Development and Validation of a Short Questionnaire Assessing the Behavior of Local Food Procurement in Quebec, Canada.

Background: Very few validated instruments, particularly screening tools applicable to large-cohort studies, are available to assess the behavior of local food procurement. Objective: The aim was to develop and validate a short questionnaire that measures local food procurement in a sample of French-speaking adults from Quebec, Canada, and to assess the association between local food-procurement behavior and diet quality. Methods: A comprehensive questionnaire developed previously to measure local food procurement [Locavore-Index (Locavore-I)] was simplified through a series of steps that included face-validity, exploratory factor analysis, and reliability testing (internal consistency). Construct validity of the resulting short Locavore-I Short Form (Locavore-I-SF) was examined in a sample of 299 adults (85% women) from the Quebec City metropolitan community. Results: The Locavore-I-SF comprises 12 questions that measure the frequency of short food supply chain use (self-production, farmers' markets, and community-supported agriculture box scheme) for 3 locally produced foods (carrot, tomato, and lettuce) as well as the geographical origin of those 3 foods. The Locavore-I-SF, which is scored on a 12-point scale, had a high internal consistency (Cronbach ɑ: 0.74). The Locavore-I-SF scores were strongly correlated with the reference scores obtained from the Locavore-I from which it was developed (r = 0.84, P < 0.0001). Locavore-I-SF scores also correlated (r = 0.50, P < 0.0001) with the geographical origin of foods measured by pictures of food labels taken by participants. Higher Locavore-I-SF scores were associated with behaviors consistent with eating local foods, such as gardening (vs. not gardening; mean ± SEM difference: 2.3 ± 0.4 points; P < 0.0001) and not being preoccupied by the foods' appearance standards (vs. being preoccupied; 1.4 ± 0.4 points; P = 0.0002). Finally, the Locavore-I-SF scores were weakly associated with the Healthy Eating Food Index-2019 score (B = 0.05 ± 0.02; P = 0.02). Conclusions: The Locavore-I-SF, a short questionnaire based on 3 locally produced foods in Quebec, measures the behavior of local food procurement with good reliability and acceptable validity metrics.

A Rapid Review of Territorialized Food Systems and Their Impacts on Human Health, Food Security, and the Environment.

The global food system is facing multiple problems, including rising food insecurity, degrading environments, and an increased incidence of diet-related chronic diseases. International organizations are thus calling for a transition toward territorialized food systems to alleviate some of these challenges. Yet, limited evidence supporting the benefits of territorialized food systems is available. Our objective was to summarize the current body of literature on territorialized food systems and their impacts on human health, food security, and the environment using a rapid review methodology. Articles were retrieved from three databases and analyzed using keywords and inclusion criteria corresponding to territorialized food systems, environment, human health, and food security. Six relevant publications were identified. While this limited evidence suggests that territorialized food systems may have positive effects on all three dimensions, data are not consistent across publications. For example, territorialized food systems may contribute to improved diet quality, provide agroecosystem services, and contribute to food security. However, food produced within these food systems may have a higher carbon footprint and be less available than industrially produced food. This rapid review also highlights the siloed nature of the current research on territorialized food systems and emphasizes the need for more holistic and interdisciplinary research.