Generational Differences in Perceptions of Food Health/Risk and Attitudes toward Organic Food and Game Meat: The Case of the COVID-19 Crisis in China

Abstract

In December 2019, a novel laboratory-confirmed coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, which has caused clusters of severe illnesses, was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China. This foodborne illness, which reportedly most likely originated in a seafood market where wild animals are sold illegally, has transmitted among humans through close contact, across the world. The aim of this study is to explore health/risk perceptions of and attitudes toward healthy/risky food in the immediate context of food crisis. More specifically, by using the data collected from 1008 respondents in January 2020, the time when China was hit hard by the “Corona Virus Disease 2019” (COVID-19), this study investigates the overall and different generational respondents’ health/risk perceptions of and attitudes toward organic food and game meat. The results reveal that, firstly, based on their food health and risk perceptions of healthy and risky food, the respondents’ general attitudes are positive toward organic food but relatively negative toward game meat. Secondly, older generations have a more positive attitude and are more committed to organic food. Younger generations’ attitude toward game meat is more negative whereas older generations attach more importance to it because of its nutritional and medicinal values. In addition, this research also indicates that the COVID-19 crisis influences the respondents’ perceptions of and attitudes toward organic food and game meat consumption. However, the likelihood of its impact on older generations’ future change in diets is smaller, which implies that older generations’ food beliefs are more stable.

Exploring Influential Factors Including COVID-19 on Green Food Purchase Intentions and the Intention–Behaviour Gap: A Qualitative Study among Consumers in a Chinese Context

“…Regarding the impact of COVID-19, approximately two-thirds of consumers reported that the pandemic has increased their green food purchase intentions because of their growing health concerns. This is in agreement with results from Ben Hassen et al [ 33 ] and Xie et al [ 28 ], in that the COVID-19 crisis influenced respondents’ perceptions of health and risk, which in turn changed consumers’ sensitivity and beliefs and resulted in a further increase in organic food consumption. However, these increasing intentions did not increase the final amount of green food purchases.…”

Innovation Strategies of the Spanish Agri-Food Sector in Response to the Black Swan COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Regarding the level of concern for Covid, a study [112] believes that those consumers who perceive greater risks change their buying behaviours more, which has also been observed in our results (Table 7). However, the fact that consumers in segment 3, who perceived a greater risk, still consider the price important, can be in line with the consideration that price restrictions are a consequence of the foreseeable economic crisis [29].…”

“…It could be that established brands, which are well positioned regarding the perception of quality of their products, work better than private brands, and that the result is in line with some authors [29], which says that well-positioned brands will have an advantage during pandemics. Furthermore, authors [112] says that in situations of risk, consumers prefer to buy organic products. The price, which decreased in importance for segment 2 and remained stable for segment 3, in other studies [42] was seen as an indicator of the quality of the product, meaning it is a significant attribute, while revealing that a high price increases consumer confidence.…”

Status of Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Animal Production

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, the transportation of animal feeds and food, including animal production products, encountered many obstacles. For instance, in China, milk transport was disrupted by tight road traffic controls, leading to milk dumping (85). Moreover, import and export difficulties by maritime transport, linked to several factors such as lack of manpower in Chinese ports, minimum time at sea imposed by certain ports on ships from China seriously disturbed the transport of animal products between China and neighboring countries.…”