Composition of the study sample (n=2783)

Transcription

1 Opportunities for plant-based diets as a sustainable and healthy food choice Wim Verbeke, Ellen J. Van Loo, Christine Hoefkens Objectives Meaning of sustainability to consumers? Perceptions of a sustainable, a healthy, and a plant-based diet? Match/mismatch between these three concepts as perceived? Study method Web-based consumer survey Field work data collection in June EU countries: Belgium, The Netherlands, UK, Germany n=700 per country, samples representative for age, gender, region Composition of the study sample (n=2783) Sample (%) Gender Male 49.9 Female 50.1 Age years years years years years 21.5 Urbanisation Rural 16.4 degree Rather rural 16.7 Either 17.2 Rather urban 23.0 Urban 26.8 Living situation Living alone 22.1 Co-habiting without children (< 15y) 51.9 Co-habiting with children (< 15y) 25.9 Sample (%) Education Low 30.3 Medium 25.4 High 44.4 Occupational status Working full-time 47.0 Working part-time 15.6 Unemployed (seeking work) 7.9 Retired 7.9 Student 8.7 Not working for other reason 12.9 Social class Elite 14.2 Upper Class 35.1 Upper Middle Class 17.7 Lower Middle Class 20.8 Lower Class

2 Topics covered by the survey 1. Meaning of sustainability 2. Plant-based foods & diets: attitudes, consumption, perceived benefits and barriers 3. Perception of healthy, sustainable and/vs. plant-based diets 4. Consumer segmentation based on involvement with healthy and sustainable eating 1. Meaning of sustainability To what extent do you think the following issues have something to do with sustainability? Mean Deforestation The environmental impact of human use of land and water Recyclable packaging The environmental impact of food production The amount of packaging used on products Food waste Carbon emissions caused by food production Energy use when transporting food products The use of pesticides in food production World food supply The treatment of animals in food production The amount of energy used when cooking food products Prices paid by consumers for food products The healthiness of food and drinks Food and drink safety Working conditions and wages for food producers The quality of public health services Using child labour in food production Levels of unemployment Factors (PCA): Environmental + societal + animal welfare SD 2

3 2. Plant-based food consumption Information: Plant-based foods include fruit, vegetables, meat substitutes, nuts and seeds, grains, legumes and soy-based as well as plant-based alternatives to dairy products The Netherlands Consumption plant based food (%) 52,10 Belgium 51,13 Germany 52,73 UK 51, Attitude towards a plant-based diet How would you describe your attitude towards a plant-based diet? 10 point scale from extremely negative to extremely positive The Netherlands Belgium Germany UK 3% 10% 6% 11% 3% 10% 5% 12% 34% 32% 31% 31% 37% 36% 33% 30% 16% 15% 22% 22% % 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 3

4 Healthy diet Sustainable diet Plant-based diet sustainable animal-based healthy 5,0 tasty cheap 4,5 4,0 3,5 easily available 3,0 2,5 2,0 natural filling easy to prepare Strong match between nutritious the image of healthy, sustainable, and plant-based diets traditional perfect for me 4. Four consumer segments identified Un- Moderately Health Highly health and sustainability p-value n 428 (15.4%) 850 (30.5%) 626 (22.5%) 879 (31.6%) Health_involv <0.001 Sust_involv <0.001 Alpro Foundation Symposium The moment for plant-based eating is now, Brussels 4

5 Sustainable eating involvement Un 15.4% 5,0 4,5 4,0 2,0 1,5 1,0 Moderately, 30.5% Health & sustainability, 31.6% Healthy eating 3,5 involvement 3,0 1,0 1,5 2,0 2,5 3,0 2,5 3,5 4,0 4,5 5,0 Health 22.5% Attitude towards plant-based diets by segments Highly health and sust. 7,81 Health 6,79 Moderately 6,15 Un 4, Attitude towards plant-based diets (score 1 to 10) 5

6 Plant-based food consumption by segments Highly health and sust. 61,56 Health 52,50 Moderately 47,76 Un 38, Share of plant-based foods in consumers diets (%) Conclusions A close match between the image of a healthy, a sustainable and a plant-based diet Four distinct consumer segments are identified and profiled The segments that are in sustainable eating are also in healthy eating, while the opposite is not necessarily true. Policies combining health, sustainability and plant-based stand a good chance to be effective: the moment is now! 6

7 Full paper in Food Policy (2017) 69, Thanks for your Acknowledgement: Data collection was financed through an industry research grant provided by Alpro Foundation 7