Abstract
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rapid spread of COVID-19 around the world has become one of the main focuses of concern in almost every country, and governments have taken numerous measures to prevent/mitigate the spread of the disease. As an essential social determinant, COVID-19 has significantly impacted consumers’ food consumption behavior and healthy eating habits/behaviors. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of COVID-19 on food consumption behavior, and the main goal was to assess the possible problems (such as food waste and weight gain) caused by changes in food consumption behavior during the pandemic. Based on the accounting data of Chinese enterprises found in the China Stock Market and Accounting Research (CSMAR) database, this study uses economic theory and the translog function to conduct an average partial effect (APE) analysis of the pandemic, and finds that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased Chinese people’s overall food consumption, and the consumption of food from large food enterprises has increased even more (APE = 0.11 vs. APE = 0.31). This study suggests that food waste and weight gain in the Chinese population may be more severe during the pandemic, and it is necessary to enhance food management and weight management through multiple pathways.
Highlights
The pandemic, and the restrictive measures taken to control the pandemic, have often led to uncertainty in demand and supply disruptions, which have affected product prices and household food consumption. Containment measures such as isolation, maintaining social distancing, closing businesses, and closing borders have led to a sharp decline in economic activity, affecting household income and consumer behavior [16,17], which is once again reflected in household expenditures
Based on food-related data in China and the translog function, this study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased people’s overall food consumption
Based on food-related accounting data in China and economic theory, this study found that the COVID-19 pandemic has increased people’s overall food consumption in China
Summary
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Consumption. The. COVID-19 crisis has presented unique challenges [3]; the pandemic has caused one of the worst crises in the world’s economy since the end of World War II [4,5]. Containment measures such as isolation, maintaining social distancing, closing businesses, and closing borders have led to a sharp decline in economic activity, affecting household income and consumer behavior [16,17], which is once again reflected in household expenditures. In China, both SARS and COVID-19 have severely affected the food consumption behavior of the Chinese population. The uncertain economic outlook during these crises had a negative impact on people’s income expectations, consumer spending dropped significantly [18], and access to food was severely affected [19]
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