Journal
FOOD QUALITY AND PREFERENCE
Volume 89, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.104136
Keywords
Consumer behavior; Environmental friendly; Food categories; Organic food; Sensory quality; Willingness to pay
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Consumers generally believe that sustainable products are environmentally friendly, healthier, and of better quality, but over 30% of consumers in the US and Spain are not willing to pay more for sustainable products. Consumers tend to associate sustainable production with just organic farming and higher quality.
The term sustainability is based on three main pillars: environment, society and economy. To achieve sustainable development, agriculture is one of the main fields to be considered and it is key to address economic, environmental and ethical problems. Besides, consumers are increasingly demanding foods produced under sustainable practices and aiming to get involved in the process of enhancing food sustainability. Under such premises, a study was carried out with more than 3600 consumers in 6 countries (Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Spain and USA). Participants were asked questions organized in two main topics: general sustainability and willingness to pay on different food categories. In general, results showed that consumers thought that a sustainable product is environmentally friendly, healthier, has been grown using few chemicals and have better quality. More than 30% of consumers in the US and Spain were not willing to pay more for sustainable products. This percentage decreased to 20% in China, Mexico and Brazil and reached the lowest value in India (similar to 14%). The main conclusion is that consumers are not fully aware of the importance of sustainability; in general, consumers tend to associate sustainable production with just organic farming and higher quality.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available