Most EU consumers open to eat more sustainably

The BEUC (the european consumers organisation) conducted a survey simultaneously across 11 EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain) throughout October and November 2019, some months before the COVID-19 outbreak to investigate consumer attitudes towards sustainable foods. It was shown some encouraging trends regarding consumer willingness to adopt more sustainable food habits but the survey also highlights important barriers to change that need to be addressed to support sustainable food choices by consumers.  The main findings are:

• Consumers tend to underestimate the impact of their own food habits on the environment, but most are aware of the environmental impact of food habits in general.
• Two thirds of consumers are open to changing their eating habits for the environment.
• Overall, concerning food, consumers primarily see ‘sustainable’ as a synonym for environmentally friendly, without GMOs and pesticides, and local, with some specificities across countries.
• Price, lack of knowledge, unclear information, and limited choice of sustainable options are what most consumers say prevent them from eating more sustainably.
• Just over 40% of consumers say they have either stopped eating red meat or have cut down due to environmental concerns. While consumers have little appetite for insects and lab-grown meat, they better accept plant-based ‘burgers’ and traditional vegetarian food (e.g. pulses) as alternative protein sources.
• Only 16% of consumers feel that their government is doing enough to encourage food sustainability at production and consumption levels.

To know more, you can consult the analysis report of the survey.

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