Influencing Factors of a Sustainable Vegetable Choice. The Romanian Consumers’ Case

Abstract

The behavior of vegetable consumption in the context of sustainable development has become a point of interest. Determining the barriers and the drivers for developing a sustainable consumption pattern, including food, should be a priority for every nation, as so to be able to design targeted food policies that would contribute to this development. Reducing the pressure on resources by diminishing meat consumption and increasing vegetable consumption is one of the global directions that should be followed. The situation of the current status of vegetable consumption in Romania is, therefore, important. Through an empirical quantitative analysis, the vegetable consumption pattern of Romanian consumers is presented. The results show that the respondents lack proper environmental education and concern, but unconsciously are aware of sustainability criteria such as choosing local and seasonal vegetables, choosing according to the freshness of the vegetables, and wasting little of these purchases. The main barriers determined in developing more sustainable vegetable choices in the case of Romanian consumers are income and time availability restrictions. It is also important to have the ability to identify the local, seasonal, and organic vegetables through specific labels, and to provide the local producers with the ability to sell their products in supermarkets, at fair prices. These would be the main drivers for developing a sustainable vegetable choice. Adding to that, an awareness campaign at the national level regarding the importance of individual choice would contribute to educating towards a sustainable purchasing pattern.

Tell Me What You Waste and I’ll Tell You Who You Are: An Eight-Country Comparison of Consumers’ Food Waste Habits

“…The scientific literature has explored the relationships between dietary patterns, their drivers of choice, and pro-environmental behavior, such as an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption and a decrease in meat intake [21][22][23]. Many studies have analyzed dietary choices in relation to personal factors such as instruction level [24][25][26], personal psychological factors [26][27][28], personal motivations, attitudes, health concerns [29][30][31], the availability of healthy food [32], and exposure to news and advertising related to food consumption [33]. Among the individual factors, mindfulness, considered as the ability to live in the present moment without judging the situation, seems to be relevant to the definition of dietary choices [34][35][36].…”

Molecular weight and concentration of chitosan affect plant development and phenolic substance pattern in arugula

“…Therefore, phenolic substance patterns should also be investigated as natural sources for these compounds that have become popular among consumers. It should be noted that possible differences in the morphology and color of the arugula plants tested might also affect the consumers' choice (Ladaru et al, 2020). In this context, we hypothesized that besides its antimicrobial (Sahariah and Másson, 2017) and shelflife extending properties for several fruits and vegetables (Romanazzi et al, 2015), chitosan should promote or affect the growth, yield, and phenolic substance pattern of arugula plants in this study.…”

Sustainability in the Case of Small Vegetable Farmers: A Matrix Approach

“…Secondly, the component regarding the valorization of personal activity is considered as formed of three components, i.e., cultivating vegetables; a family tradition to grow vegetables; an important local activity, and contribution to the local development, all of them based on cultural specificities that emphasize capitalization of the cultural heritage, besides family tradition to grow vegetables [60], which thus reveals the capacity of maintaining and perpetuating specific local traditions, while also contributing to local development [45,105].…”