Consumer Behaviour towards Food in the Context of Health and Environmental Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

The dynamic socio-economic processes currently observed cause the environment in which the consumer operates to undergo intensive changes. One’s social environment, cultural traditions, food availability, and food prices, as well as one’s income, social position, individual beliefs, and preferences, interact and influence consumer behaviour. Thus, a debate about the extent to which consumers make their own choices in the food market concerns both the internal and external factors influencing these choices. There is still a need for a better understanding of consumer behaviours toward food in a changing environment, resulting in changes in their needs and the ways they meet them.

Modern consumers are becoming more and more aware of the connection between their health and the food they eat, as well as the connection between the latter and the environment. Thus, not only the health benefits of food but also the impact of its production process on the environment become more important when choosing food.

Therefore, this Special Issue aims to apply a multi-faceted approach to understanding contemporary consumer behaviours related to food and its changes under the influence of various stimuli. We welcome both original research and review articles on the following topics:

• Consumer behaviour related to food in light of current health and environmental challenges.
• Factors that trigger food choice in post-COVID societies: has the role of health motives in food choice increased?
• ‘Back to the roots’: Are local products important for community-conscious consumers?
• Consumers’ perception of plant-based products: lifestyle or necessity?
• Information Society: How do the consumers perceive information about food? How does such information affect their behaviour?
• The role of social media in food and lifestyle choices.
• Qualitative and quantitative methods: how do they reflect consumer behaviour and why?

Dr. Marta Sajdakowska
Prof. Dr. Marzena Jeżewska-Zychowicz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• consumer behaviour
• food consumption
• determinants of food choice
• barriers to food choice
• new food products