Investigating UK consumer perception of food sustainability and consumer strategies for improving the sustainability of their most recent meal

While numerous studies have examined consumer perceptions of food sustainability, their views on the United Nations defined dimensions (environmental, social, and economic) remain under-researched. Furthermore, little research has investigated how consumers believe they could improve the sustainability of their food choices from a real-life meal context. This study had three research objectives: To determine how consumers perceive sustainable and unsustainable foods (RO1), perceive differences among environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable foods (RO2), and perceive how they could improve the sustainability of their most recent meal (RO3). The study was executed using an online survey in the United Kingdom (n=1522) with open-ended questions. Results for RO1 showed consumers had a diverse understanding of sustainable/unsustainable foods. For RO2, most consumers had a similar perception of environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable foods. For RO3, many consumers indicated their most recent meal was already sustainable or were uncertain about to how to improve its sustainability.