Ethnic Food - A Solution with Sustainable Food Resources: A Study on Consumer Awareness of Ethnic Food and Its Impact on Consumption Attitude

Abstract

Food has seen numerous transformations over the centuries and has been a focus of study pertaining to culture and evolution. Besides being a celebration of diversity and a marker of human adaptations, food is also a broad knowledge domain that represents various geographic, cultural, and lifestyle outlooks. Ethnic food relates to a heritage or the culture of an ethnic group with them incorporating the local produce and animal sources into their diet. Ethnic food also has a sustainability aspect to it in terms of food miles and carbon emissions since more transportation involved means higher level of GHG released, economic aspect such as with composition changes and food security, and community relationship. This paper finds that when consumer awareness of ethnic food increases, the consumption attitude towards it does too. This could be of importance in policy implementation and identifying sustainability systems. A connection with the land and a community relationship involving food could help represent more ethnic food, to increase awareness on a global level and also allow more people to experience these vast cultural diversities. If understood well and implemented, ethnic food could be of use as a tourism brochure, sustainability driver, economical promoter, and community supporter.