The Millennials’ Concept of Sustainability in the Food Sector

Alessandro Bonadonna,Giovanni Peira,Luigi Bollani

doi:10.3390/su11102984

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the perception of the meaning of sustainability in the food sector. A sample of 268 University students belonging to the Millennial generation was identified and a survey was carried out to assess the interaction between this kind of Millennials and food sustainability. Collected data were explored with descriptive statistics, followed by multivariate statistical techniques to get an integrated vision of relationships among the variables. Outcomes evidence four groups of Millennials with specific peculiarities, i.e., “Socio-Nature Sensitives”, characterized by a high level of attention for the socio-economic dimension and sustainable ways of food production; “Info-Supporter”, very sensitive to labeling and warranty systems; “Proactive-Oriented”, interested in innovative activities; “Indifferent Millennials”, assigning the issue in general a low level of importance. Results provide useful information and some contribution to public institutions and private stakeholders so as to implement new rules and new tools in the food sector, so as to reach the target of reducing waste and pollution. Substantial literature on interaction between Millennials and sustainability in the food sector has not yet been developed; the aim of this pioneer study is to offer some contribution to the debate among stakeholders on driving choices towards new consumption rules and production patterns.

Highlights

The relationship between human activities and the Earth can be summarized in the depletion of resources and its consequences, i.e., environment pollution, global temperature increase, acidification of oceans, thinning of the ozone layer, deforestation, excessive waste of water, reduction of living species
The European Commission is working on a document dedicated to the sustainability of the food system, since it has been highlighted that its policy shows some inconsistencies and gaps on this topic
A survey was carried out to detect the perception of the concept of sustainability in the agro-food industry among Millennials chosen in the University world

Summary

Introduction

The relationship between human activities and the Earth can be summarized in the depletion of resources and its consequences, i.e., environment pollution, global temperature increase, acidification of oceans, thinning of the ozone layer, deforestation, excessive waste of water, reduction of living species. The Earth is characterized by high wastage of food: every year about 1/3 of the global food production, equal to 1.3 billion tons for a commercial value of about 1 trillion dollars, is not consumed by the world population or is lost due to inefficient collection, conditioning and transport practices This situation heavily affects the environment because the overproduction of food has serious consequences in terms of excessive consumption of energy and degradation of other resources such as soil and aquatic environments [9,10]. A radical overhaul of the current infrastructure is needed, leading to different types of results, recognizing the multidimensionality of the sustainability performance of a food system, including aspects such as safeguarding health and ethics in food processes, and involving the food chain operators in the promotion of sustainable food standards and in the adoption of corporate social responsibility procedures [11,12]

Objectives

Methods

Results