20 pages., This research paper explores the role of environmental labelling in shaping the purchasing and consumption behaviours of Generation Z. The study aims to provide insights into the comprehension, perception, and attitude of this generation towards environmental labelling and to investigate how these factors impact their purchasing decisions. The results of this study provide valuable insights into the role of environmental labelling in shaping the behaviours of young consumers and suggest that it still matters to this generation. The study also highlights the importance of trust in environmental labelling for influencing purchasing decisions. Our research paper provides new insights into the role of environmental labelling in shaping the behaviours of Generation Z, which is a critical demographic group for sustainable consumption. We found that this generation is highly aware of environmental issues and is motivated to make eco-friendly purchasing decisions. However, our study also highlights that the lack of trust in environmental labelling can be a significant barrier to sustainable consumption. This study contributes to the literature on environmental labelling and consumer behaviour among Generation Z.
16 pages, A Danish pre-industrial farming system is reconstructed and compared to its modern industrialized farming system equivalent to evaluate agricultural performance in a sustainability perspective. The investigated Danish farm system and its contributing elements have undergone significant transformations. The intensity of contemporary agriculture shows that high productivity levels have been achieved by increasing the input of energy using modern machinery. At the same time, the energy efficiency (calculations based on energetic indicators) diminishes over time as the degree of dependence on fossil fuels increases. The results from this study show significant changes in the farming system, specifically inputs from agricultural land use, livestock, and energy systems. From being highly circular, the system changed to being a clear linear farming system with highly increased productivity but less efficient at the same time, questioning the relationship between productivity and efficiency and resource utilization in modern farming systems. Through utilizing an agroecological historical approach by comparing system performance over time, the results offer opportunities to explore how agricultural farming systems evolve over time and help to describe the complexity of the system level in a sustainability perspective.
Specht, Kathrin (author), Zoll, Felix (author), Schumann, Henrike (author), Bela, Julia (author), Kachel, Julia (author), and Robischon, Marcel (author)
Format:
Journal article
Publication Date:
2019
Published:
International
Location:
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 99 Document Number: D10870
Via online. 27 pages., Global challenges such as climate change, increasing urbanization and a lack of transparency of food chains, have led to the development of innovative urban food production approaches, such as rooftop greenhouses, vertical farms, indoor farms, aquaponics as well as production sites for edible insects or micro-algae. Those approaches are still at an early stage of development and partly unknown among the public. The aim of our study was to identify the perception of sustainability, social acceptability and ethical aspects of these new approaches and products in urban food production. We conducted 19 qualitative expert interviews and applied qualitative content analysis. Our results revealed that major perceived benefits are educational effects, revaluation of city districts, efficient resource use, exploitation of new protein sources or strengthening of local economies. Major perceived conflicts concern negative side-effects, legal constraints or high investment costs. The extracted acceptance factors deal significantly with the “unknown”. A lack of understanding of the new approaches, uncertainty about their benefits, concerns about health risks, a lack of familiarity with the food products, and ethical doubts about animal welfare represent possible barriers. We conclude that adaptation of the unsuitable regulatory framework, which discourages investors, is an important first step to foster dissemination of the urban food production approaches.
27 pages., The provision of information through mobile phone-enabled agricultural information services (m-Agri services) has the potential to revolutionise agriculture and significantly improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods in Africa. Globally, the benefits of m-Agri services include facilitating farmers’ access to financial services and sourcing agricultural information about input use, practices, and market prices. There are very few published literature sources that focus on the potential benefits of m-Agri services in Africa and none of which explore their sustainability. This study, therefore, explores the evolution, provision, and sustainability of these m-Agri services in Africa. An overview of the current landscape of m-Agri services in Africa is provided and this illustrates how varied these services are in design, content, and quality. Key findings from the exploratory literature review reveal that services are highly likely to fail to achieve their intended purpose or be abandoned when implementers ignore the literacy, skills, culture, and demands of the target users. This study recommends that, to enhance the sustainability of m-Agri services, the implementers need to design the services with the users involved, carefully analyse, and understand the target environment, and design for scale and a long-term purpose. While privacy and security of users need to be ensured, the reuse or improvement of existing initiatives should be explored, and projects need to be data-driven and maintained as open source. Thus, the study concludes that policymakers can support the long-term benefit of m-Agri services by ensuring favourable policies for both users and implementers.
27 pages, Vietnam plays an important role in bearing global food security. However, Vietnamese rice farmers face several challenges, including pressures to develop sustainable livelihoods while reducing the environmental impacts of their production activities. Various Vietnamese agricultural restructuring policies were promulgated to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly practices to generate high value added for rice farmers, but the farmers are reluctant to adopt them because of perceived lack of demand. Decreasing consumption of rice in Asia and increasing demands in Europe shaped Vietnamese rice exporting policies. New trade agreements, such as the UK–Vietnam Free Trade Agreement, offer new target markets for Vietnamese rice farmers. This research provides empirical evidence related to the preferences of UK consumers for ethical attributes for floating rice imported from Vietnam. Floating rice represents a traditional method of rice cultivation that relies on the natural flooding cycle. Its cultivation uses very few agrochemical inputs and provides several other environmental, economic, and social benefits. In an online survey, the study used a choice experiment that asked 306 UK consumers to report their preferences for one kilo of floating rice with three non-market attributes: reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, allocation of profits to the farmers, and restitution of biodiversity. Overall, study participants favored the attributes of floating rice, but reported utility for only the “fair trade” attribute and for a marginal willingness to pay premiums for profit allocations to farmers. Consumers did not find value in either CO2 emission reduction or biodiversity improvement. Results from the study provide recommendations to develop agricultural programs, distribution strategies, and informational methods to encourage floating rice consumption in the UK.
