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Sustainability
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Pro-environmental Behaviors and Environmental Literacy for Sustainable Agriculture
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Pro-environmental Behaviors and Environmental Literacy for Sustainable Agriculture

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 4713

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Eric Ng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Business, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia
Interests: agribusiness marketing; business-to-business marketing; environmental behaviour; international business and marketing; supply and value chains
Prof. Dr. Wei-Ta Fang

E-Mail Website1 Website2 Website3
Guest Editor
Graduate Institute of Environmental Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 11677, Taiwan
Interests: environmental impact assessment; environmental education; environmental literacy; health literacy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Agriculture has traditionally focused on maximizing production yields and profitability, with limited consideration to the long-term consequences on the ecological systems and biodiversity. However, this has since changed with the increasing awareness of environmental issues as well as the market demand for ‘greener’ and more ecologically friendly farming produce. Sustainable agriculture is regarded as an important alternative farming system that seeks to ensure profitability as well as food quality and safety, while protecting the environment. Consumers’ expectations for ‘greener’ products and agribusinesses seeking to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace are also key drivers for sustainable agriculture.

While there is a growing acknowledgement of the importance of sustainable agriculture, little is known about its relationships with the pro-environmental behavior of individuals and environmental practices of agribusinesses, which can impact achieving the goals of sustainable agriculture. This Special Issue welcomes original research, review articles, and case studies from inter- or transdisciplinary groups that provide further insights into the understanding of environmental literacy, pro-environmental behaviors, and environmental practices for sustainable agriculture.

Prof. Dr. Eric Ng
Prof. Dr. Wei-Ta Fang
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • environmental literacy
  • sustainable agriculture
  • pro-environmental behaviors
  • agribusiness farming and management
  • environmental practices
  • attitude and behaviors

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 397 KiB  
Article
Whether the Use of the Internet Can Assist Farmers in Selecting Biopesticides or Not: A Study Based on Evidence from the Largest Rice-Producing Province in China
by Siyu Gong, Bo Wang and Zhigang Yu
Sustainability 2022, 14(24), 16354; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416354 - 7 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 965
Abstract
The pivotal measure for reducing pollution and facilitating green and sustainable agriculture lies in the application of biopesticides to replace chemical pesticides. The argument still rests on whether the use of the Internet can assist farmers in selecting biopesticides or not. In light [...] Read more.
The pivotal measure for reducing pollution and facilitating green and sustainable agriculture lies in the application of biopesticides to replace chemical pesticides. The argument still rests on whether the use of the Internet can assist farmers in selecting biopesticides or not. In light of 532 microscopic research datapoints from the largest rice-producing province in China, the Probit model was applied in this article to probe the influencing factors regarding the use of the Internet on their selection of the biopesticides by farmers, and the TAM-PR model was also adopted to explore its intrinsic mechanisms. According to the research findings, the use of the Internet directly contributed to the application of biopesticides, which can affect farmers’ decisions regarding biopesticides by means of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use in an indirect manner, and the mediating effect was 19.74% and 20.98%, respectively. The result regarding perceived risk was not significant. The use of the Internet has a remarkable effect on farmers with high incomes and large-scale operations, while it has an insignificant effect on farmers with low incomes and individual operations. It has a remarkable positive effect on farmers with high academic qualifications compared with those with low academic qualifications. Furthermore, personal, household-based production and village and green cognitive characteristics also have a significant influence on the application of biopesticides. Hence, it is of great significance to continuously facilitate the application of rural Internet usage, encourage environmentally friendly modes of production, and reduce agricultural pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pro-environmental Behaviors and Environmental Literacy for Sustainable Agriculture)
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11 pages, 295 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Agriculture: Relationship between Knowledge and Attitude among University Students
by Carlos Durán Gabela, Bernardo Trejos, Pablo Lamiño Jaramillo and Amy Boren-Alpízar
Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15523; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315523 - 22 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1620
Abstract
Sustainable agriculture (SA) has emerged as an alternative to feeding an increasing global population. Several frameworks have been used in SA research. This study proposes understanding SA under five components: environment, economy, society, resilience, and persistence. The decision-making process for adopting SA is [...] Read more.
Sustainable agriculture (SA) has emerged as an alternative to feeding an increasing global population. Several frameworks have been used in SA research. This study proposes understanding SA under five components: environment, economy, society, resilience, and persistence. The decision-making process for adopting SA is determined by several factors, such as knowledge and attitudes. Both constructs play a decisive role in SA’s development, a field where university students are called to be leaders and decision-makers. Despite the increase in the body of SA literature, little is known about SA in Latin America. This research aimed to analyze university students’ attitudes and knowledge of SA and the relationship between both constructs. A completely structured questionnaire was designed and distributed online. A Likert-type scale was used for attitude and multiple-choice questions for knowledge. It was found that, among participants (n = 374), the majority had a high level of attitude (71.9%) and a moderate level of knowledge (62.1%) of SA. Participants’ attitudes towards SA were positive, regardless of gender (p = 0.17) and perceived knowledge does not predict measured knowledge (R2 = 0.074; p < 0.001). Moreover, a low positive relationship was found between attitude and knowledge (rs = 0.252; p = 0.000). Further research should focus on analyzing other factors that could affect attitude and knowledge of SA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pro-environmental Behaviors and Environmental Literacy for Sustainable Agriculture)
16 pages, 7111 KiB  
Article
Food Carbon Literacy: A Definition and Framework Exemplified by Designing and Evaluating a Digital Grocery List for Increasing Food Carbon Literacy and Changing Behavior
by Björn Hedin, Lucas Grönborg and Gustav Johansson
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12442; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912442 - 29 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1499
Abstract
Public knowledge about the differences in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production and transportation of different kinds of food are generally low. People with an interest in choosing food with low greenhouse gas emissions must therefore either increase this “food carbon literacy” [...] Read more.
Public knowledge about the differences in greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production and transportation of different kinds of food are generally low. People with an interest in choosing food with low greenhouse gas emissions must therefore either increase this “food carbon literacy” or be provided with such information when they decide what food to buy. Research about this specific kind of food literacy is, however, scarce, lacking both well-defined terminology and interventions attempting to increase food carbon literacy. In this paper we provide a framework for future research in the area by defining “food carbon literacy”, serving as a starting point for categorizing, comparing, and generalizing future research findings. Drawing on previous work on other kinds of literacies, we distinguish between (1) food carbon literacy, (2) food product carbon literacy, (3) food handling carbon literacy, and (4) financial food carbon literacy. We have furthermore developed and tested a digital behavior change intervention in the form of a digital grocery list used on mobile phones. The list works as other digital grocery shopping lists, but also displays the CO2e footprint of the food added to the list, thereby enabling the user to change products at the planning stage and increase their food carbon literacy. It was tested on a group of 38 people for a duration of 2 weeks. The goals of the pilot study were to investigate quantitatively whether such a tool would increase food carbon literacy, and to investigate qualitatively how such a tool could be used and designed. The results show a strong increase in food carbon literacy for food the respondents had added to their grocery lists, but also for food that had not been added to their lists, indicating a generalization of the knowledge. Finally, we provide implications for the design of such systems, based on the qualitative evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pro-environmental Behaviors and Environmental Literacy for Sustainable Agriculture)
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