Mapping Young Adults’ Concerns and Attitudes toward Food-Related Sustainability Issues in Israel: Implications for Food Policy

• Main Authors: Sigal Tepper, Vered Kaufman-Shriqui, Danit Rivka Shahar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-10-01
• Series: Nutrients
• Subjects: food policy; health policy; nutrition; obesity; sustainability
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/10/3190

Identifying the concerns about and attitudes toward adopting a healthy, sustainable diet may facilitate the development of effective implementation policies targeted at changing an individual’s dietary choices toward reducing the environmental burden of food systems. This cross-sectional online study was conducted in Israel among 348 adults aged 20–45 who responded to an advertisement posted on several social media platforms. Respondents received a link for the survey after signing informed consent forms. The questionnaire included three sections: concerns regarding food-related sustainability issues, willingness to act (“self”), and expectation that leaders would act upon these issues (“leaders”). Responses were recorded on a 1–4 Likert scale. Health-related issues—healthy food and drink, food prices, food safety, and the quality of health services—were scored the highest, both in the “self” and “leaders” sections. In all items, the expectation that leaders would act was higher than the willingness to act (composite mean ± SD: 3.04 ± 3.11 vs. 2.51 ± 2.47, respectively, <i>p</i> < 0.001). There were significant differences among dietary patterns in all three components. Mapping young adults’ concerns about and attitudes toward food-related sustainability issues allows for the identification of leverages that can be further used as focus issues in messages and interventions such as communication, food labeling, and economic incentives.