Should I Go Back to the Roots to Obtain My Food? Understanding Key Factors Driving U.S. Consumers’ Preferences for Food Foraging over Buying and Growing Food
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Conceptual Framework
2.1. Food Engagement
2.2. Food-Related COVID-19 Concerns
2.3. Importance of Sustainable Food Foraging Behavior
3. Material and Methods
4. Results and Discussion
4.1. Sample Description
4.2. Results of the Measurement Model Analysis
4.3. Structural Model
4.4. Results from the Hypothesis Testing
5. Conclusions
5.1. Suggestions for Practitioners
5.2. Limitations and Suggestions for Future Studies
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Frequency | % | US Census % | |
---|---|---|---|
Age | |||
18–24 | 32 | 8.0 | 12 |
25–34 | 205 | 51.1 | 18 |
35–44 | 70 | 17.5 | 16 |
45–54 | 68 | 17.0 | 16 |
55–64 | 25 | 6.2 | 17 |
65+ | 1 | 0.2 | 21 |
Total | 401 | 100 | 100 |
Education | |||
Did not finish high school | 3 | 0.7 | 11 |
Finished high school | 28 | 7.0 | 27 |
Attended University | 35 | 8.7 | 20 |
Bachelor’s degree | 247 | 61.6 | 29 |
Postgraduate degree | 88 | 21.9 | 13 |
Total | 401 | 100 | 100 |
Household Annual Income | |||
$0 to $24,999 | 23 | 5.7 | 18 |
$25,000 to $49,999 | 98 | 24.4 | 20 |
$50,000 to $74,999 | 165 | 41.1 | 18 |
$75,000 to $99,999 | 94 | 23.4 | 13 |
$100,000 or higher | 21 | 5.2 | 31 |
Total | 401 | 100 | 100 |
Gender | |||
Male | 202 | 50.4 | 49 |
Female | 199 | 49.6 | 51 |
Total | 401 | 100 | 100 |
Region | |||
Northeast | 105 | 26.2 | 17 |
South | 207 | 51.6 | 38 |
Midwest | 64 | 16 | 21 |
West | 25 | 6.2 | 24 |
Total | 401 | 100 | 100 |
Scales and Items | Factor Loadings | Cronbach’s Alpha | Composite Reliability | Average Variance Extracted |
---|---|---|---|---|
Food Engagement | 0.838 | 0.884 | 0.605 | |
Going hunting/fishing to obtain food | 0.820 | |||
Keeping livestock to obtain food | 0.834 | |||
Collecting flowers or shells | 0.791 | |||
Growing food and flowers in my garden | 0.712 | |||
Food processing and preserving | 0.725 | |||
Food-related COVID-19 Concerns | 0.859 | 0.889 | 0.501 | |
Since COVID-19, I feel drawn towards self-sufficiency | 0.669 | |||
Since COVID-19, I am worried about high food prices for fruit and vegetables. | 0.664 | |||
Since COVID-19, I am worried about the availability of fruit and vegetables. | 0.683 | |||
Shortages in fruit and vegetables have led me to competitive and/or panic-buying behavior. | 0.772 | |||
Since COVID-19, I have been relying on food pantries | 0.747 | |||
Since COVID-19, I have been relying on SNAP benefits | 0.727 | |||
Since COVID-19, I have been growing more food in my garden | 0.691 | |||
Since COVID-19, I am committed to food processing and food preserving | 0.702 | |||
Importance of sustainable foraging practices | 0.867 | 0.896 | 0.519 | |
Pruning or cutting plant parts | 0.684 | |||
Foraging when soil is wet | 0.781 | |||
Foraging earlier than necessary | 0.699 | |||
Premature harvest of fruit and nuts | 0.621 | |||
Observing plant communities | 0.809 | |||
Collecting rubbish | 0.703 | |||
Foraging at multiple locations | 0.771 | |||
Digging roots | 0.678 | |||
Food foraging over Buying | 0.905 | 0.926 | 0.676 | |
Mushrooms | 0.812 | |||
Berries | 0.780 | |||
Nuts and seeds | 0.842 | |||
Roots | 0.868 | |||
Fruit from trees | 0.794 | |||
Herbs | 0.832 | |||
Food foraging over Growing | 0.924 | 0.940 | 0.724 | |
Mushrooms | 0.808 | |||
Berries | 0.874 | |||
Nuts and seeds | 0.825 | |||
Roots | 0.863 | |||
Fruit from trees | 0.863 | |||
Herbs | 0.872 |
Fornell-Larcker Criterion | A | B | C | D | E |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(A) COVID-19 concerns | 0.708 | ||||
(B) Food engagement | 0.695 | 0.778 | |||
(C) Importance of sustainable foraging practice | 0.683 | 0.742 | 0.721 | ||
(D) Foraging over buying | 0.421 | 0.474 | 0.411 | 0.822 | |
(E) Foraging over growing | 0.357 | 0.412 | 0.399 | 0.848 | 0.851 |
Heterotrait–Monotrait Ratio | A | B | C | D | E |
(A) COVID-19 concerns | |||||
(B) Food engagement | 0.803 | ||||
(C) Importance of sustainable foraging practice | 0.772 | 0.862 | |||
(D) Foraging over buying | 0.455 | 0.509 | 0.438 | ||
(E) Foraging over growing | 0.377 | 0.448 | 0.434 | 0.924 |
Hypothesised Relationship | Coefficient | T Stat | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
H1a: Food engagement → Foraging over Buying | 0.312 | 4.561 | 0.000 |
H1b: Food engagement → Foraging over Growing | 0.224 | 2.764 | 0.006 |
H2a: Food related COVID-19 Concerns → Foraging over Buying | 0.153 | 2.493 | 0.013 |
H2b: Food related COVID-19 Concerns → Foraging over Growing | 0.079 | 1.115 | 0.265 |
H3a: Importance of sustainable foraging practices → Foraging over Buying | 0.076 | 1.054 | 0.292 |
H3b: Importance of sustainable foraging practices → Foraging over Growing | 0.179 | 2.211 | 0.027 |
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Rombach, M.; Botero, J.; Dean, D.L. Should I Go Back to the Roots to Obtain My Food? Understanding Key Factors Driving U.S. Consumers’ Preferences for Food Foraging over Buying and Growing Food. Sustainability 2023, 15, 14845. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014845
Rombach M, Botero J, Dean DL. Should I Go Back to the Roots to Obtain My Food? Understanding Key Factors Driving U.S. Consumers’ Preferences for Food Foraging over Buying and Growing Food. Sustainability. 2023; 15(20):14845. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014845
Chicago/Turabian StyleRombach, Meike, Julio Botero, and David L. Dean. 2023. "Should I Go Back to the Roots to Obtain My Food? Understanding Key Factors Driving U.S. Consumers’ Preferences for Food Foraging over Buying and Growing Food" Sustainability 15, no. 20: 14845. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014845