IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/socarx/vfqhn.html

Food shortages, stockpiling and panic buying ahead of Brexit as reported by the British media: a mixed methods content analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Coleman, Paul
  • Dhaif, Fatema
  • Oyebode, Oyinlola

Abstract

Background: Government documents warn that if the UK and EU have not negotiated a trade deal by 31 December 2020 the UK could experience increased food prices and possible food shortages. The media have an important role in influencing recipients’ behaviour by promoting reassurance or anxiety on this issue. This study examines how food supply and demand, in the context of Brexit, has been portrayed by the British media. Methods: A mixed methods content analysis of articles reporting on food supply and demand in the context of Brexit, in three daily newspapers, between 01 January 2015 and 31 January 2020. Results: Five themes emerged: food shortages and panic buying (appearing in 96% of articles); food supply chain disruption (86%); economic impacts of Brexit (80%); preparation and stockpiling by the government and food sector (63%) and preparation and stockpiling by individuals (22%). Conclusion: Government messaging reported by the media sought to reassure the public that there will be no food shortages under a no-deal Brexit. These reassurances contradicted warnings from the food sector and leaked government reports of reduced availability of food items. These contradictory messages may have undermined trust in the government, potentially influencing stockpiling behaviour at the individual level.

Suggested Citation

  • Coleman, Paul & Dhaif, Fatema & Oyebode, Oyinlola, 2020. "Food shortages, stockpiling and panic buying ahead of Brexit as reported by the British media: a mixed methods content analysis," SocArXiv vfqhn, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:vfqhn
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/vfqhn
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/5fbb8363def8eb04fde74218/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/vfqhn?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martine J Barons & Willy Aspinall, 2019. "Anticipated impacts of Brexit scenarios on UK food prices and implications for policies on poverty and health: a structured expert judgement approach," Papers 1904.03053, arXiv.org, revised Jan 2020.
    2. Chen, Yiqun & Rajabifard, Abbas & Sabri, Soheil & Xie, Yuke & Zhang, Yibo, 2020. "A discussion of irrational stockpiling behaviour during crisis," SocArXiv udzah, Center for Open Science.
    3. Erpeng Wang & Ning An & Zhifeng Gao & Emmanuel Kiprop & Xianhui Geng, 2020. "Consumer food stockpiling behavior and willingness to pay for food reserves in COVID-19," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 12(4), pages 739-747, August.
    4. Martine J Barons & Willy Aspinall, 2020. "Anticipated impacts of Brexit scenarios on UK food prices and implications for policies on poverty and health: a structured expert judgement update," Papers 2010.15484, arXiv.org.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ren, Xin & Nane, Gabriela F. & Terwel, Karel C. & van Gelder, Pieter H.A.J.M., 2024. "Measuring the impacts of human and organizational factors on human errors in the Dutch construction industry using structured expert judgement," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    2. Martine J. Barons & Thais C. O. Fonseca & Andy Davis & Jim Q. Smith, 2022. "A decision support system for addressing food security in the United Kingdom," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(2), pages 447-470, April.
    3. Wafaa El Baba & Ali Fakih, 2023. "COVID‐19 and consumer behavior: Food stockpiling in the U.S. market," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(2), pages 515-534, March.
    4. Vranceanu, Diana Maria & Tuclea, Claudia Elena & Schiopu, Andreea Fortuna, 2025. "Consumer fear and responses in proximity to war," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    5. Ilenia Bravo & Ilenia Colamatteo & Simona Balzano & Lucio Cappelli & Enrica Iannucci, 2024. "Consumer Behaviour Regarding Certified Food," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-12, April.
    6. Wang, Tong & Jin, Hailong & Sieverding, Heidi L. & Rao, Xudong & Miao, Yuxin & Kumar, Sandeep & Redfearn, Daren & Nafchi, Ali, 2022. "Understanding farmer perceptions of precision agriculture profitability in the U.S. Midwest," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322502, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    7. Taiyang Zhong & Jonathan Crush & Zhenzhong Si & Steffanie Scott, 2022. "Emergency food supplies and food security in Wuhan and Nanjing, China, during the COVID‐19 pandemic: Evidence from a field survey," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(3), May.
    8. Yang, Bixuan & Asche, Frank & Li, Tao, 2021. "Food Price Inflation and Demand Shocks: Evidence from Chinese Cities during the Covid-19 Epidemic," 2021 Annual Meeting, August 1-3, Austin, Texas 314067, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Margherita Bernabei & Silvia Colabianchi & Francesco Costantino, 2022. "Actions and Strategies for Coronavirus to Ensure Supply Chain Resilience: A Systemic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    10. Karolin Schmidt & Hannah Wallis & Theresa Sieverding & Ellen Matthies, 2022. "Examining COVID-19-Related Changes toward More Climate-Friendly Food Consumption in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-26, April.
    11. Yenerall, Jackie & Jensen, Kimberly & Chen, Xuqi & Edward Yu, T., 2022. "COVID-19 risk perception and restaurant utilization after easing in-person restrictions," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    12. Junguo Hua & Hui Li & Zejun He & Jing Ding & Futong Jin, 2022. "The Microcosmic Mechanism and Empirical Test of Uncertainty on the Non-Linear Fluctuation of Chinese Grain Prices-Based on the Perspective of Global Economic Policy Uncertainty," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-17, September.
    13. Abderahman Rejeb & Karim Rejeb & Andrea Appolloni & Mohammad Iranmanesh & Horst Treiblmaier & Sandeep Jagtap, 2022. "Exploring Food Supply Chain Trends in the COVID-19 Era: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-33, September.
    14. Assem Abu Hatab & Lena Krautscheid & Mohamed Elsayied & Franklin Amuakwa-Mensah, 2024. "COVID-19 risk perception and food security in the MENA region: evidence from a multi-wave household survey," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(4), pages 989-1008, August.
    15. Kuan-Ming Huang & Ana Claudia Sant’Anna & Xiaoli Etienne, 2021. "How did Covid-19 impact US household foods? an analysis six months in," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(9), pages 1-17, September.
    16. Kristina Gligorić & Arnaud Chiolero & Emre Kıcıman & Ryen W. White & Robert West, 2022. "Population-scale dietary interests during the COVID-19 pandemic," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-14, December.
    17. Chen Zhu & Rigoberto A. Lopez & Yuan Gao & Xiaoou Liu, 2021. "The COVID‐19 Pandemic and Consumption of Food away from Home: Evidence from High‐frequency Restaurant Transaction Data," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 29(6), pages 73-94, November.
    18. Tarek Ben Hassen & Hamid El Bilali & Mohammad S. Allahyari & Sinisa Berjan & Darjan Karabašević & Adriana Radosavac & Goran Dašić & Ružica Đervida, 2021. "Preparing for the Worst? Household Food Stockpiling during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    19. Jude Anayochukwu Mbanasor & Ogbonnaya Ukeh Oteh & Nnanna Mba Agwu & Chigozirim Ndubuisi Onwusiribe & Nwanneka Cynthia Ibem & Chibuzo Okpokiri & Ambrose Ogbonna Oloveze, 2022. "Wheat or cassava flour? Marketing and willingness to pay for cassava flour confectionery in Nigeria," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 24(3), pages 1-25.
    20. Khadka, Savin & Munisamy, Gopinath & Batarseh, Feras, 2022. "Anomalies and Recoveries in Agricultural Trade," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322374, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:socarx:vfqhn. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://arabixiv.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.