Organic Tomatoes Versus Canned Beans: How Do Consumers Assess the Environmental Friendliness of Vegetables?
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Date
2011-09-01Type
- Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
The assessment of a food product’s environmental friendliness is highly challenging for consumers because such an assessment requires the consideration of various product characteristics. Furthermore, products often show conflicting features. This study uses a choice task and a questionnaire to examine how consumers judge the environmental friendliness of several vegetables. The consumers’ assessment is compared with life cycle assessment (LCA) results, which represent the overall environmental impact of a product throughout its lifespan. In contrast to the LCA, consumers consider transportation distance rather than transportation mode and perceive organic production as very relevant for the environmental friendliness. Furthermore, consumers assess the environmental impact of packaging and conservation as more important than the LCA results show. Findings also suggest the current product information for vegetables is insufficient for judging their environmental friendliness. Implications for information campaigns and ecological food labeling are discussed. Show more
Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Environment and BehaviorVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
SAGESubject
Food choice; Ecological labeling; Environmental assessment; Sustainable consumption; Consumers' beliefs; Life cycle assessmentOrganisational unit
03780 - Siegrist, Michael / Siegrist, Michael
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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