Do consumers care about food miles? An empirical analysis in France

Abstract

We conducted two qualitative surveys to identify whether food miles, defined as the distance that foodstuff travels between the production location and the consumption marketplace, matter for French consumers. First, two focus groups with 'conventional' consumers show that distance is a multidimensional concept, both positively and negatively perceived, and that most consumers are not concerned by food miles and their subsequent environmental impact. Second, 10 face-to-face interviews with consumers of locally grown organic food demonstrate that these consumers purchase local food for other reasons than reducing 'food miles' and buy imported organic food in spite of increased food miles. We shed light on this situation using theoretical concepts from economics and psychology. Some implications for policymakers and marketers are stressed. Defining 'food miles'To measure the environmental effects of agricultural and food production and consumption, the analysis must take into account

The costs of increased localization for a multiple-product food supply chain: Dairy in the United States

“…The literature on demand explores consumer motivations for buying local foods (Onozaka et al, 2010;Sirieix et al, 2008;Thilmany et al, 2008;Toler et al, 2009;Zepeda and Deal, 2009), the meaning of the ''local'' attribute (Darby et al, 2008;Hand and Martinez, 2010) and the willingness to pay for locally-grown foods (Conner et al, 2009;Khan and Prior, 2010;Toler et al, 2009). This literature identifies certain regularities regarding the demand for local foods.…”

“…The overwhelming majority of these studies addresses demand-related aspects of food localization using a wide range of approaches, from case studies (e.g. Sirieix et al, 2008) to the implementation of laboratory experiments (e.g., Toler et al, 2009). This literature has also explored the challenges and opportunities of a local food supply chains (King et al, 2010b) and the ''local food'' movement advocacy as means to achieve social justice (Allen and Wilson, 2008).…”

Customer Response to Carbon Labelling of Groceries

“…1 Labels used in this study to indicate carbon footprints of grocery items omitted from our study (as it would all have been labelled yellow). We attempted to calculate and compare the full CO 2 burden from point of production, including manufacturing, packaging, and transport, and taking into account the transportation system (e.g., ship, road, and rail) rather than to use food miles (Coley et al 2009;Edwards-Jones et al 2008;Sirieix et al 2008). Our calculations did not include any carbon offset arrangements that may have been used by some producers and suppliers.…”

A geographic approach to place and natural resource use in local food systems

“…While the point is well taken-that food miles matter-at the same time, many consumers might find it difficult to substitute cabbage for lettuce in their leafy green salad in winter, bringing home the issue that localism of food in some regions requires sacrifices many may be unwilling to make. This is particularly true because consumers buy local food for many reasons other than simply reducing food miles 70 . Intuitively we would believe that a fruit grown closer to home is less energy intensive, and this has been found to be the case for energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in at least one study 67 .…”