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Consumer Preferences for Sustainability in Food and Non-Food Horticulture Production

Author

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  • Marike Isaak

    (Center for Business Management in Horticulture and Applied Research, Institute of Horticultural Production Systems, Leibniz University Hanover, D-30419 Hanover, Germany)

  • Wolfgang Lentz

    (Faculty of Agriculture/Environment/Chemistry, University of Applied Sciences Dresden (HTW Dresden), D-01326 Dresden, Germany)

Abstract

Although a large number of studies describe sustainability in horticulture for individual crops or use individual sustainability characteristics as examples, there is still a lack of information on what consumers regard as being the relevant criteria for sustainability in horticultural production in the German market. The aim of this paper is to provide a broad overview of the relevance of different sustainability characteristics for flowers and ornamental plants as well as for fruit and vegetables from a consumer perspective. First, the sustainability characteristics from the literature were grouped according to the four sustainability dimensions of ecology, economy, and social and corporate responsibility. Second, an exploratory online consumer survey was conducted for both non-food horticulture (ornamental plants and nursery products) and food horticulture (open field fruit and vegetables) with the aim of determining the initial significant indicators for various sustainability characteristics for consumers. A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four dimensions of the literature research. According to the survey results, the characteristics of ecology were highly relevant to the respondents, followed by the characteristics of social sustainability. However, some characteristics of social sustainability and corporate responsibility could not be confirmed by the model.

Suggested Citation

  • Marike Isaak & Wolfgang Lentz, 2020. "Consumer Preferences for Sustainability in Food and Non-Food Horticulture Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:17:p:7004-:d:405225
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    3. Gabriel Popescu & Nicolae Istudor & Alina Zaharia & Maria-Claudia Diaconeasa & Ioana Panait & Marian-Cătălin Cucu, 2021. "A Macroeconomic Review of the Factors Influencing Fruit Consumption in Romania—The Road towards Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Alicia L. Rihn & Melinda J. Knuth & Bryan J. Peterson & Ariana P. Torres & Julie H. Campbell & Cheryl R. Boyer & Marco A. Palma & Hayk Khachatryan, 2022. "Investigating Drivers of Native Plant Production in the United States Green Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-17, June.

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