54% of consumers want sustainable food, survey shows, but knowledge of nutrition, farming lacking

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Topics like sustainability, plant-based diets and clean eating seem to permeate news about food, but it turns out they’re not just buzzwords or “flavors of the week.” IFIC Foundation’s 2019 Food and Health Survey shows genuine and growing interest in these and other trends.

[O]ver half of consumers (54%) say it’s at least somewhat important that the products they buy be produced in an environmentally sustainable way. Among those 54%, many look for specific labels or attributes to assess whether they believe a product is environmentally sustainable: 51% perceive products that are locally produced as environmentally sustainable, followed by products literally labeled as sustainably produced (47%), labeled as non-GMO/not bioengineered (47%), labeled as organic (44%) ….

Only about one-quarter (23%) of consumers understand “nutrient-density,” which refers to foods with a higher proportion of nutrients and fewer “empty” calories. Nearly three in five (58%) have not even heard of the term. In general, younger consumers reported far greater understanding and awareness of nutrient-density than older ones (34% of those age 18-34 understand it vs. just 9% among those 65 and older).

“Regenerative agriculture” …. is another term with low familiarity: Less than one-quarter (22%) of consumers have heard of it ….

Read full, original article: Interest in Sustainability, Plant-Based Diets Among Trends in IFIC Foundation’s 2019 Food & Health Survey

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