4.1.1. Consumption

Thirty-two of the 258 total changes reported in Part 2 of the survey are related to food, with responses focused on three areas: Dietary habits, food security, and location of production (see Table 1). For **dietary habits**, the respondents described changes to the drivers of diet in terms of voluntary and forced change. Voluntary change is due to increased health and environmental concerns and to the preference for convenience in food, whereas forced change is because of food scarcity and the environmental necessity to reduce food's impact on the environment. In terms of **food security**, results covered factors that could see an increase in both food production and food scarcity. As pointed out by the survey respondents, one major element that could increase food production is technological innovation, although the effects of climate change and population growth are likely to outstrip any productivity increase and would result in food scarcity. For **location of production**, there were views that both local production and global production would increase, with localised food production likely to occur in urban areas for self-sufficient food production. There were also views that global-scale food exports and imports will account for a large portion of the economy.

**Manufactured goods** comprised 21 of the 258 reported changes, with results covering both demand shift and sharing and production patterns (see Table 1). For **demand shift and sharing**, the results show a likely shift from mass consumption to reduced demand for goods due to the increased adoption of the 3Rs (repair, reuse, and recycle), especially in current high-income countries. However, it was also noted that there would be a rise in consumption due to the increasing middle class in emerging economies. **Production patterns** included two major trends: Localised and smaller-scale

production by local producers and environmentally friendly production, such as replacing crude oil with algae-based fuel and using biodegradable materials instead of oil-derived plastics.

> **Table 1.** Changes in consumption.


more consumption of goods (3), experience-based consumption (3), more waste (2), less waste (2) Production pattern: localised/small-scale production (7), environmentally-friendly design/production (4), small-lot production/3D printing (2)

Notes: Consumption changes were mentioned as part of the changes in daily living from the *Global Foresight Survey of Potential Changes in Society by 2050: Perspectives of Research Institutes and NGOs*. Multiple labels were allowed per response, and the frequency of counts is in parentheses. The unit of analysis is reported changes in daily living, and each respondent could report up to two changes. N = 53.
