European and Chinese Consumers' Attitude for Food with Reduced Use of Chemicals: Results from a Survey

Global food consumption is increasing, and natural resources are limited. A change in consumers’ purchase behavior is fundamental to cope with the objectives of sustainable development. Our focus is on consumers’ attitude toward those products that reduce the dependence on pesticides (integrated pest management – IPM). Through a survey analysis, the paper aims at illustrating the factors that influence the food choices of European and Chinese consumers. The results obtained through descriptive statistics and regressions allow us to identify which consumer categories are more aware of IPM products and which are still far from a complete knowledge of IPM and their potentialities. The results arising from this chapter can be used to suggest policies useful to achieve a more sustainable consumption behavior.

Through survey analysis, this chapter aims at illustrating the factors that influence the food choices of European and Chinese consumers. Data to investigate consumers’ behavior relating to food purchase were collected through a survey that gathered 657 questionnaires in 2016–2017. Data processing and analysis were addressed at discovering whether there are patterns of consumers’ behavior and, in particular, on their willingness to pay, in relation to integrated pest management (IPM). Descriptive statistics were used to identify possible different patterns of behavior between the European and the Chinese respondents. Then, the regression models, using the ordinary least-squares method, allowed us to verify the relationship between the perceived familiarity with IPM and the willingness to pay a higher price for IPM products and vice versa, as well as the relationship between the purchase of IPM products (in the six months before the survey) and the willingness to pay a higher price for IPM products.