The Process of Ethnocentralizing the Concept of Ecological Agroalimentary Products for the Romanian Urban Consumer

Abstract

In the case of the Romanian urban consumer, ecological agroalimentary products do not merely operate on the discursive line mapped by the rules of certification. The ecology of the agroalimentary products is reinterpreted and, thus, an interesting phenomenon occurs. The products perceived as natural, local, or peasant are seen as ecological enough to influence the purchase decision. Hence, according to the Romanian urban consumer, the ecological product stands for a symbolic projection provided by their own experience and trust level as a consumer. In the present paper, we aimed to go beyond the theory claiming that such behavior is determined by confusion in the social action of purchase and, following this line of interpretation, we also intended to identify the symbolic systems and hermeneutical criteria by which the Romanian urban consumer makes a social projection of ecological agroalimentary products through certain ethnocentralizing mechanisms. Our research paper was based on a qualitative and quantitative anthropological analysis that had, as a starting point, a questionnaire applied online (with a total of 1792 respondents, out of which 1342 were urban respondents).

The Impact of COVID-19 Crisis upon the Consumer Buying Behavior of Fresh Vegetables Directly from Local Producers. Case Study: The Quarantined Area of Suceava County, Romania

“…This may be explained by the synesthetic nature of the visual consumer’s behavior (here it can be rather related to the desire of seeing the products on a platform, specialized website, or Facebook account). The synesthetic nature is also supported by Romanian consumers symbolically associating agri-food products with childhood memories or idyllic life in the countryside [ 69 ].…”

The Behavior of Dairy Consumers in Short Food Supply Chains during COVID-19 Pandemic in Suceava Area, Romania

“…This is a specific behavior, meaning that it works based on a pattern. In addition, as long as healthy eating behavior is one of the fundamental values in the private space of a family [42], the purchase of dairy products directly from the producer is perceived as a solution for compliance with these values. An anthropological interpretation could go even further.…”

“…The marketing of milk and dairy products in Romania, including for consumers in Suceava County, is achieved through several distribution channels: supermarket/ hypermarket chains and food stores, specialty stores, agri-food markets, online stores, and direct delivery to the consumer [42].…”

Reshaping the Traditional Pattern of Food Consumption in Romania through the Integration of Sustainable Diet Principles. A Qualitative Study

“…Consumers perceive these products as being traditional too, because they are based on traditional recipes and reflect Romanian traditional consumption habits. This may be explained by the fact that hypermarket and supermarket are the favorite places to buy food of Romanian urban consumers [35,108].…”