An Empirical Investigation of Ethical Food Choices: A Qualitative Research Approach

Abstract

Why do customers incorporate concerns about social and environmental issues into the decision-making process? How ethical are food choices in the modern world? Answers to these questions have often revolved around how informed consumers might be and whether they have the appropriate skills to act on concerns they might have. Today, ethical food consumption is a growing market where consumers’ behavior shifts from the rational manner focusing on the products price and attributes to the food ethics associated with environment, social welfare, public health, and morality. Using data selected from a purposive sample of 20 consumers, this study employed a qualitative research procedure to explore the main dimensions that influence the decision-making process and eating preferences in the post-COVID 19 era and within an economically turbulent environment. The main results showed that health protection, sustainability, and social wefare constitute the main axes of ethical food consumption. Participants were found to be more individualists than altruists since the “personal health” dimension was the most prevalent. Future research should extend these findings and explore variations in the ethical consumption factors among various consumer segments.

Keywords

• ethical food choice
• personal in-depth interviews
• health protection
• environmental protection
• social welfare