Should I Pay or Should I Grow? Factors Which Influenced the Preferences of US Consumers for Fruit, Vegetables, Wine and Beer during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This study examines the key factors that determine the preferences of US consumers towards the growing and processing used for horticultural products such as fruit, vegetables, wine and beer over their preferences for buying them both before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings obtained using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) show that engagement with horticulture prior to and after the occurrence of COVID-19 influenced preferences for the growing and processing of fruit, vegetables, wine and beer over buying them in both the pre-COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 contexts. Engagement with horticulture before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly impacted by attitudes towards US growers. Attitudes towards COVID-19 and human values such as self-enhancement, conservation and self-transcendence were also found to be significant factors, while openness to change was not found to be significant. Best practice recommendations are included on the basis of these findings for managers of community gardens, horticultural properties and specialized food stores.

Edible landscape: Key factors determining consumers’ commitment and willingness to accept opportunity cost and risk of foraged food

“…The impact of Covid-19 in a food-foraging context has not been as widely studied, however, since 2020 the body of literature on foodforaging and foraging-related activities are steadily increasing (Clouse, 2022). It is known that consumers are seeking alternative ways of food shopping and that there are trends toward home-growing, selfsufficiency, and food foraging (Bulgari et al, 2021;Chenarides et al, 2021;Rombach et al, 2022). Horticultural and food studies have provided evidence that Covid-19 has caused consumers to worry about food prices, with one of the impacts, 2 years into the Covid-19 pandemic, is a recession and food price inflation in the US (Cleary and Chenarides, 2022;Lusk and McFadden, 2021).…”

“…A resultant tendency for self-sufficiency can be seen in increased interest in seeds and other horticultural supplies needed for food production, horticultural YouTube videos, and horticultural influences (Bulgari et al, 2021). Consumer studies report positive trends in homegrown fruit and vegetable production, beer, spirit, and winemaking, bee and livestock keeping, baking, and food processing (Rombach et al, 2022;Alton and Ratnieks, 2022;Behe et al, 2022;Gerdes et al, 2022). Given that Covid-19 facilitated a major paradigm shift across many areas of everyday life, including consumer attitudes, perceptions, and behavior, the following hypotheses are proposed:…”

No Cow? Understanding US Consumer Preferences for Plant-Based over Regular Milk-Based Products

“…Engagement with food-related activities such as home and community gardening, food foraging, food processing, cooking, and eating are important predictors of food-related consumer behaviour, as studies on alternative forms of food procurement and consumer preferences show [34,35]. In addition to these active hands-on food-related actions, passive forms of engagement are also important predictors.…”

“…In addition to these active hands-on food-related actions, passive forms of engagement are also important predictors. These include watching YouTube videos on food production and preparation and reading cookbooks [34]. Since the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on US food retail, including the disruptions of supply chain grids and food price inflation, engagement with food-related activities has increased in relevance for US consumers [34,35].…”

“…These include watching YouTube videos on food production and preparation and reading cookbooks [34]. Since the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on US food retail, including the disruptions of supply chain grids and food price inflation, engagement with food-related activities has increased in relevance for US consumers [34,35]. Active and passive engagement with food has become more important, and this knowledge has increased its influence on consumer food choices.…”