The Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Italy on the Sustainable Food Consumption Intention From a “One Health” Perspective

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a transmissible illness that was recognized in December 2019 and World Health Organization (WHO) stated a pandemic on 11 March 2020. As no cure has been developed for COVID-19 disease yet, Italy has adopted restrictive measures to avoid the spread of the virus, causing different psychological reactions (e.g., stress, anxiety) that lead people to change lifestyle and in particular the consumer orientation toward food. In addition, the COVID-19 emergency had also affected the Italian economy, causing an 11.3% decrease in GDP (gross domestic product). All these changes gave rise to a sense of instability, but it is known that new possibilities may arise in these situations. In particular, the pandemic could be the turning point to make consumers aware of the close link between human health and the ecosystems, supporting the “One Health” perspective and enhancing the orientation to consumer sustainable food products. However, little is known about how the psychological reactions to COVID-19 emergency have affected the consumers' intention to purchase sustainable food products. In order to answer these questions, a representative sample of 1,004 Italian citizens, extracted by stratified sampling, answered an online survey between May the 12th and 18th 2020. The data were analyzed using ANOVA and contingency tables. The results show that during phase one of COVID-19 disease about 30% of the sample reported that have frequently (often and always) consumed the certified sustainable food products and about 20% of the sample have intention to increase the consumption of them in the next 6 months, percentages that increase among those who feel more vulnerable regarding the risk contagion. Moreover, the psychological impact of the COVID-19 emergency has led to a change in consumers' attitudes, increasing the interest in animal and environmental issues and in human health. These aspects seem to drive the future intention of purchasing sustainable food products. This research highlights how the psychological reactions to the health emergency have changed the consumers' attitudes toward sustainability issues, leading them to follow a more sustainable diet that is recognized as a way to preserve human health, environmental preservation, and animal welfare for present and future generations.

Is Covid‐19 changing sustainable consumer behavior? A survey of Italian consumers

“…Overall, for all the other aspects, over 30% of the answers are on the last two anchors of the scale. These results are consistent with the study by Castellini et al ( 2021 ) conducted on Italian consumers, which reported an increase in consumers' awareness of the importance of individual responsibility in society, and with the study by Sun et al ( 2021 ) conducted on Chinese consumers, which found that the emotional response induced by the Covid‐19 pandemic has driven consumers to pay more attention to the environment and society.…”

“…More than 60% of respondents stated a moderate or extreme increase in the level of awareness. Similar results are reported by Castellini et al ( 2021 ), who highlighted an increase in consumers' awareness of the importance of environmental issues and animal welfare in Italy, as well as by Severo et al (2020), who highlighted an increase in environmental awareness of Brazilian and Portuguese consumers due to the pandemic. In contrast, the study conducted of several European countries by Rousseau and Deschacht ( 2020 ) highlighted that the awareness of environmental issues was not affected.…”

“…Concerning the Italian context, the research conducted on the impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic on consumer behavior is limited. In this regard, an increase in the consumption of farmers' or organic food (Di Renzo et al, 2020 ) and certified sustainable food products (Castellini et al, 2021 ) is reported. Peluso et al ( 2021 ) found that consumers have increased their spending on environmentally sustainable products by nearly 10%.…”

Nutrition Knowledge as a Driver of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Italy

“…Another aspect that is missing is the issue of sustainability—a concept that is still vague for Italian consumers ( 76 , 77 )—that is not addressed in AMD and NK questionnaires. As reported by Castellini et al ( 78 ), the COVID-19 pandemic may have been the turning point to raise consumer awareness concerning the close interconnection between human health and ecosystems, supporting the “One Health” perspective and improving a sustainable diet, all of which are aspects of growing importance that need to be included in further similar assessments.…”

Sustainable Consumption in Consumer Behavior in the Time of COVID-19: Topic Modeling on Twitter Data Using LDA

“…It is confirmed that if consumers are health-conscious, organic food is their first choice [97][98][99]. What is more, in the time of coronavirus, health consciousness is the most relevant driver that boosts the positive attitude towards organic food [97,100]. It can be assumed that the second topic, i.e., food waste, has become the focus of consumers' attention both due to the growing environmental and health consciousness of consumers, as well as some concerns about the economic crisis along with higher food prices caused by the COVID-19 pandemic [101].…”