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Foods
Special Issues
New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development
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New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Security and Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 12090

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria Dermiki

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health and Nutritional Sciences, Atlantic Technological University, Sligo, Ash Lane, F91 YW50 Sligo, Ireland
Interests: consumer science; sustainability; diet; food chemistry; food processing; sensory evaluation
Dr. Francesco Noci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sports Exercise and Nutrition, Atlantic Technological University, H91 T8NW Galway, Ireland
Interests: food science; technology; food processing; human nutrition; sensory science; food quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The food system is the foundation of human survival and is closely related to life, production, and ecology. As the challenges facing the food system become more unfamiliar, complex, and diversified, especially in terms of more diverse consumer needs and diet structures, food system reform and food safety should be expanded from a single focus on food supply security to a multi-dimensional goal that also considers nutrition, health, environmental sustainability, and social equity.

In recent years, the global food system has come under increasing pressure due to climate change, changing diets, and increasing demands on limited resources from a growing global population. As these threats continue to evolve, topics related to sustainable and responsible consumption have received high attention from scholars at home and abroad. Consumer aspirations are also changing, with consumers demanding safe, nutritious, healthy, environmentally friendly, and socially equitable food.

Sustainable transformation of the food system is one of the core issues of global sustainable development. The UN believes there is an urgent need to address the massive global food loss and waste observed, highlighting the hidden risks of climate change, agricultural sustainability, human livelihoods, and food supplies. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development sets a global target to reduce food loss and waste.

While all stakeholders across the food supply chain could potentially contribute to sustainable food systems, consumers play a pivotal role. Therefore, it is important to understand how food choice motives of consumers and consumer behaviour contribute to sustainable food consumption and the achievement of sustainable development goals. This Special Issue invites researchers to share their work in the form of a major research article or literature review. Researchers are welcome to provide new insights, data, and perspectives on food systems, consumption, and the sustainable development goals, particularly sustainable development goal 12.

Dr. Maria Dermiki
Dr. Francesco Noci
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sustainable consumption and production
  • sustainable development goals
  • food choice motives
  • food waste
  • sustainable diets
  • circular economy
  • consumer behaviour
  • claims and labelling

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1451 KiB  
Article
How Do Greeks Feel about Eating Insects? A Study of Consumer Perceptions and Preferences
by Alkmini-Anna Gkinali, Anthia Matsakidou, Anastasios Michailidis and Adamantini Paraskevopoulou
Foods 2024, 13(19), 3199; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13193199 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1012
Abstract
Edible insects are considered among the most promising sustainable sources of protein to address the predicted deficiency of conventional food protein. Due to their nutritional and environmental benefits, there is an increasing interest in the ways insects could become part of the Western [...] Read more.
Edible insects are considered among the most promising sustainable sources of protein to address the predicted deficiency of conventional food protein. Due to their nutritional and environmental benefits, there is an increasing interest in the ways insects could become part of the Western diet. Little is known about Greek consumers’ attitudes toward the habit of consuming insects as food. This study provides insight into Greek consumers’ preferences for insect-based food products. The data were collected through an online questionnaire (n = 1531). A two-step cluster analysis and a categorical regression were employed to classify the respondents into discernible clusters and determine the relationship between their socioeconomic characteristics and their willingness to adopt insect-based food products. Feelings of disgust and rejection were the predominant reactions to the concept of insects as food. The acceptance of novel foods derived from edible insects could be potentially enhanced by providing information regarding their positive effects, using familiar food products, and decreasing the insect’s degree of visibility by employing processed forms. Finally, the categories of insect protein-enriched food products (bakery, meat, snacks) that Greek consumers are more likely to consume were revealed. Such findings may be useful for promoting strategies regarding consuming insect-based products. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
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20 pages, 1369 KiB  
Article
Psychological Changes in Green Food Consumption in the Digital Context: Exploring the Role of Green Online Interactions from a Comprehensive Perspective
by Siyuan Zhang, Shiwei Xu, Yilei Ren and Jing Wang
Foods 2024, 13(18), 3001; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13183001 - 22 Sep 2024
Viewed by 686
Abstract
The advent of the digital economy has brought new opportunities to food marketing. In China, many food businesses have begun to use interactions under specific social media topics to open up new sales channels. Green food, as a representative of environmentally related topics, [...] Read more.
The advent of the digital economy has brought new opportunities to food marketing. In China, many food businesses have begun to use interactions under specific social media topics to open up new sales channels. Green food, as a representative of environmentally related topics, is increasingly influencing consumer choices through online interactions. In light of this, this study collected data from a large group of participants engaged in online green interactions to explore the psychological mechanisms behind consumers’ choices of green food in an online context. The findings indicate that online green interactions positively influence the willingness to purchase green food, with environmental self-efficacy and flow experience serving as mediators in this relationship. Information trust and consumer traits act as boundary conditions. This study not only deepens the understanding of food consumer behavior in the digital context, but also provides important references for food companies on how to more effectively utilize online interaction to promote the market expansion of green food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
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24 pages, 2590 KiB  
Article
A Longitudinal Analysis of the Impact of Digital Technologies on Sustainable Food Production and Consumption in the European Union
by Claudiu George Bocean
Foods 2024, 13(8), 1281; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods13081281 - 22 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1652
Abstract
In today’s landscape, digital technologies hold immense potential in tackling challenges associated with food sustainability. This study aims to contextualize a broader investigation of food sustainability and digitalization within the agricultural sector. Its objective is to explore the influence of digital technologies on [...] Read more.
In today’s landscape, digital technologies hold immense potential in tackling challenges associated with food sustainability. This study aims to contextualize a broader investigation of food sustainability and digitalization within the agricultural sector. Its objective is to explore the influence of digital technologies on sustainable food production and consumption, particularly examining relationships among digital technologies, municipal waste, agricultural output, nitrogen emissions, methane emissions from agriculture, and Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production (SDG12). Through the use of Structural Equation Modeling, the empirical investigation scrutinizes the relationships between digital technology use and critical variables linked to food sustainability in a longitudinal analysis. The results highlight the significant impact of extensive digital technology use on municipal waste, sustainable production, and consumption, indirectly influencing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Empirical research findings reveal a negative influence of digital technologies on responsible consumption and production (path coefficient −0.349, p values < 0.001), suggesting an impact of digital technologies on diminishing sustainability in consumption and production. The relationship between digital technologies and municipal solid waste is also negative (path coefficient −0.360, p values < 0.001), suggesting that the use of digital technologies can contribute to reducing the amount of municipal solid waste. Digitalization has the potential to improve the sustainability of supply chains by reducing resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions associated with production and distribution operations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
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25 pages, 2807 KiB  
Article
How Do Consumers Living in European Capital Cities Perceive Foods with Sustainability Certificates?
by Krystyna Rejman, Joanna Kaczorowska, Ewa Halicka and Aleksandra Prandota
Foods 2023, 12(23), 4215; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12234215 - 22 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1319
Abstract
Certification aims at ensuring food quality and safety, as well as confirming other beneficial credence attributes, such as local origin and sustainability. In order to explore the visibility and credibility of such certification labels functioning in the European Union, a study was conducted [...] Read more.
Certification aims at ensuring food quality and safety, as well as confirming other beneficial credence attributes, such as local origin and sustainability. In order to explore the visibility and credibility of such certification labels functioning in the European Union, a study was conducted among residents of two EU Member States, Poland and Belgium. Face-to-face questionnaire-based interviews and focus group interviews were conducted among 701 adults living in Warsaw and Brussels—the capital cities of these countries. Almost 44% of Belgian respondents and 33% of Polish respondents considered certified foods as being of better quality compared to unlabeled products. Focus group interviews demonstrated that Belgian consumers had more extensive knowledge and a higher level of trust in certified foods compared to Warsaw inhabitants. Our findings suggest that certificates are moderately important factors of food choice due to the wide variety of certificates, leading to consumer confusion, a lack of label uniformity, greenwashing, limited visibility and availability at points of sale, consumer price sensitivity and the prioritization of other factors. These constraints can be alleviated by introducing food labeling standards and regulations. Increasing consumer awareness and the availability and affordability of certified foods can also boost the demand for sustainable products in the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
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15 pages, 289 KiB  
Article
The Sustainability of Seafood Products in the Opinions of Italian Consumers of Generation Z
by Maria Bonaventura Forleo and Marilena Bredice
Foods 2023, 12(22), 4047; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224047 - 7 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1439
Abstract
This study aims to explore whether members of Generation Z have sensitivity and awareness about environmental issues related to seafood production and consumption, their beliefs on how to make more sustainable the future provisioning of seafood, their consumption frequency, and, finally, whether different [...] Read more.
This study aims to explore whether members of Generation Z have sensitivity and awareness about environmental issues related to seafood production and consumption, their beliefs on how to make more sustainable the future provisioning of seafood, their consumption frequency, and, finally, whether different profiles and groups of people could be detected. A survey was implemented with 778 Italian students attending secondary schools. Descriptive statistics, testing, and cluster analyses were applied. Results provide the sustainability profile of five groups, of which three are aligned with SDGs 12 and 14, but the other groups, comprising almost half of the sample, are insensitive, unaware, or irresolute about the sustainability of seafood production and consumption. Overall, people’s environmental consciousness does not appear to be strongly related to the frequency of consumption of sustainable seafood species. Regarding the solutions for improving the sustainability of future seafood production, young respondents underlined the catching and raising of novel, discarded, not exploited, or marginally exploited seafood species. People declared a high knowledge of the nutritional and safety implications of seafood. This study is one of the few that explore issues specifically related to the profiles of Generation Z and young people’s approach toward sustainable seafood production and consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
24 pages, 1953 KiB  
Article
Current Perceptions of Sustainable Diets in Ireland and the Outlook of Circular Eating Practices
by Shelley Fox, Francesco Noci, Owen Kenny and Maria Dermiki
Foods 2023, 12(21), 4003; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12214003 - 1 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2729
Abstract
Encouraging sustainable dietary practices is a positive step towards alleviating the negative impact of increasing food waste. This study explores consumers’ perceptions of sustainable diets and factors influencing their adoption of sustainable practices, such as circular eating. Fifteen consumers in Ireland aged 18–65+ [...] Read more.
Encouraging sustainable dietary practices is a positive step towards alleviating the negative impact of increasing food waste. This study explores consumers’ perceptions of sustainable diets and factors influencing their adoption of sustainable practices, such as circular eating. Fifteen consumers in Ireland aged 18–65+ years were recruited for a qualitative study exploring their views on sustainable diets and their opinions on the use of peels, trimmings, and other by-products from fruit and vegetables as potential new ingredients or new circular food products. Age, gender, dietary preferences and educational background were important considerations during recruitment. Online interviews were conducted, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis managed by NVivo 12. The results highlighted two overarching themes impacting circular eating, namely, food choice motives and awareness of food waste. These were linked to the participants’ knowledge of and potential adoption of sustainable diets. Daily trade-offs were evident, linked to the product and the person who was also strongly influenced by their micro-environment. Consumer education from credible sources would be required to create awareness of circular eating. Most respondents were positively disposed to the concept of circular eating, as long as food safety concerns and affordability considerations were addressed through industry transparency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
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18 pages, 1445 KiB  
Article
The Scoop on SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast): Exploring Consumer Behaviours towards a Novel Ice Cream
by Annu Mehta, Luca Serventi, Lokesh Kumar and Damir Dennis Torrico
Foods 2023, 12(17), 3152; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12173152 - 22 Aug 2023
Viewed by 2191
Abstract
With the growing demand for sustainable practises, the food industry is increasingly adopting circular economy approaches. One example is recycling the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) used in kombucha fermentation to create value-added products. However, consumer acceptance of such novel products [...] Read more.
With the growing demand for sustainable practises, the food industry is increasingly adopting circular economy approaches. One example is recycling the symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) used in kombucha fermentation to create value-added products. However, consumer acceptance of such novel products remains unclear. To address this, the present study examined consumer attitudes towards ice cream made with SCOBY as an ingredient and how this affected their intention to consume it. Drawing on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and additional constructs such as emotions and food neophobia, an online survey was conducted with New Zealand consumers (N = 170). Results showed that the TPB constructs significantly predicted the intention to consume SCOBY ice cream. Moreover, by adding emotions to the constructs, the model’s explanatory power was enhanced. Attitudes, subjective norms, and emotions were the main predictors of intention, which in turn was found to be the main predictor of behaviour. Participants’ beliefs about the safety and taste of SCOBY ice cream were significantly correlated with their intention and behaviour, as were the opinions of nutritionists/dietitians, friends, and family. The model accounted for 21.7% of the variance in behaviour and 57.4% of the variance in intention. These findings can be used to plan marketing strategies related to waste-to-value-added products such as SCOBY ice cream. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Food Consumption and Sustainable Development)
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