Understanding Motivations for Individual and Collective Sustainable Food Consumption: A Case Study of the Galician Conscious and Responsible Consumption Network

Isabel Lema-Blanco (), Ricardo García-Mira and Jesús-Miguel Muñoz-Cantero
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Isabel Lema-Blanco: People-Environment Research Group, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Ricardo García-Mira: People-Environment Research Group, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Jesús-Miguel Muñoz-Cantero: Department of Specific Didactics and Methods of Research and Diagnosis in Education, Faculty of Educational Sciences, University of A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: Although consumer attitude towards sustainable food has increased over time, scientific research suggests that more profound comprehension is needed of the social and psychological dimensions that condition consumers’ willingness to purchase food items produced in a sustainable way. The current study attempts to understand the individual motivations that drive conscious consumption, in both the individual and collective spheres, expressed through joining a local social innovation in the food domain. A multi-method design was used, which combined participatory observation, document analysis, and twenty-six in-depth interviews with members of eight local food consumption initiatives located in the Galician region (Spain). The findings reveal that sustainable food purchasing is driven by the individual’s motivation to maintain a healthy diet, pro-environmental and social values, environmental awareness, and attachment to Galician rural areas. Concerning motivations underlying people’s willingness to engage in conscious and responsible consumption initiatives, the first reason relates to the fulfilment of basic needs (affordability and accessibility to organic, low-carbon, and fair-trade goods), followed by sociopolitical goals and the aspiration to satisfying social and psychological needs such as the need for connectedness or the desire for autonomy and control over one’s purchasing decisions.

Keywords: sustainable food consumption; motivations; sustainable local innovations; food movement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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