Consumer Perceptions and Sustainability in Agricultural and Food Economics
A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2025 | Viewed by 84
Special Issue Editors
Interests: wine economics; economics of food markets; food marketing; food policy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: agricultural economics; business economics; food science; marketing; food policy; quantitative social research
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The food system is currently facing significant challenges, including climate change, the depletion of natural resources and ecosystems, shifts in dietary patterns, rising demand for food, and increasing food insecurity. Addressing these issues requires a collective effort from all stakeholders in the food industry, including companies, policymakers, researchers, and consumers. By making sustainable choices, consumers can play a crucial role in helping to meet the European Union’s ambitious climate goals for 2030 and 2050.
Choosing “greener” food products is one of the most impactful actions consumers can take to support a sustainable planet and food system. However, despite many consumers expressing a preference for sustainable food options, changing consumption patterns remains a challenge. Therefore, it is essential to examine the factors influencing consumer behavior, as well as their perceptions to sustainability-oriented changes in food production systems.
Understanding consumers’ attitudes, knowledge, concerns, beliefs, preferences, and trust is vital in the growing market for sustainable food. This insight can also facilitate the effective adoption of “greener” products and technological innovations, as well as the development of a policy framework for building a food system that nourishes people, protects the planet, and leaves no one behind.
This Special Issue will explore sustainable food consumption by considering the multidimensional nature of sustainability, which encompasses social, environmental, and economic aspects. We invite both conceptual (theoretical, literature reviews) and empirical (quantitative, qualitative, case studies) submissions that investigate consumer perceptions of sustainable agriculture and food systems.
To guide authors, we encourage contributions focused on, but not limited to, the following themes:
- Drivers and barriers to sustainable food consumption;
- Consumer perception and trust in eco-labels and certifications;
- The role of food literacy and education in promoting sustainable choices;
- Cultural and socio-demographic influences on sustainable food behavior;
- Innovations in sustainable food packaging and their consumer acceptance;
- Impact of digital tools and social media on sustainable food awareness;
- Willingness to pay for sustainability-oriented food products;
- Sustainable diets and health-conscious consumer trends;
- Policy frameworks supporting sustainable food systems;
- Supply chain transparency and its effect on consumer behavior.
Prof. Dr. Antonio Seccia
Dr. Antonella Cammarelle
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. Agriculture 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 2600 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
- consumer behavior
- food consumption
- organic food buying intention
- sustainable agriculture
- sustainable food attributes
- food value chain
- food policy
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