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Eating Sustainably? Practices and Background Factors of Ecological Food Consumption in Four Nordic Countries

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  • Mari Niva
  • Johanna Mäkelä
  • Nina Kahma
  • Unni Kjærnes

Abstract

This article examines sustainable food consumption in the Nordic context, studying to what extent people in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden have food consumption patterns that are in the current discourse promoted as sustainability enhancing. The article analyses the association of sustainable food consumption to attitudinal support for environmental policy measures, interest in cooking, and healthy eating practices as well as sociodemographic background factors. The comparison of four countries enables an analysis of the importance of the national context in sustainable food consumption. The study is based on data from a 2012 Nordic Web survey (N = 8248). The results show that carrying out sustainable activities was not very widespread. Buying local food was the most popular, eating meat less often the most unpopular sustainable activity. The level of participation in sustainable practices varied across the four countries. Swedish respondents were the overall most active, Norwegians the least. However, results from analysis of variance ( anova) indicated that the individual explanatory factors of sustainable food consumption were relatively similar in the four countries. Healthy eating patterns, interest in cooking, and supporting environmental policy measures were all positively correlated to sustainable food consumption. Women and the elderly were more active in sustainable practices than were men and the young. Education and occupational position played a role, too, but their effect was not totally systematic across countries. The findings suggest that sustainable food consumption is not a strongly socially stratified phenomenon, but it is related to other practices of eating regarded as “proper,” such as interest in cooking and healthy eating. Broader and more inclusive policies are needed to better engage people in sustainable activities. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014

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  • Mari Niva & Johanna Mäkelä & Nina Kahma & Unni Kjærnes, 2014. "Eating Sustainably? Practices and Background Factors of Ecological Food Consumption in Four Nordic Countries," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 465-484, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jcopol:v:37:y:2014:i:4:p:465-484
    DOI: 10.1007/s10603-014-9270-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Malin Tälle & Lotten Wiréhn & Daniel Ellström & Mattias Hjerpe & Maria Huge-Brodin & Per Jensen & Tom Lindström & Tina-Simone Neset & Uno Wennergren & Geneviève Metson, 2019. "Synergies and Trade-Offs for Sustainable Food Production in Sweden: An Integrated Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-22, January.
    3. Andreea Strambu-Dima, 2022. "Food-Related Consumer Behavior Endorsing European Food Chain Sustainability—A Marketing Study on the Romanian Consumer," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-20, July.
    4. Mònica Guillen-Royo, 2018. "Sustainable consumption and wellbeing: does on-line shopping matter?," Working Papers on Innovation Studies 20181022, Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture, University of Oslo.
    5. Annala, Milla & Vinnari, Markus, 2019. "Content Analysis of TV Food Advertising Using Climate Impact and a Nutritional Impact Index," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 68-74.
    6. Irene C. Kamenidou & Spyridon A. Mamalis & Stavros Pavlidis & Evangelia-Zoi G. Bara, 2019. "Segmenting the Generation Z Cohort University Students Based on Sustainable Food Consumption Behavior: A Preliminary Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-22, February.
    7. Minna Santaoja & Mikko Jauho, 2020. "Institutional Ambiguity and Ontological Politics in Integrating Sustainability into Finnish Dietary Guidelines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    8. Gratiela Dana Boca, 2021. "Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior in Sustainable Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Maramures County, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-20, February.
    9. Goryńska-Goldmann, Elżbieta & Adamczyk, Grażyna & Gazdecki, Michał, 2016. "Awareness Of Sustainable Consumption And Its Implications For The Selection Of Food Products," Journal of Agribusiness and Rural Development, University of Life Sciences, Poznan, Poland, vol. 41(3).
    10. Alina Zaharia & Maria-Claudia Diaconeasa & Natalia Maehle & Gergely Szolnoki & Roberta Capitello, 2021. "Developing Sustainable Food Systems in Europe: National Policies and Stakeholder Perspectives in a Four-Country Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-40, July.

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