Citizens Views on Policy Instruments for Sustainable Food Consumption From Spatial Perspective

Abstract

To mitigate climate change, large GHG emission reductions need to be made in several sectors of the consumer society. This calls for policy instruments that guide citizens in adapting their behavior. In Finland, a mid-range climate strategy is set for each governmental period to reach GHG emission reductions. For the renewal of the strategy, the Ministry of the Environment organized a citizen survey in 2021 to gain better understanding on how citizens perceive the impact of selected policy instruments and what kinds of actions citizens imagine taking to reduce their consumption. More than 18.000 citizens replied to the survey. This research analyses the perceptions of citizens in how different policy instruments related to food target respondents in different residential areas. The responses are examined for urban, peri-urban and rural areas to find out whether there are differences in how respondents in different spatial context perceive the impact of the policy instruments. The analysis reveals that there are small but statistically significant differences in results depending on the area of residence. People living in rural areas consider themselves to be more impacted by most policies than the urban residents. Responses to open-ended questions are analyzed to find out how people imagine how they could increase the share of plant-based food in their diets and reduce food loss and whether there is a difference in responses between urban and rural responses. Suggestions for future policy design for food consumption are made based on the findings.

Policy tools for sustainable and healthy eating: Enabling a food transition in the Nordic countries

“…This is primarily due to the country's signi icantly high consumption of animal-based foods (Klimarådet 2021:12). Likewise in Finland, the intake of dairy and meat are responsible for 65 percent of the climate impact from Finnish diets (Matschoss 2022) and in Norway, dairy and meat account for approximately 80 percent of carbon emissions from food (van Ort & Holmelin 2019).…”

Editorial: Organizational and consumption perspectives on sustainable food culture

“…The collection includes four papers which raise issues at both micro, meso and macro level. According to the paper by Matschoss (2022), conscious consumption practices and a significant consumer behavior impact can be achieved by encouraging consumers to make informed choices and adopt sustainable consumption habits. This will lead to reduced food waste and promote sustainable production practices.…”