Perceptions and preferences for environmentally sustainable food and associated factors: a cross-sectional analysis of a nationally representative survey of United States consumers.

Background: Consumers are increasingly interested in environmentally sustainable dietary patterns. However, specific signals (e.g., language, labels, logos, or packaging) American consumers use to identify environmentally sustainable products are yet to be explored.

Objectives: To determine perception and preferences for environmentally sustainable food and associated health and demographic factors associated with consumers' use of signals for environmentally sustainable food products in a nationally representative survey of United States consumers.

Methods: Repeated cross-sectional data were collected for the 2019 and 2020 annual online Food and Health Survey by the International Food Information Council. Three questions were analyzed: 1) the stated importance of environmentally sustainable food products, 2) signals consumers use to identify environmentally sustainable food/beverage products, and 3) the impact of environmental sustainability on food/beverage purchase decisions. Questions 2 and 3 were asked only from participants who stated environmental sustainability is important in question 1. Options provided for signals for environmentally sustainable products were recyclable packaging, minimal packaging, labeled organic, labeled locally grown, labeled sustainably sourced, and labeled non-genetically modified organisms (GMOs)/not bioengineered. Poisson regression and logistic regressions were performed to assess associations.

Results: Of 1905 completers, 1059 (55.6%) answered that it was somewhat or very important that food products purchased/consumed were environmentally sustainable. Of those, 94% used ≥1 of the 6 signals to determine environmental sustainability when shopping. Some signals were selected despite little association with environmental sustainability (e.g., locally grown and non-GMO/not bioengineered). The number of signals consumers used was associated with education, race/ethnicity, health status, and the level of impact they reported that sustainability plays in their decisions. Associations between consumer characteristics and the use of different signals for environmental sustainability were heterogeneous.

Conclusions: Even among consumers who value environmental sustainability in food products, specific signals used by different respondents varied across demographics and health characteristics.