Designing a General Framework of Sustainable Diet Guideline for Romanian Population Based on Young Consumers' Insights. A Qualitative Study (original) (raw)

New Trends in Sustainable Business and Consumption

Even though the high progress has been made in agriculture and food industry lately, it has become obvious that most of the contemporary diets are unsustainable. Intensive production of agri-food raw materials and their industrial processing, together with the exponential growth of world population and its increased urbanization rate have led to an alarming level of environmental pollution, dramatically limiting the possibility of preserving natural resources, with negative consequences on the "legacy" passed on to future generations. This paper aims to identify some of the key-elements that should be used in designing a general framework for a new model of sustainable diet for Romanian population. Given the willingness of young consumers to embrace the principles of sustainable diet, the framework we put forward was conceived by incorporating their views, fact that support the originality of our study. The research undertaken is based on qualitative data collected from a sample of 26 Romanian students, through the method of narrative inquiry based on participant produced narratives. Data analysis highlighted respondents' standpoints regarding the key-messages that should be included in a sustainable diet guideline for Romanian population, showing a clear focus on flexitarianism, locally grown and less processed foods and healthy and environmentally friendly food habits. Based on respondents' insights, we build the framework for a new model of sustainable diet for Romanian population around the core ideas on traditionality, sustainability and health, organizing its key-messages on the following three pillars: tips targeting foods and cooking methods; directions for reinforcing the traditionality; guiding principles addressing health and sustainability.

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