Is Buying Local Food a Sustainable Practice? A Scoping Review of Consumers’ Preference for Local Food

Abstract

Access to healthy food and the introduction of sustainable nutrition practices are two important issues today. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges to food security but it has also provided opportunities for local food production. The discussion on local food has been gaining attention in recent years, but there is still a lack of clear understanding of the term ‘local food’ in the literature. The relationship between local food and sustainability issues is still unclear and has various connotations. This discordance leads to further discussions on whether buying local food should be considered a sustainable behavior and whether consumer preference for local food can be perceived as a sustainable practice. A scoping literature review was conducted in order to fill this gap and to shed light on the main tendencies of the scientific literature regarding this topic. The outcomes of the research revealed three dimensions of ‘local food’ definitions in the literature: geographical, geopolitical, and organic; while the problem of a unified local food definition remains open. The studied literature did not show any sound evidence for sustainability attributes in the definition of local food and consumer perception of local food.

Prospects for the Development of the Demand for Carp in Poland among Young Consumers

“…The change in consumer behaviour is caused, among others, by the awareness of the sustainable development principles, circular economy or the need to shorten the food supply chains [ 24 ]. There is also growing awareness of changes in local food production markets and the importance of the consumption of healthy, high-quality products, including local [ 25 ], regional [ 26 ], traditional [ 27 ] and natural [ 28 ] products, which is in line with the development of slow food [ 29 , 30 ], culture and food safety [ 31 ].…”

COVID-19 and the Locavores: Investigating the Drivers of US Consumer Preferences for Apples

“…Positive attitudes towards buying local food are associated with behavioral beliefs, which include the need to support the local producers and the local economy [49]. Other behavioral beliefs include a desire to become more familiar with horticultural production, or to increase one's knowledge regarding horticulture and varietals [21]. Purchasing local food is based on short supply chains that allow for direct interaction between the grower and the end consumer, which ensures complete transparency around the production processes involved [63].…”

“…The shorter distance and the connection with the state where the food is produced allows consumers to know how and where their food is produced [13,18]. In the US, local fruits such as apples are grown in 32 states, with Washington, New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania and California being recognized as the five leading production states [17,21] The products from these states often indicate their origin through State labels, such as Washington grown apples, or are certified by USDA labels. Within these top five states, there are different orchard types, which include traditional orchards, pick-your-own or robot-ready apple orchards [22][23][24][25][26].…”

“…Consumer preferences and the willingness of consumers to pay for local apples in pre-COVIDian times has been well-explored [21,26]; however, recent studies focusing on local apples are now widely unavailable. Apples belong to the most important fruit category in the US market, and consumption patterns of apples and other fresh produce appear to have changed due to COVID-19 [35].…”

Are Local Dairy Products Better? Using Principal Component Analysis to Investigate Consumers’ Perception towards Quality, Sustainability, and Market Availability

“…Several scientific studies explored the perception and awareness of consumers towards local food and their willingness to pay for traditional and territory-bounded food products [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Other studies investigated the association between local production and consumers’ perception of food product quality [ 11 , 20 , 21 , 22 ] or sustainability [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. The effect of socio-demographic variables of individuals on shaping preferences, attitudes, and perceptions during food choice decision-making has also been highlighted [ 12 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”