Exploring sustainable food choices factors and purchasing behavior in the sustainable development goals era in Spain
Author
García-Gudiño, Javier
Angón, Elena
Perea, José Manuel
Escribano, Alfredo J.
Font-i-Furnols, Maria
Publication date
2021-07-01ISSN
2071-1050
Abstract
The aim of the present study was (1) to investigate what consumers include within the concept of food sustainability and its link with sustainable consumption, by identifying meaningful consumer typologies from the concept of food sustainability and food choice factors framed by SDG 12, and (2) to know how different farm systems attributes affecting purchase behavior are associated with such typologies. Consumers from two Spanish regions (n = 403) answered a paper questionnaire to know their degree of knowledge of sustainability, and beliefs, behavior, attitudes and preferences towards food sustainability, and the importance given to product characteristics and shopping practices. A principal component analysis was conducted to identify groups with similar answers, to average some of the questions before the final analysis of variance, which includes demographic classes as fixed effects. A cluster analysis using the most representative questions identified two clusters. cluster 1 (68.4%) responded to more sustainability-related attributes, and cluster 2 (31.5%) presented a less-expanded concept of sustainability. The origin of the product and quality certification (local, organic) was important for food purchase practices. The place of residence and gender differences of the consumers were the most influential factors. In the conjoint study, regarding the purchase of Iberian pork, cluster 1 remained unwilling to sacrifice outdoor systems and local breed at the expense of the price, in the case of the Iberian pig production. The most important demographic differentiator was the region of residence of the consumer. In conclusion, consumers are not aware of the wider aspects included in the sustainability concept. Moreover, the concept of sustainability elicits different meanings to the segments of the consumers identified.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
636 - Animal husbandry and breeding in general. Livestock rearing. Breeding of domestic animals
663/664 - Food and nutrition. Enology. Oils. Fat
Pages
19
Publisher
MDPI
Is part of
Sustainability
Citation
Blanco-Penedo, Isabel, Javier García-Gudiño, Elena Angón, José Manuel Perea, Alfredo J. Escribano, and Maria Font-i-Furnols. 2021. "Exploring Sustainable Food Choices Factors And Purchasing Behavior In The Sustainable Development Goals Era In Spain". Sustainability 13 (13): 7397. doi:10.3390/su13137397.
Grant agreement number
INIA/Programa Estatal de promoción del talento y su empleabilidad en I+D+I/RTA2013-00063-C03-02/ES/Caracterización y eficiencia de agroecosistemas para una producción de cerdos Ibéricos más sustentable/
Program
Benestar Animal
Qualitat i Tecnologia Alimentària
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2646]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/