Local food in Iceland: identifying behavioral barriers to increased production and consumption

Abstract

Increased production and consumption of local food may reduce the negative environmental, social, and economic impacts of industrialized and globalized food production. Here we examined potential barriers to increasing production and consumption of food produced in Iceland. First, we developed a new framework to address the behaviors of production and consumption simultaneously, to comprehensively analyze their potential barriers. We examined structural barriers by estimating the food production capacity of Iceland, and cultural and personal barriers through survey data on cultural norms and purchasing behavior from Matís, a research and development company. We found no structural barriers preventing Iceland from increasing production of local cereals, which would compliment current local production of meat and dairy and reduce reliance on imports, currently at 50% of the daily caloric intake. However, if food production became entirely local without changing the current mix of crops grown, there would be a 50% reduction in diversity (from 50 to 25 items in eight out of ten food categories). We did not identify any cultural barriers, as survey results demonstrated that consumers hold generally positive worldviews towards local food, with 88% satisfied with local food they had purchased. More than two-thirds of consumers regarded supporting the local farmer and considerations such as environmentally friendly production, fewer food miles, lower carbon footprint as important. However, they rated the local food they have access to as lower in meeting sustainability criteria, showing that they make justifications for not choosing local food in practice. This is a personal barrier to increased consumption of local food, and implies that marketing strategies and general knowledge connected to local food in Iceland might be improved. Although the results apply to the case of Iceland, the method of identifying behavioral barriers to change is applicable to other countries, regions, or foodsheds interested in assessing their food security through an analysis of local food.

Tourist food consumption and its arable land requirements in a popular tourist destination

“…Food consumed by tourists is typically from both in-region and out-of-region markets (Halldorsdottir and Nicholas, 2016;Mak et al, 2012a). Thus, on the one hand, the increase in food consumption can be satisfied by an increase in local food supply or by the import of foodstuffs from other regions (OECD and FAO, 2016).…”

Local Entrepreneurship in the Context of Food Production: A Review

“…Halldórsdóttir and Nicholas [40] conducted research which focused on identifying behavioral barriers influencing production and consumption of local food in Iceland. The authors assessed the structure of pro-ecological behaviors which result in purchasing local food in the context of three groups of factors: structural (sustainable production), cultural, and personal (sustainable consumption).…”

A termelői piacok fogyasztói – nemzetközi és hazai kitekintés The consumers of the farmers’ markets – global and local outlook

“…Fogyasztói preferenciák és motivációk Baker et al, 2009;Carson et al, 2016;Conner et al, 2010;Dodds et al, 2014;Dukeshire et al, 2015;Fehrenbach -Wharton, 2012;Garner -Ayala, 2018;Grebitus et al, 2017;Gumirakiza et al, 2014Gumirakiza et al, , 2017Halldorsdottir -Nicholas, 2016;Kadanali -Demir, 2018;Shi -Hodges, 2016;Spilkova et al, 2013] Jellemző fogyasztók a termelői piacokon Abelló et al, 2014;Berg -Preston, 2017;Grebitus et al, 2017 Fogyasztók és termelők közötti kölcsönhatásokat, motivációs különbségek Carson et al, 2016;Hunt, 2007;Leiper -Clarke-Sather, 2017 Termelői piacok működésében bekövetkező változások Bett et al, 2013;Blasi et al, 2015;Halldorsdottir -Nicholas, 2016 Helyi élelmiszerekkel szemben felmerülő attitűdök megítélése Asebo et al, 2007;Brown, 2003;Conner et al, 2010 Termelői piacok és a kereskedelmi egységek termékei közötti különbségek Bavorova et al, 2016 Fogyasztói tudatosság, fenntarthatóság és a termelői piacok környezetvédelmi előnyeinek fogyasztói észlelése Bozoglu et al, 2014;Szabó -Juhász, 2015;Dukeshire et al, 2015;Grebitus et al, 2017;Jadudova et al, 2018;Polimeni et al, 2018 Forrás: saját szerkesztés…”

“…A társadalmi szempontok másfajta megközelítésében a termelő és fogyasztó közötti közvetlen kommunikáció és információcsere emelhető ki, amely a bizalmi kapcsolat megalapozásához elengedhetetlen. A környezeti szempontokkal kapcsolatos értékek egyre jelentősebb szerepet töltenek be világszerte, így a fenntarthatóság, a helyi gazdaságok támogatása, a származási hely és az ökológiai szempontok mind fontosak a fogyasztók számára [Baker et al, 2009;Bavorova et al, 2016;Blasi et al, 2015;Bozoglu et al, 2014;Carson et al, 2016;Conner et al, 2010;Dodds et al, 2014;Dukeshire et al, 2015;Fehrenbach -Wharton, 2012;Gumirakiza et al, 2014;Halldorsdottir -Nicholas, 2016;Leiper -Clarke-Sather, 2017]. A környezeti tényezőkkel kapcsolatos értékek azok, amelyek jellemzően a tudatos, képzett és felelősségteljes fogyasztók gondolkodásmódjában jelennek meg.…”