Dataset Information

Sustainable food transition in Portugal: Assessing the Footprint of dietary choices and gaps in national and local food policies.

ABSTRACT: The food system is increasingly acknowledged as the single largest reason for humans' transgression of key planetary limits and it is gaining centrality in our societal run-up towards a sustainable future, especially at city level. In Portugal, a country characterized by high meat and fish consumption, noticeable food wastage, and high urbanization level, fully understanding and then transforming the food system is of priority. Here we investigate the significance of food in comparison to other daily anthropogenic demands and the current sourcing and resource intensities profiles of dietary patterns at Portuguese national and city level through Ecological Footprint Accounting. A critical assessment of gaps in national and local food policies to trigger a major transformation in the Portuguese food system is also conducted on the basis of a newly proposed analytical framework. Results show that food consumption in Portugal is the single largest reason (?30%) for transgressing the carrying capacity of Earth ecosystems but, despite the urgent need for changes in Portuguese food systems, major deficiencies in local policy implementation exist with weak policy commitment, coordination, and lacking institutional capacity as food policies - especially at the local level - are still not prioritized. Similarities with other countries within Europe and their implications are also discussed.

SUBMITTER: Galli A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7414783 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sustainable food transition in Portugal: Assessing the Footprint of dietary choices and gaps in national and local food policies.

Galli Alessandro A Moreno Pires Sara S Iha Katsunori K Alves Armando Abrunhosa AA Lin David D Mancini Maria Serena MS Teles Filipe F

The Science of the total environment 20200808

The food system is increasingly acknowledged as the single largest reason for humans' transgression of key planetary limits and it is gaining centrality in our societal run-up towards a sustainable future, especially at city level. In Portugal, a country characterized by high meat and fish consumption, noticeable food wastage, and high urbanization level, fully understanding and then transforming the food system is of priority. Here we investigate the significance of food in comparison to other ...[more]

PMID: 32846345

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Project description:BackgroundDefault nudges are an increasingly prominent tool for promoting healthy and sustainable food choices; however, questions of acceptance remain. While default nudges are more acceptable to the public than traditionally paternalistic tools that aim to restrict choice, they are also the least acceptable amongst nudging strategies. Little research has investigated the aspects of default nudge design that can be leveraged to better uphold freedom of choice, increase public acceptance, and therefore heighten legitimacy of default nudges. Consequently, this study examines public acceptance of five food choice default nudges with demonstrated precedent of effectiveness, as drawn from research studies and/or real-world policies, along with a design variation of each anticipated to increase acceptance. Three drivers of acceptance - perceived intrusiveness, perceived effectiveness, and own behavior - are examined.MethodsAn online survey was administered in Germany (N = 451) to a sample representative of the adult population on quotas of age, gender and income. Acceptance and drivers were measured using seven-point Likert scales. Significant differences in median acceptance of the nudge were determined and displayed graphically. Ten proportional odds ordered logit models were applied and estimated using a maximum likelihood approach to investigate the mechanisms of nudge acceptance.ResultsExamined changes in nudge design, particularly decreasing costliness of opting out and increasing transparency, increased the acceptance of three of the five nudges (N2.2: p = 0.000; N3.2: p = 0.000; N4.2: p = 0.008). Perceived intrusiveness emerged as the most prominent driver of acceptance (negative relationship), followed by perceived effectiveness (positive relationship). Own engagement in the target behavior of the nudge and socio-demographic variables demonstrated negligible impact on acceptance.ConclusionsMitigating the costliness of opting out and improving nudge transparency emerge as key opportunities for choice architects to improve public acceptance, and thereby potentially identify 'sweet spots' in designing default nudges that are both effective and acceptable. The protection of individual freedom of choice and effectiveness are key aspects for choice architects to communicate to increase acceptance.

Dataset Information

Sustainable food transition in Portugal: Assessing the Footprint of dietary choices and gaps in national and local food policies.

Publications

Sustainable food transition in Portugal: Assessing the Footprint of dietary choices and gaps in national and local food policies.

Similar Datasets

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