Abstract
The behavior of vegetable consumption in the context of sustainable development has become a point of interest. Determining the barriers and the drivers for developing a sustainable consumption pattern, including food, should be a priority for every nation, as so to be able to design targeted food policies that would contribute to this development. Reducing the pressure on resources by diminishing meat consumption and increasing vegetable consumption is one of the global directions that should be followed. The situation of the current status of vegetable consumption in Romania is, therefore, important. Through an empirical quantitative analysis, the vegetable consumption pattern of Romanian consumers is presented. The results show that the respondents lack proper environmental education and concern, but unconsciously are aware of sustainability criteria such as choosing local and seasonal vegetables, choosing according to the freshness of the vegetables, and wasting little of these purchases. The main barriers determined in developing more sustainable vegetable choices in the case of Romanian consumers are income and time availability restrictions. It is also important to have the ability to identify the local, seasonal, and organic vegetables through specific labels, and to provide the local producers with the ability to sell their products in supermarkets, at fair prices. These would be the main drivers for developing a sustainable vegetable choice. Adding to that, an awareness campaign at the national level regarding the importance of individual choice would contribute to educating towards a sustainable purchasing pattern.
Highlights
Eating vegetables is a multifaced issue since childhood and, for some of us, until the end of our lives
The country is working on solving some critical problems such as social polarization [34], a rate of 32.5% of the people being exposed to the risk of extreme poverty [35] and an average Gross Domestic Product equal to one-fifth of the EU average [36], the purpose of this study is to determine the possibility of the Romanian population to meet the dietary recommendations regarding the vegetable consumption, and if not, what are the main barriers perceived by the Romanian consumers
The present study contributes to determining whether the Romanian food consumers have the possibility of following the dietary recommendations regarding vegetable consumption
Summary
Eating vegetables is a multifaced issue since childhood and, for some of us, until the end of our lives. People still tend to eat more animal proteins instead of vegetable proteins. The most recent report from the United Nations [14], mentions the fact that only upper-middle-income countries have enough fruits and vegetables available to consumers so that the recommendations of 400 g per day may be followed, at the global level, so the low-income-countries rely on cereals to ensure the food security of the population, the dietary pattern being transferred to a secondary plan. Important steps towards changing the dietary patterns are made through globally extended food policies and dietary guidelines [15,16,17,18,19,20], research-based recommendations [21,22], and dietary education [7,23,24]
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