Exploratory Investigation of Consumer Consciousness in the Case of Food Purchase and Consumption

Abstract

One of the key issues of conscious food consumption behaviour is how individuals relate to the food they buy and consume, how they try to optimise this process to produce as little waste as possible. Food waste means that you is throw food in the trashbin that could have been avoided with just a little care. Food waste can occur at any and all stages of the food chain: during production and transport, at the retailers and in our own households. In developing countries, due to the lack of appropriate technology, food waste is mostly generated in the fields, after harvesting and during processing, while in developed countries, including Hungary, 40% of food waste is generated in households. This massive food waste is a global challenge. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around one third of all food produced is wasted before it reaches the consumer's table. Investigating the behavioural patterns behind food waste in domestic households, NEBIH researchers identified income, age, education and place of residence as the most important sociodemographic factors. According to our hypothesis consumer awareness during the purchase decision making process is less noticeable in the amount of food purchased and consumed. Far more people talk about awareness in consumer purchase decisions than actually make them in practice. In this study, results of an exploratory research are introduced about the correlation between food purchases and consumer awareness through in-depth interviews. The introduced results serve as a basis for a future quantitative research that could provide a more detailed picture of consumers' conscious food purchasing and consumption behaviour.