Food Citizenship as an Agroecological Tool for Food System Re-Design

Fabio Tittarelli,Corrado Ciaccia,Marta Di Pierro,Anna Saba

doi:10.3390/su14031590

Abstract

The modern agrifood system has a strong socio-economic and health impact on stakeholders, from producers to consumers. According to agroecological studies, a key factor for the food system to change is a stronger connection between farmers and consumers and the implementation of Food Citizenship. In this paper, we present the results of preliminary research on the consumer approach to vegetable and fruit purchase in Italy. Our main aim was to group consumers according to the major criteria guiding their food purchase patterns, to outline the main criteria underpinning their choices and assess their degree of environmental, economic and social awareness. Cluster analysis was able to pick out two groups with significant statistical differences, i.e., 55.4% of the sample showed, through their consumption patterns, deeper environmental and social concerns. Specifically, when comparing food purchasing patterns, ethical choices, biodiversity and global warming were the most influential factors to discriminate the two clusters. Moreover, organic food consumption confirmed its status as an acknowledged way to reduce the environmental impact of the modern agrifood system for which respondents are willing to pay a higher price compared to conventional food. Nonetheless, the whole sample of respondents perceived organic food as expensive and not good for value.

Highlights

Received: 19 November 2021Many authors agree that the main objective of agroecology is the re-design of the food system including ecological, economic and social aspects in the value chain [1,2,3,4].Why should our food system change or be re-designed? This is a key question to better frame the ongoing discussion.The food system incorporates all aspects of production, processing, transport, preparation, consumption and disposal of food and is considered to be responsible for up to 30% of the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions [5]
More than half of the respondents, on the other hand, have marked green attitudes and their attention to the environmental impact of their consumption behaviour is coherent with the great majority of the answers defining their degree of awareness on the impact of the food production system on the environment
The results reported and discussed in this paper were obtained by analysing the answers to a questionnaire submitted to consumers through a web survey

Summary

Introduction

Received: 19 November 2021Many authors agree that the main objective of agroecology is the re-design (or change) of the food system including ecological, economic and social aspects in the value chain [1,2,3,4].Why should our food system change or be re-designed? This is a key question to better frame the ongoing discussion.The food system incorporates all aspects of production, processing, transport, preparation, consumption and disposal of food and is considered to be responsible for up to 30% of the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions [5]. Many authors agree that the main objective of agroecology is the re-design (or change) of the food system including ecological, economic and social aspects in the value chain [1,2,3,4]. Why should our food system change or be re-designed? The food system incorporates all aspects of production, processing, transport, preparation, consumption and disposal of food and is considered to be responsible for up to 30% of the total greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions [5]. The environmental footprint of the food consumed in Europe is partially outsourced [6]. The debate around modern agricultural systems has too often focused primarily on the environmental issue of implemented agronomic practices, neglecting the role played by consumption and other food issues [7]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion