A rapid evidence assessment of UK citizen and industry understandings of sustainability

We commissioned the Centre for Food Policy at City, University of London and collaborative partners to carry out a Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) on UK citizen perceptions of food sustainability.

Overview

The main research question addressed is:

• What does sustainability mean to UK citizens when it comes to food and diet?

The report addresses the following secondary questions:

• How does the UK academic literature define sustainability, ‘sustainable food’ and ‘sustainable diet’?
• How do citizens’ perceptions compare to the academic definition?
• What does sustainability mean to industry when it comes to food and diet?

A number of sub-questions and themes were explored to answer the main research question, such as understanding and importance of sustainability and its impact on food choices, trade-offs, drivers and barriers to sustainable food choices and differences across demographic groups.

Research reports