Local Food Consumers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Local Food Consumers Local food consumers Who are they and what drives them? Irene Leemans 900721506100 MSc. Thesis Marketing and Consumer Behaviour MSc. Management, Economics and Consumer Studies Specialisation Consumer Studies Irene Leemans, 900721506100 Supervisor: Hans van Trijp Second reader: Frans Verhees MCB-code 80436 0 Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. 2 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2 1.1 Context ...................................................................................................................................... 2 1.2 Local food benefits .................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 The acceptance of local food among Western consumers ....................................................... 4 1.4 Knowledge gap .......................................................................................................................... 4 1.5 Moderators of consumer behaviour ......................................................................................... 4 2. Literature review ........................................................................................................................... 5 2.1 What is local? Defining the concept of local foods ................................................................... 5 2.2 Local food outlets ...................................................................................................................... 6 2.2.1. Types of local food outlets .................................................................................................... 7 2.2.2. Selection of types of local food outlets ................................................................................ 8 2.3 Perceived benefits of local ...................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Perceived costs of local food .................................................................................................. 11 3. Conceptual model ........................................................................................................................ 12 3.1 Consumer behaviour theories ................................................................................................ 12 3.2 Concern about food provisioning ........................................................................................... 14 3.3 Food-Related-Lifestyle ............................................................................................................ 16 3.4 Context .................................................................................................................................... 19 4. Methodology ................................................................................................................................ 20 4.1 Research design ...................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Research sample ..................................................................................................................... 20 4.3 Data collection ........................................................................................................................ 20 4.4 Measures ................................................................................................................................. 21 4.5 Data analysis ........................................................................................................................... 22 5. Results .......................................................................................................................................... 22 5.1 Randomization check .............................................................................................................. 22 5.2 Descriptive data ...................................................................................................................... 23 5.1 Hypothesis 1 Attitudes find their basis in beliefs .................................................................... 26 5.2 Hypothesis 2 Attitudes lead to purchase intentions ............................................................... 27 5.3 Hypothesis 3 Purchase intentions lead to purchase behaviour.............................................. 28 5.4 Hypothesis 4 Concern moderates the beliefs-attitude relationship....................................... 29 5.5 Hypothesis 5 Food-Related-Lifestyle moderates the beliefs-attitude relationship ................ 30 1 5.6 Hypothesis 6 Accessibility moderates the attitude-purchase intention relationship ............ 32 5.7 Hypothesis 7 Accesibility moderates the purchase intention-behaviour relationship ........... 33 6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 35 7. Discussion .................................................................................................................................... 39 7.1 Market implications ................................................................................................................ 39 7.2 Limitations of technical design ............................................................................................... 39 7.2.1 Internal validity .................................................................................................................... 39 7.2.2. External validity ................................................................................................................... 40 7.3 Recommendations for future research ................................................................................... 40 8. References .................................................................................................................................... 42 9. Appendix ...................................................................................................................................... 47 9.1 Questionnaire blueprint .......................................................................................................... 47 9.2 Data analysis description hypothesis 1 ................................................................................... 51 9.3 Data analysis description hypothesis 3 ................................................................................... 54 9.4 Data analysis description hypothesis 4 ................................................................................... 55 9.5 Data analysis description hypothesis 5 ................................................................................... 56 9.6 Data analysis description hypothesis 6 ................................................................................... 57 Abstract While interest in local food is growing, only a small part of the population consumes them on a regular basis. To gain a thorough understanding of the underlying decision-making process, Value-Belief-Norm theory, Attitude- Behaviour-Context theory and Alphabet theory were combined together with personal and situational factors of Food-Related-Lifestyle, concern about food provisioning and accessibility context to form a new theoretical model. This model was tested for local food decision-making in general, but also for four specific local food outlets common in the Netherlands; the local supermarket, the health food shop, the farm shop and the Community Supported Agriculture farm. Four questionnaire versions, based on the four different local food outlets were administered among 689 participants. Results from the questionnaires confirmed that beliefs about local food differed from those about global food and that perceptions even significantly differed between the local food outlets. Furthermore attitudes towards local food and the various outlets were found to find their basis in product quality beliefs, but not in convenience beliefs. On top of that it was confirmed that positive attitudes lead to positive purchase intentions and in turn to positive purchase behaviour. Low accessibility of the outlets negatively influenced attitudes and purchase intentions. Concern about food provisioning and Food-Related-Lifestyle only to a small extent influenced the relationship between beliefs and attitudes. More research is needed to disclose how these factors influence the decision-making process. 1. Introduction 1.1 Context In the recent decades, considerable changes have occurred in the food supply chain (Watkiss et al., 2005). Globalisation of knowledge has boosted the green revolution during the early and mid-twentieth century. The green revolution made the food production system more efficient, leading to higher yields and the possibility to feed a 2 growing population. This enormous increase in production was made possible through mechanization, the introduction of high-yielding varieties of crops and increased usage of fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation (Horrigan et al., 2002). This led to a further globalisation of the food industry in which food products are sourced from all around the world and imports and exports keep on rising. Sales of food products are concentrated in supermarkets, which have almost all foods year around
Recommended publications
  • Towards Re-Localised and Resilient Food Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in Europe
    Towards re-localised and resilient food systems: challenges and opportunities in Europe Michel Pimbert Centre for Agroecology and Food Security, Coventry University UK Local food initiatives growing in Europe • Local Food Systems - production, processing, trade and consumption of food occur in a defined reduced geographical area • Short Food Supply Chain - the number of intermediaries is minimised, the ideal being a direct contact between the producer and the consumer. Study of 84 different SFSCs in Europe (Kneafsey et al, 2013) • CSA and AMAPs • Sell mainly to local • farm shops, pick-your- and /or regional own schemes… markets • farmers' markets, shops • Products traded: fresh owned by farmers, fruit and vegetables, farm-based delivery animal products (meat, schemes, or through dairy), beverages one single trade • Urban-driven schemes intermediary have grown rapidly in • Farmer link with public recent years in procurement scheme comparison with rural SFSCs Social impacts Economic impacts • SFSCs and LFS favor • Benefits for rural the closer connection development and between farmers and economic regeneration consumers • LFS and SFSC - higher • Development of trust multiplier effect on local and social bonds - a economies than long sense of community chains, with impacts and of 'living-together’ also on maintaining local • Behavioral changes: employment, particularly eating habits with public in rural areas health effect (reduced • A higher share of value obesity) added is retained locally by producers Environmental impacts • Local: reduced GHG emissions associated with transportation • Seasonal: Reduced GHG emissions involved in storage • Ecological production methods: reduced GHG involved in production; reduced pesticide use, reduced soil and water pollution, enhanced biodiversity, minimum processing (reduces GHG in processing & storage) Towards re-localised food systems and circular economy models • Appropriate scale and technology e.g.
    [Show full text]
  • A Guide to Serving Local Food on Your Menu1
    A GUIDE TO SERVING LOCAL FOOD ON YOUR MENU Quick Tips to Serving Local Food on Your Menu: 1. Start small—during the growing season, replace foods that you already serve with the same product from local farmers. 2. Learn about local agriculture—visit farmers markets, call your Cooperative Extension office, and find out what organizations work with farmers in your area. See the Resources section of this Guide for suggestions on how to find farmers near you. 3. Visit each other—tour farms and invite farmers to your facility to gain better insight into how you can work together. 4. Work through your existing distributors—ask if they offer any local products and encourage them to do so or to do more. 5. Be patient—buying local can be rewarding yet challenging, so be flexible and set realistic expectations and goals. 6. Advertise—let your customers know what your are doing by labeling foods that come from local farms and tell stories about the products and their producers. A Guide to Serving Local Food on Your Menu1 INTRODUCTION The demand for fresh, local food has been growing rapidly in recent years, spurred by celebrity chefs, farmers’ markets, Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaigns, and other initiatives. Institutions of various kinds have begun to respond to this demand. In one well known example, the media attention received by the local foods project begun in one dining hall at Yale University has made other schools aware that serving fresh, local food can give them a competitive edge when recruiting students. As a result, many colleges and universities across the country have begun to feature their use of local foods.
    [Show full text]
  • Sustainability for Food Consumers: Which Perception?
    sustainability Article Sustainability for Food Consumers: Which Perception? Cristiana Peano 1 , Valentina Maria Merlino 1,* , Francesco Sottile 2 , Danielle Borra 1 and Stefano Massaglia 1 1 Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Forestali e Alimentari, Univerity of Torino, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, 10095 Grugliasco, Italy; [email protected] (C.P.); [email protected] (D.B.); [email protected] (S.M.) 2 Dipartimento di Architettura, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 14, 90128 Palermo, Italy; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 23 August 2019; Accepted: 19 October 2019; Published: 25 October 2019 Abstract: A sustainable future for the community is one of the objectives established by the European Union Agenda 2030. Furthermore, sustainable consumption has been identified as one of the possible trajectories for sustainable development. It is for this reason that food production, distribution and consumption ways cannot be overlooked for sustainability achievement, as well as the consumer’s related perception. In this research the Best–Worst scaling methodology was adopted to explore the priorities declared by a sample of 801 consumers among 12 different sustainability definitions selected from the scientific literature. The choice experiment was carried out through face-to-face interviews during two food and wine events closely related to the sustainability theme in the food sector. The respondents considered as sustainability priority definition the “preservation of natural resources”, followed by “decent working conditions” and “accessibility for everyone to healthy and safe food”. Moreover, 5 consumer’s clusters were identified according to the priorities assigned to the different sustainability definitions, as well as to individuals socio-demographic characteristics.
    [Show full text]
  • Local and International Examples of How Sustainable Communities Can and Do Work
    Environment 24 Local and international examples of how sustainable communities can and do work Morag Gamble SEED International Email: [email protected] www.SEEDinternational.com.au What is a sustainable neighbourhood? What does it look like? What are it’s features? How are local communities around the world making it a reality? INTRODUCTION For the first time in human history, more than half of the global population live in urban environments. To sustain urban habitats and their inhabitants, we must plan, design and think of cities as ecological systems, create healthy urban metabolisms and reconsider the relationship between cities and their hinterland. Climate change, peaking oil supplies, increasing levels of pollution, scarcity of fresh water, biodiversity loss, toxic food scares, and escalating violence are just some of the reasons why new patterns of urban living need to be developed. There is a great potential in urban areas to produce more, waste less and contribute to the ecological balance (restoration of the urban metabolism). Cities can become cyclers instead of sinks. The settlements we live in affect the choices we make and the way we live, as well as the level of impact we have on the planet's finite resources. A radical shift is required in the current approach to the design of human settlements and the food systems that feed the populations. WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY? “Sustainable communities live in social, cultural and physical environments in which needs and aspirations can be satisfied without diminishing the chances of future generations. A sustainable human community is designed in such a way that its ways of life, businesses, economy, physical structures, and technologies do not interfere with nature’s inherent ability to sustain life.
    [Show full text]
  • Chapter 6: What Makes Local Food At- Tractive to Consumers?
    Chapter 6: What makes local food at- tractive to consumers? Andreas Håkansson In order to understand the potential of local and regional food, we must first understand what it is about these goods that attract consumers. This chapter summarizes the research on what drives local food consumption, starting from an overview of the motivations of the consumers themselves and different descriptions of what characterizes consumers of local food (“locavore“), and continuing with potential explanations for underlying motives. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in local and regional food: inte- rest from researchers and government officials, but also from food producers. Local farmers markets are springing up in communities in many areas of the industrialized world, including the south Baltic region. This increase is coupled with an increased consumer demand in local and regional food throughout the region. In this chapter we investigate why consumers are now demanding local foods. An increased un- derstanding would help to better understand the potential of local food from both a political perspective, and, from a marketing one, help to market existing and deve- lop new local and regional food products. Effective demand Before discussing motivations, it is important to first define what is meant by saying that consumers have a demand for local food. Demand (or effective demand, to be more precise) is a technical term defined as a willingness linked to an ability to pay for a good or service at a given price. It should be separated from having an interest in something or in preferring to have something only if it could be obtained at no additional cost.
    [Show full text]
  • Consumers' Preferences for Locally Produced Food: a Study in Southeast Missouri
    Consumers' preferences for locally produced food: A study in southeast Missouri Cheryl Brown Abstract. A mail survey was used to gather information from the main food buyer in random households in southeast Missouri to analyze consumer preferences for locally grown food. A majority of shoppers in the region were not aware of the state's AgriMissouri promotion program. Consumers de®ned locally grown not as a statewide concept but as a narrower regional concept that could cross state boundaries. Most important when purchasing produce were quality and freshness, and most consumers perceived local produce at farmers' markets to be of higher quality and lower price. Farm households were not signi®cantly different from other households in the region and did not show a prefer- ence or willingness to pay a price premium for local food products. Food buyers who were members of an environ- mental group had higher education and income and were more likely to purchase organic food and more willing to pay a higher price for local produce. Households in which someone was raised on a farm, or had parents who were raised on a farm, had a preference for locally grown food and were willing to pay a price premium for it. Marketing local products should stress quality, freshness, and price competitiveness, and appeal to environmentalists and those with a favorable attitude towards family farms. Key words: consumer attitudes, consumer behavior, consumer mail survey, direct marketing, farmers' markets, food marketing, willingness to pay Introduction the state, with several in or near the major metropolitan areas of Kansas City and St.
    [Show full text]
  • The Economics of Local Food Systems: a Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments, and Choices
    Agricultural Marketing Service March 2016 The Economics of Local Food Systems A Toolkit to Guide Community Discussions, Assessments and Choices PB 1 Authors and Acknowledgements Authors Dawn Thilmany McFadden (coordinator, Colorado State University), David Conner (University of Vermont), Steven Deller (University of Wisconsin-Madison), David Hughes (University of Tennessee), Ken Meter (Crossroads Resource Center), Alfonso Morales (University of Wisconsin-Madison), Todd Schmit (Cornell University), David Swenson (Iowa State University), Allie Bauman (Colorado State University), Megan Phillips Goldenberg (Crossroads Resource Center), Rebecca Hill (Colorado State University), Becca B.R. Jablonski (Colorado State University) and Debra Tropp (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service) The authors would like to thank three reviewers, Jeff O’Hara (Union of Concerned Scientists), Rich Pirog (Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems), and Katherine Ralstron (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service) for their review and comments. Additionally, special thanks to Samantha Schaffstall and Arthur Neal of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service for support throughout the entire project. Preferred citation: Dawn Thilmany McFadden, David Conner, Steven Deller, David Hughes, Ken Meter, Alfonso Morales, Todd Schmit, David Swenson, Allie Bauman, Megan Phillips Goldenberg, Rebecca Hill, Becca B.R. Jablonski, and Debra Tropp. The Economics of Local Food Systems: A Toolkit
    [Show full text]
  • Creating a Food Atlas for Communities
    Family and Consumer Sciences FSFCS22 Creating a Food Atlas for Communities Margaret Harris Introduction food long Assistant Professor ­ distances and This guide is to help you develop a Health excess packag­ food atlas (aka food map or food ing and pro­ guide) – a guide that provides infor­ cessing. You mation to community members about are also sup­ where to find food locally. You can per­ porting farm­ sonalize this guide and make it ing practices unique. The guidelines are sugges­ that are more tions for the steps you need to think sustainable – through to develop your food atlas. gentler on the earth. In doing so, your water Your food atlas will probably quality is protected, there is include information on all types of less soil erosion and greater food sources your community offers biodiversity. (i.e., food pantries, local grocers, local farmers’ markets, etc.). Encourage • Local food tastes better: When residents to buy food from local pro­ food “sits” for long amounts of ducers as much as possible. When you time – as is common when it is purchase food, you are making a transported long distances – it not state ment that reflects your values only loses flavor but also loses and culture. It is more than what you nutrients. Buying food locally and your family will eat for the next means you’re eating freshly picked meal – you are making a choice to food that is in season. There’s strengthen your local environment nothing tastier nor healthier! and economy. Here’s how: • Helping your local farms and community heritage: Each time you purchase from a local farmer, you are strengthening your local economy because you are elimi­ nating the “middle man.” This means more of your dollars go back directly to your community.
    [Show full text]
  • Slow Food Companion
    WELCOME TO OUR WORLD COMPANION Slow Food® CONTENTS Graphic © areagrafica 1. GOOD, CLEAN AND FAIR 4 6. EVENTS 50 History of an idea 4 Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre 52 Philosophy 6 Cheese 54 Mission 8 Slow Fish 56 Events worldwide 59 2. NETWORK 12 Structure 12 7. COMMUNICATION 60 Association and convivia 14 slowfood.com and social media 61 Members 16 Slow Food Almanac 61 Local communities 18 International communication 61 The Slow Food Youth Network 19 Video 61 Slow Food Editore 61 3. TERRA MADRE 20 Text Network of networks 23 8. CaMPAIGNS 62 John Irving and Silvia Ceriani The meetings 24 Land grabbing 63 Terra Madre Day 26 GMOs 64 Editors A Thousand Gardens in Africa 27 Slow Fish 65 Kate Mann, Silvia Ceriani Slow Cheese 65 4. BIODIVERSITY 28 Translation Foundation for Biodiversity 28 9. SLOW WORLD 66 Carla Ranicki Ark of Taste 30 Manifesto 68 Presidia 32 The Sixth International Congress: Art Director Earth Markets 34 strategic objectives 70 Paolo Rubei Frequently asked questions 72 5. FOOD & TASTE EDUCATION 36 Who’s who 74 Cover Convivium activities 39 Contact us 75 Photo @ Kunal Chandra Taste workshop 39 Schools and tools 40 © Copyright School gardens 42 Slow Food Worldwide 44 University of Gastronomic Sciences 46 ® All Rights Reserved Daily food 49 Slow Food FROM ENO-GASTRONOMY FROM ecO-GASTRONOMY FROM LOcaL TO ecO-GASTRONOMY TO NEO-GASTRONOMY TO GLOBAL arco Sasia Slow Food was founded as an “eno- Slow Food believes in a “new gastronomy”: Slow Food is a global grassroots organization M gastronomic” (wine and food) association by gastronomy as freedom of choice, as which envisions a world in which all people hoto © food activist Carlo Petrini in 1986.
    [Show full text]
  • Waving the Banana at Capitalism
    Ethnography http://eth.sagepub.com/ 'Waving the banana' at capitalism: Political theater and social movement strategy among New York's 'freegan' dumpster divers Alex V. Barnard Ethnography 2011 12: 419 DOI: 10.1177/1466138110392453 The online version of this article can be found at: http://eth.sagepub.com/content/12/4/419 Published by: http://www.sagepublications.com Additional services and information for Ethnography can be found at: Email Alerts: http://eth.sagepub.com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://eth.sagepub.com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.nav Permissions: http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav Citations: http://eth.sagepub.com/content/12/4/419.refs.html >> Version of Record - Nov 25, 2011 What is This? Downloaded from eth.sagepub.com at UNIV CALIFORNIA BERKELEY LIB on November 30, 2011 Article Ethnography 12(4) 419–444 ‘Waving the banana’ ! The Author(s) 2011 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav at capitalism: Political DOI: 10.1177/1466138110392453 theater and social eth.sagepub.com movement strategy among New York’s ‘freegan’ dumpster divers Alex V. Barnard University of California, Berkeley, USA Abstract This article presents an ethnographic study of ‘freegans’, individuals who use behaviors like dumpster diving for discarded food and voluntary unemployment to protest against environmental degradation and capitalism. While freegans often present their ideology as a totalizing lifestyle which impacts all aspects of their lives, in practice, freegans emphasize what would seem to be the most repellant aspect of their movement: eating wasted food. New Social Movement (NSM) theory would suggest that behaviors like dumpster diving are intended to assert difference and an alternative identity, rather than make more traditional social movement claims.
    [Show full text]
  • Globalization and Food the Dialectics of Globality and Locality
    25 Globalization and food The dialectics of globality and locality David Inglis Tell me what thou eatest, and I will tell thee who thou art. (Alexis Soyer) The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they are fed. (Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin) It hadn’t been a great year for wild sockeye, prices were up at the market and farmed Chilean salmon finally made it into the seafood risotto. It didn’t taste bad, exactly; it just didn’t taste right. … A fish pen up the coast from Santiago might as well be up the coast from Osaka or Vla- divostock or Campbell River. The fish in such a pen lived independent of geography, food chain or ecosystem. These salmon were perfectly commodified as a result, immune to the restrictions of place. There was no where that these fish were from. And to what end had he made this critical sacrifice, made this culinary homeless risotto that no amount of saffron butter would resurrect? (Taylor, 2001: 171) Introduction The great nineteenth-century gourmet Brillat-Savarin, quoted above, lived in a period where confident assertions about the cultural ‘purity’ of national cuisines and foodways could be agreed to by all persons of good sense. French cuisine seemed to be as markedly different from its Anglo-Saxon and Germanic neighbours as it was from the cooking of Japan and China, a view shared by people all across Europe. Thus when searching for a way in Ecce Homo to describe the cultural essence of the Germans, Nietzsche’s (1967: 238) mind seemed naturally to turn to matters of cuisine: [As to] German cuisine quite generally – what doesn’t it have on its conscience! Soup before the meal … overcooked meats, vegetables cooked with fat and flour; the degeneration of pastries and puddings into paperweights! Add to this the virtually bestial prandial drinking habits of the ancient, and by no means only the ancient, Germans, and you will understand the origin of the German spirit – from distressed intestines.
    [Show full text]
  • Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues, ERR 97, U.S
    United States Department of Agriculture Local Food Systems Economic Research Service Concepts, Impacts, and Issues Economic Research Report Steve Martinez, Michael Hand, Michelle Da Pra, Susan Pollack, Number 97 Katherine Ralston, Travis Smith, Stephen Vogel, Shellye Clark, May 2010 Luanne Lohr, Sarah Low, and Constance Newman da.gov .us rs .e w Visit Our Website To Learn More! w w www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/ FoodMarketingSystem/ Recommended citation format for this publication: Martinez, Steve, et al. Local Food Systems: Concepts, Impacts, and Issues, ERR 97, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, May 2010. Use of commercial and trade names does not imply approval or constitute endorsement by USDA. Cover photo credit: Shutterstock. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and, where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual's income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington,
    [Show full text]