How does the environmental knowledge of Turkish households affect their environmentally responsible food choices? The mediating effects of environmental concerns

Abstract

The main objective of the present study is to examine whether Turkish households' environmental knowledge effects environmentally responsible food choices through the mediating effect of households' environmental concerns. A face-to-face survey was conducted, resulting in 450 responses from households that have recently chosen environmentally responsible foods in Erzurum, Turkey. The hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique to detect how the mediating role of environmental concerns plays in the relationships between environmental knowledge and households' environmentally responsible food choices. The findings confirm that environmental knowledge and environmental concerns positively and significantly enhance households' environmentally responsible food choices. It is also the first study to examine the mediational effect of environmental concerns on environmental knowledge and households' environmentally responsible food choice relations. The findings of the study and its implications are expected to benefit the development of environmentally responsible foods in the Turkish food industry.

Effects of Sustainable Strategic Planning Applications in Primary Schools on the Effectiveness of Total Quality Management Practices

“…In cross-loading, the factor loading indicators on the assigned construct should be higher than those of other constructs under the condition that the cut-off value of the factor loading is higher than 0.70 (Table 1) [29,30]. The second measure for discriminant validity is the HTMT ratio of correlation.…”

“…The second measure for discriminant validity is the HTMT ratio of correlation. Basar and et al [29] proposed that the performance of this method was superior. Using the Monte Carlo simulation, they found that HTMT achieved higher specificity and sensitivity rates (97-99%) than the cross-loading (0.00%) and Fornell-Larcker (20.82%) criteria.…”

Evaluation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with sustainable nutrition knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices

“…To evaluate the environmentally responsible food choices of individuals, the 7-item “Environmentally Responsible Food Choices” instrument developed by Başar was used ( 17 ). The items are as follows: “I can pay more for organically grown food,” “I avoid consuming food with genetically modified organisms (GMOs),” “I prefer to consume eco-label food,” and “I am careful not to consume too much meat,” “I prefer to buy dairy products from local producers,” “I avoid consuming imported food such as a variety of exotic fruits,” and “I avoid consuming canned “ready-made” food.” Item responses are 5-point Likert type and each item is scored between 1 and 5.…”

“…It is thought that our study would be important in terms of filling this gap in the literature. Furthermore, practices such as eco-labeling are considered an important indicator of the increase in individuals’ awareness of environmentally responsible foods and their interest in these products ( 17 ). Therefore, it is regarded as essential to evaluate the preferences of individuals for traditional/local foods, products with environmental labels, and especially ultra-processed foods in food preferences within the framework of sustainable nutrition.…”