Survey on Food Preferences of University Students: from Tradition to New Food Customs?

Abstract

Humankind currently consumes more resources than our planet is able to generate. In our web survey, we investigated insects and earthworms, as a possible future food source. We targeted the survey to university students, as the possible future consumers and trendsetters of new food. A total of 3556 university students (18–29 years old) completed it. The aims of this study were to evaluate participants’ food preferences and their willingness to taste foods containing terrestrial invertebrates. Data were processed using Cronbach’s alfa to assess the reliability of each constructs. The food preferences showed pizza-focaccia and pasta at the highest rankings, followed by fruit and vegetables. Males have a higher preference for any kind of animal protein source. Gender influenced food preference and willingness to eat food with insect or earthworm ingredients. The results indicated that students were prone to consider novel food into the Italian diet and to familiarize with them in the future. Insects/earthworms were more accepted in salty snacks. Highlighting the essential amino-acids daily requirements of a snack with earthworm meal did not improve the willingness to taste it. Information and awareness of future global food demand can play a fundamental role in accepting new food.

Australian Consumers’ Response to Insects as Food

“…Traditional animal protein sources require more inputs to be produced and often cause greater environmental damage (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, loss in biodiversity, and other negative consequences for the ecosystem) compared to vegetable-based foods [7,8]. Thereby, a quest for more alternative animal protein sources is expected to become a considerable issue in the food supply chain [9,10], with more sustainable novel options to help mitigate climate change [11]. One such new food source, which has already drawn attention in the scientific community, private sector, and among the general public, is edible insects [2,12].…”

Eating Hamburgers Slowly and Sustainably: The Fast Food Market in North-West Italy

“…Place and/or locality are adjustment tools for international food operators adopting the changes in consumer behaviour and attitude regarding assessment of foodstuffs and new models of consumption [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. However, also the place is a fundamental element to create an Alternative Food Network (AFN), a useful tool for safeguarding the environment and biodiversity, improving the quality of foodstuffs and outcomes of local operators, protecting consumers, and enhancing confidence in the food sector [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36].…”

Novel Food-Based Product Communication: A Neurophysiological Study

“…Two ANOVA (2 × 2) analyses on the FAA index and distance from the screen were run to compare the neurophysiological and behavioural response of the subjects while watching the images of crackers made with earthworm flour based on the claim and the experimental phase. The results show a significant effect of the interaction between the claim and the experimental phase for the FAA index (F[ 1 , 12 ] = 5.6; p < 0.05). This means that the effect of the claim on the FAA response was not the same before and after the watching of the video.…”

“…The first objective was to understand the main drivers of food purchasing decisions. Based on the food choice literature [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ], the main drivers in the decisional process were identified (Study 1). The second objective was to understand the optimal communication strategy to promote crackers made with earthworm flour.…”