Sustainable Consumer Behaviour and Food Choice

Dear Colleagues,

The world’s population has grown by two billion in the last 25 years and is projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030 and 9.8 billion by 2050. Consequently, demand for food will increase, requiring a significant increase in global food production. A critical question to consider is how to meet this increasing demand for food without undermining the Earth’s resources. Food choice can play an important role in addressing current environmental challenges. The opportunities for policymakers and food producers to develop more environmentally sustainable foods depend on consumer preferences and their willingness to pay for sustainable foods. Sustainable food behaviours include the production and consumption of organic foods, local foods, foods that involve less waste in production, seasonal foods, and novel foods, such as insects, algae, etc. The recent literature indicates that consumer preferences for sustainable food are heterogeneous. Therefore, it is important to understand consumers’ behaviours and motivations and barriers to sustainable food choices.

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore consumers’ behaviours in sustainable food choice, as well as determine barriers and motives to sustainable consumer food choice. This topic is closely related to the journal’s scope (i.e., studies related to sustainability and sustainable development).

This Special Issue aims to address global challenges related to encouraging more environmentally sustainable food choice by addressing the following topics:

• Consumer preferences regarding sustainable food consumption;
• Consumer attitudes toward sustainable food consumption;
• Drivers of and barriers to sustainable food consumption;
• Impact of eco-labels and certifications on consumer choice;
• Minimization of food waste through changes in consumer behaviour;
• Roles played by information and education in shaping sustainable food choices;
• Consumer segmentation;
• Novel food and sustainability;
• Local foods;
• Organically produced food.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Marina Tomić Maksan
Dr. Francesca Gerini
Guest Editors

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