Sustainability Perception of Italian Consumers: Is it Possible to Replace Meat, and What Is the Best Alternative?

Growing worldwide food demand with its environmental impacts requires a reshaping of food consumption. This study aims to evaluate the degree of Italian consumers' awareness of sustainability and whether protein alternatives to meat could be accepted. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on a group of 815 respondents, representative of the Italian adult population for geography, gender, and age, using multivariate analysis together with cluster analysis. Lack of awareness of the consequences of food choices on the environment was found in 45% of respondents, and 51% reduced their consumption of meat. Typical foods of the Mediterranean diet (84% legumes 82% eggs, and 77% fish) were selected as the preferred sources of protein to replace meat, while insects and insect-based products were less accepted (67%). The importance of meat is the latent factor that explains more than 50% of the common variance observed in the factor analysis. The cluster analysis confirmed the importance of meat for Italian consumers, emphasizing other aspects of the sustainability of food choices. Cluster 1 (25.6%) considered meat very important. Two out of five clusters (clusters 2 and 3, 38%) considered meat replaceable in the diet, and cluster 4 (31.3%) included meat consumers that were willing to be sustainable. Cluster 5 identifies the "unsustainable consumers" (5.7%). In conclusion, besides the perceived importance of meat, there is room for recommendations for its reduction by proposing alternative foods already present in the Mediterranean diet.

Consumers' Attitude towards Sustainability in Italy: Process of Validation of a Duly Designed Questionnaire.

This study aimed to describe the process of validation of a questionnaire assessing Italian consumers' perception of food sustainability. The study has a multiphase design. Phase 1 consisted in translating and structuring the questionnaire. Phase 2 aimed at assessing the validity of the content by experts. Phase 3 consisted of a pilot study (n = 150) carried out to revise the questionnaire based on the reactions of consumers representing the target group of the assessment. The questionnaire showed adequate content validity for 11 out of 14 questions (>0.79) and S-CVI/Ave > 0.80. Cronbach's alpha values ranged from 0.08 to 0.90. The construct with insufficient results (0.08) was changed because it failed to correlate with the rest of the questionnaire. The factor analysis permitted the identification of questions that needed improvement in terms of comprehensibility, elimination of redundancies, and repetitions. The validated questionnaire included 12 questions (71 response options); 3 sections were identified: food sustainability knowledge (4 questions-30 items); sources of proteins alternative to meat (3 questions-20 items); eating behaviors (5 questions-21 items). This study showed the importance of validation before the administration on a large scale of a questionnaire on a topic such as sustainability still lacking large support from consensus documents.

Nutrition Knowledge as a Driver of Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Italy.

Background: An optimal Nutrition knowledge (NK) among the population could result in greater Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD), a recognized dietary pattern capable of preventing chronic food-related diseases. This study aimed to evaluate the association between NK and AMD in Italy. Methods: A national representative sample of 2,869 adults took part in an assessment that was carried out through a self-administrated questionnaire including sections relating to NK and AMD. AMD was evaluated following the PREDIMED PLUS methodology. Descriptive statistics were provided, and ordinal measures of NK score and AMD were calculated based on quartiles of the quantitative scores. A contingency analysis was performed to check associations between variables. Results: In Italy, the average NK score was 50 ± 13.3, equivalent to 56.8% of correct answers. The average value of AMD was 6.8, corresponding to 40% of the maximum score with 31.4% of the population demonstrating low AMD, 31.3% in the lower-middle range, 24% in the medium-high range, and only 13.3% reporting a high AMD. A significant association between NK and AMD was found; respondents who reported the lowest AMD corresponded to those with the lowest NK (36.7%; p < 0.05) and similarly, those with the highest level of adherence to MD also achieved the highest NK scores (41.7%; p < 0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that AMD in Italy is generally low, and the strong association between NK and AMD demonstrated that there is a clear connection between a healthy dietary pattern and the nutrition literacy of the population. Those with the highest AMD corresponded to the highest NK and, conversely, those with the lowest AMD displayed the lowest NK. The study also highlighted that socioeconomic aspects were strong determinants of both AMD and NK.

Food Waste of Italian Families: Proportion in Quantity and Monetary Value of Food Purchases.

Halving per capita food waste (FW) is one of the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals. This study aims to evaluate the weight and monetary values of food waste among a sample of Italian families. In a representative sample of 1142 families, the adults responsible for food purchases and in charge of preparing meals were assessed with a self-administrated questionnaire measuring quantity and typology of FW. These data were linked with food purchases figures measured as an average of four weeks. Italian families wasted 399 kg of food per week (4.4% of the weight of food purchased), which correspond to a monetary value of €1.052 (3.8% of the overall food expenditure). Clustering the food groups according to waste quantity, typology, and monetary value made it possible to show that price has a role in the generation of food waste, as the lower the unitary cost, the higher the quantity of waste. Consequently, foods with high unitary costs were less wasted. The results of this study showed that Italian consumers are sensitive to the economic impact of waste and this should be considered in sensitization campaigns.