Special Issue "Identification of Sustainable Consumer Behaviors"

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zhifeng Gao
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, , Gainesville, FL, USA
Interests: consumer behavior; survey/market research; choice analysis; the economics of sustainable practices
Dr. John Lai
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0180, USA
Interests: economic behavior; consumer choice; agribusiness marketing and management; and preferences in animal production
Dr. Bachir Kassas
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Food and Resource Economics Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-0180, USA
Interests: consumer behavior; health-related behavior; preference elicitation mechanisms; prosocial preferences
Dr. Ruifeng Liu
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Economics and Management, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450012, China
Interests: food economics and management; consumer behavior; agricultural economics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the increasing understanding of the relationship between human activities and nature, sustainable development has been recognized and promoted globally. The United Nations defines sustainable development as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (United Nations, 2021). This definition encompasses three main components, namely social, environmental, and economic sustainability. Consumers play an essential role in sustainable development, both directly and indirectly. Consumers directly protect the environment through activities such as conserving water, reducing the quantity of trash and litter being introduced into the environment, and recycling/reducing household waste. They can also indirectly contribute to sustainability by using their purchasing power to influence the types, amounts, and forms of products produced. For instance, the global sales of electric cars increased from  0.05 million to 2.08 million from 2011 to 2020 (IEA 2021), resulting from both government support and consumer demand. Similarly, the worldwide sales of organic food, predominantly consumer-driven, increased from USD 59.1 million  in 2010 to USD 95 million in 2018 (Statista 2021). Worldwide, there are approximately 600 labels associated with sustainability and environmentally friendly practices to satisfy the increasing consumer demand for this type of product.

Because of the significant role of consumers in sustainable development, it is critical to identify sustainable consumer behaviors and factors contributing to such behaviors. This Special Issue concentrates on the identification of sustainable consumer behaviors. Papers focusing on any topic related to the listing shown below are welcome. Both theoretical and applied original papers will be considered. Systematic reviews that combine and summarize the results of the literature on sustainable consumer behavior are also welcome.

Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Consumer recycling behaviors;

Sustainable lifestyles;

Attitude and preference towards sustainable alternative energy (e.g., bioenergy, solar, wind, green energy);

Consumer environment and ecosystem protection behavior;

Preference for sustainable products (e.g., ecolabel, organic, energy stars);

Behaviors related to household/food waste;

Preferences and perceptions of sustainable animal production systems;

Consumer acceptance of sustainably produced food, fiber, and fuel;

Consumer perceptions of conservation practices in food production;

Preferences for policies related to sustainability and conservation practices for the environment;

Perceptions and attitudes towards emerging food production technologies that promote sustainability;

Preferences for genetic modification practices that address challenges in food sustainability.

Keywords: recycling behaviors; sustainable lifestyle; environment and ecosystem protection behavior; preference of sustainable alternative energy; environment and ecosystem protection; household/food waste behavior; preferences of sustainable animal production systems; acceptance of sustainably produced food/fiber/fuel; perceptions of conservation practices in food production; preferences for sustainability policies; sustainability-driven food production technologies; genetic modification to solve sustainability issues

Dr. Zhifeng Gao
Dr. John Lai
Dr. Bachir Kassas
Dr. Ruifeng Liu
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 papers will be 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 1900 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.

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Does Physical Activity Influence Consumer Acceptance of Gene Edited Food?
Sustainability 2021, 13(14), 7759; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147759 - 12 Jul 2021
Viewed by 388
Abstract
Consumer acceptance of new and emerging food production technologies is tied to their understanding of costs and benefits of the product. Advances in bioengineering not only provide direct nutritional benefits to the consumer, but also environmental benefits that improve sustainability. Improved consumer understanding [...] Read more.
Consumer acceptance of new and emerging food production technologies is tied to their understanding of costs and benefits of the product. Advances in bioengineering not only provide direct nutritional benefits to the consumer, but also environmental benefits that improve sustainability. Improved consumer understanding of the benefits of innovative bioengineered food products can aid in the adoption process. We track participants’ physical activity level to determine whether this trait impacts willingness to pay for bioengineered foods. Additionally, we determine whether consumers are willing to pay a premium for gene edited food relative to genetically modified food. The results indicate that there is no link between physical activity and willingness to pay for genetically edited food. Additional results suggest that there is a premium among Asian and other respondents but not by gender. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Identification of Sustainable Consumer Behaviors)
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