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Purpose – Investigating the drivers of consumers’ behaviour towards purchasing in short food supply chains (SFSCs) and clarifying their relationships, the purpose of this paper is to test the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) in order to predict the intention and the behaviour under investigation. Design/methodology/approach – The research includes a literature review of SFSCs. To investigate all the variables (attitudes, subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioural control (PBC) and intention) underlying consumers’ behaviour towards buying in SFSCs, an exploratory survey with a TPB questionnaire and a principal component analysis have been carried out among university students in Italy. Using a system of simultaneous equations, the relationships among variables have been measured. Findings – Findings illustrate that both attitudinal variables (i.e. sustainability, typicality and loyalty), SN and PBC play a key role in the consumers’ intention, that has a predictive effect on behaviour instead of PBC. Originality/value – This paper fulfils the purpose to explain and predict post-modern consumers’ preferences towards SFSCs, in order to orient policy strategies to support SFSCs.

Sustainable food consumption has attracted widespread attention over the last decades by scholars, policy makers and consumers. In line with this, farmers' markets (FMs) have the potential to encourage sustainable agricultural production and consumption. By reducing the number of actors and distances along the food chain, these alternative food systems foster the reconnection between farmers and consumers and contribute to different social, economic and environmentally sustainable goals. This paper provides insights into how consumers' sustainability concerns are related to their motivation for shopping at FMs. By means of a choice experiment, we analyze the determinants of consumers' preferences for buying apples at FMs. We are particularly interested in understanding how attitudes towards the three sustainability dimensions are related to consumer preferences in this context. We find that consumer attitudes towards direct contact with producers, contributing to farmers' income, and environmental benefits, can be directly related to product characteristics that are specific to FMs.

The concept of sustainable development has become very much "en vogue" in the past decade. We have also observed a shift in the interpretation of this concept from a global perspective to a mes0 perspective, i.e. a local, regional or sectoral level. This paper aims to highlight the urban dimension of environmental issues. After a sketch of urban pollution problems and of economie analysis tools, the notion of urban sustainability wil1 be advocated as a meaningjììl analytical and policy concept. Next, the main focus of this paper wil1 be on a typological approach to urban sustainability issues on the basis of three characteristic angles, viz strong and weak sustainability, absolute and relative decoupling and the spatial ecological footprint. Various methodological issues wil1 also be discussed, while the paper wil1 be concluded with some policy perspectives. Pn935af I The New ScarcityIn the struggle for survival mankind has been forced to cape with a wide range of challenges such as safety, shelter and food. The last century has witnessed an unprecedented rise in material welfare, so that scarcity in an absolute sense has vanished in many parts of our world. The last part of the 20th century has also shown the emergence of new type of scarcity, viz a healthy environment to work and live in. This new scarcity is reflected in the decline in air, water and soil quality as wel1 as in a genera1 decline in biodiversity. The unpriced nature of many environmental goods makes it difficult to incorporate the environment in the normal calculation schemes of rational market behaviour (see Tietenberg 1995).It is noteworthy that environmental extemalities are no longer esoteric events in a normal market system; they have even become a dominant feature. The world-wide decay in environmental quality conditions and the gradual depletion of natura1 resources has been a dominant theme for research and public policy during the latter part of the twentieth century.The global interest in environmental matters is partly caused by the increased pressure that a mounting population and increased production exert on the earth's natura1 resource base. In addition, as personal incomes rise and leisure time becomes more freely available in the developed world, concern with more immediate human needs has been accompanied by an interest in preservation and conservation for future generations and for other regions of our world. We observe an increasing interest in quality -next to quantity -as an important constituent of individual and collective welfare in which the environment assumes a prominent position (see for a review also Button and Nijkamp 1999).Clearly, the issue of environmental degradation wil1 stay with US until far in the new millennium (see for a broad description WCED 1987). Already Plato in his Kritias was complaining about human activity which had turned the landscape of Attica into a skeleton and a wasteland. We also know about environmental regulation in medieval European cities which aimed to control the use of coal...

Mountain farming provides high-quality food products due to the peculiar characteristics of the raw materials combined with traditional processing conditions. However, these products and their intrinsic characteristics are not clearly recognized by consumers on the market. Nowadays,

Abstract:Brazil is currently the world's largest sugar producer and exporter, as well as the world's largest producer and consumer of sugarcane ethanol as a transportation fuel. The growth of this market originates from a combination of government policies and technological change, in both the sugarcane ethanol processing sector and the manufacture of flex-fuel vehicles. In recent years however, ethanol production has been questioned due to its possible impact on food prices. The present paper aims to explore the impact of Brazilian ethanol prices on sugar and gasoline prices. The relationships between a times series of these prices are investigated using a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), supported by Granger Causality tests. In addition, Impulse Response Functions (IRFs) and Forecast Error Variance Decompositions (FEVD) are computed in order to investigate the dynamic interrelationships within these series. Our results suggest that ethanol prices are affected by both food and fuel prices, but that there is no strong evidence that changes in ethanol prices have an impact on food prices.

The current agri-food supply chain is affected by different problems such as food loss and waste generation along the supply chain, and the circular economy offers a possibility to enhance and optimize the production and consumption to seek to a sustainable paradigm. The circular economy can be a winning approach to intervene and moderate the impacts generated in the agri-food sector, proposing actions and solutions to readmit wastes and by-products in the productive chain. The aim of this work was to perform a literature review coupled with a bibliometric analysis, using VOSviewer software, on the circular economy model in the agri-food sector, with particular relevance to the reuse and valorisation of wastes and by-products. Results showed that the topic is of particular relevance in the scientific community, and the concept is continuously evolving. Europe plays a leading role in the research, thanks to the involvement of the Member States, policy makers and stakeholders. Nevertheless, some aspects such as the development of a new economic circular model and some limitations of the current policies deserve further investigation.

Milk consumption has been on the decline for decades. Part of the cause for this is due to changes in consumer behavior and interest in healthy eating. The aim of this study was to estimate the premium price that consumers are willing to pay for A2 milk. A2 milk is a newcomer type of product containing only A2 beta-casein that is spreading in many countries of the world as a functional food. In addition, it is produced by traditional breeds of cattle that are adapted to the marginal areas and could be a virtuous model of the sustainable management system to which the consumer lately seems to turn in an increasingly conscious way. To accomplish this aim, contingent valuation has been used, which permits using a survey and a direct estimation of the premium price that consumers are willing to pay (WTP). The question format used is a dichotomous choice valuation based on a double-bound model. Statistical analysis was carried out using descriptive statistical analysis. The empirical results reveal that consumers are willing to pay a premium for A2 milk. In addition, individuals interested in product quality and already buying functional products are attracted to this type of product.