effectively as part of understanding the goal of the initiative. It is important to explore whether the regular diets of the recipients are replaced by the food supplementation or not.
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Weinrich, Ramona. "Opportunities for the Adoption of Health-Based Sustainable Dietary Patterns: A Review on Consumer Research of Meat Substitutes." Sustainability 11, no. 15 (July 25, 2019): 4028. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11154028.
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This article reviews empirical research on consumers’ adoption of meat substitutes published up to spring 2018. Recent meat substitutes often have sustainable characteristics in line with consumers’ concerns over aspects of healthy food and the environmental impact of food production. However, changing lifestyles with less time for cooking, any transition from a strongly meat-based to a more plant-based diet depends on the successful establishment of convenient meat substitutes. This article reviews the growing body of research on meat substitutes. These research articles were classified into five different stages in line with the innovation-decision process of: knowledge, persuasion, decision, implementation and confirmation. The research was analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively, with results suggesting that although health, environmental and animal welfare aspects can persuade consumers and influence their decision to try a meat substitute, the appearance and taste of those meat substitutes are crucial factors for their consumption on a regular basis. However, there still remains a gap in research articles focusing on the regular consumption of meat substitutes.
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Stancu, Catalin M., Alice Grønhøj, and Liisa Lähteenmäki. "Meanings and Motives for Consumers’ Sustainable Actions in the Food and Clothing Domains." Sustainability 12, no. 24 (December 12, 2020): 10400. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su122410400.
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The concept of sustainability has been widely discussed in the public arena by public entities and companies; however, consumers express inconsistency and confusion around the meaning of sustainability. This study aims to provide insights into consumers’ associations with the concept of sustainability in general and within two behavioural domains that represent daily necessities (i.e., food and clothing), in addition to exploring the motivational drivers behind sustainable behaviours. A total of 23 semi-structured interviews were conducted with young consumers in Denmark to address this aim. Consumers perceived the concept of sustainability as complex and mainly related it to environmental aspects, whereas social and economic aspects were less emphasised. The interviewees used examples of sustainable behaviours, which cover the whole consumption-cycle, when interpreting sustainability. Consumers had various motivations to engage in sustainable behaviours and these varied by the stage in the consumption-cycle and domain. The interviewees displayed external motivation (e.g., save money, better taste), introjected motivation (e.g., impress others, public self-consciousness), internalised motivation (e.g., reflection of self) and even intrinsic motivation (e.g., pure interest) to engage in different types of sustainable food or clothing behaviours across the consumption-cycle. Different types of motivations drove the same behaviour, suggesting potential synergies or internal conflicts.
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Wallnoefer, Laura Maria, Petra Riefler, and Oliver Meixner. "What Drives the Choice of Local Seasonal Food? Analysis of the Importance of Different Key Motives." Foods 10, no. 11 (November 6, 2021): 2715. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/foods10112715.
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Local seasonal food choices are environmentally relevant behaviors and a promising opportunity for enhancing sustainable food consumption. Therefore, we need a more integrated understanding of motives driving consumers to opt for food that is produced locally and also in its natural growing season. The aim of this study is to (i) identify which motives for local food choices are also relevant for local seasonal food choices and (ii) investigate whether environmental motives become (more) relevant for these environmentally friendly choices. To assess consumer perceptions of socioeconomic, health, and environmental aspects, a survey in combination with a choice-based conjoint experiment to measure consumer preferences for seasonal (apples) and non-seasonal choices (tomatoes) was conducted. The data were collected by means of an online-panel survey (n = 499) and analyzed using two structural equation models. Results revealed that while the support of the local economy presents the most relevant driver, consumers’ price sensibility is even more relevant as a barrier. What differs is the relevance of authenticity and local identity. While local seasonal food provides environmental benefits to consumers, these benefits have no implications for the relevance of environmental motives. Based on these findings, we derive evidence-based recommendations for policymakers and marketers and propositions for future research regarding additional drivers and barriers for local seasonal food consumption.
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Blanc, Simone, Raffaele Zanchini, Giuseppe Di Vita, and Filippo Brun. "The role of intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of honey for Italian millennial consumers." British Food Journal 123, no. 6 (February 9, 2021): 2183–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/bfj-07-2020-0622.
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PurposeThis study aims to examine the importance that different intrinsic and extrinsic attributes represent for young Italian consumers of honey, analysing how these aspects influence the quality perceived during consumption. In addition, demographic and lifestyle aspects have been considered as possible discriminants influencing millennial generation honey consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe authors performed a non-parametric rank-based test (Mann–Whitney U test) to analyse which attributes millennials value most, relating these to gender, sports activity or rural and urban origin. Then, to identify consumption patterns, principal component analysis, applying Kaiser normalisation and varimax rotation, was used.FindingsThis study confirms the remarkable sensitivity of the millennials towards environmental sustainability aspects. This attribute of choice seems particularly important for a clearly identifiable segment of the sample examined, represented by women who regularly practice sports and who come from urban areas. This result makes it possible to identify a type of consumer who, from early adulthood, is mindful of their lifestyle and ecological footprint. Moreover, it emerges that the most important attributes during purchasing are those related to label information, local product and origin, highlighting the awareness of young people and their maturity in the consumption of agro-food products.Originality/valueThe authors identified a trend in consumption that diverges from the classic patterns based on brand and the intrinsic characteristics of honey, but which forges new pathways more closely intertwined with the aspects of sustainability and the relationship with the territory, in addition to food safety.
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Marsden, T., and N. Wrigley. "Regulation, Retailing, and Consumption." Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space 27, no. 12 (December 1995): 1899–912. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/a271899.
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In this paper the interplay between regulation and consumption is explored. Questions are posed about the regulation of consumption by the state and by private retail capital, and the way in which consumption relations influence the operation of the state either directly or through the mediative role of the retailers. We argue in general terms that, since the 1980s, it is the consumption nexus rather than that of capital and labour which has increasingly provided the most attractive location for the abstraction of surplus value and for capital accumulation; that the state had increasingly become an active agent in class formation and class relations through the sphere of consumption; that consumption processes have increased in significance in the legitimation of the state; and that, particularly in the United Kingdom, the major food retailers have played a critical role, not only in delivering new and revised ‘rights to consume’ to empowered groupings of service-class consumers, but in defining consumption interests around their own particular notions. As a result, we argue that regulation by necessity has become far more embedded than hitherto in the consumption process, and that a consideration of the regulation of retail capital offers particularly valuable insights into the regulatory influences shaping the extraction of profits from the ‘situation of exchange’. Above all, our aim is to inject a ‘political economy of consumption’ perspective into the increasing and diverse debates concerning cultural aspects of consumption. We argue, in conclusion, that it is necessary to explore how the political economy and cultural aspects of consumption interact, and how social and political practices embody both. To this end, we conclude our paper by posing questions about the next steps in what we believe is a vitally important emerging dialogue and integration between these two perspectives.