Beyond sustainable consumption practices: Linking organic food consumption to hedonic and eudaimonic well-being

Abstract

The organic food industry has significantly gained currency due to consumers being increasingly health conscious. However, more insight is needed to decipher the impact of organic food consumption on consumer well-being. Quantitative methods using a cross-sectional design were applied to collect data from 578 organic food consumers residing in South Africa. The results revealed that organic food consumption plays a central role in providing pleasure, positive emotions, a sense of accomplishment and personal growth to consumers. Moreover, the findings indicate that consumers' health consciousness significantly influences the interplay between dimensions of well-being. These findings shed important light on the scholarly debate around the influence of sustainable consumption on well-being. The study also provides crucial insights into new strategies that actors in the organic food industry as well as policymakers will use to effectively promote sustainable consumption and a healthy lifestyle.