Searching for and Perception of Information by Consumers in the Light of the Sustainable Consumption Idea — On the Example of Food Markets

The aim of this paper is to present the sources of information about food, the cost of collecting the information and the perception of messages by consumers in the light of the sustainable food consumption idea. We used primary materials from a direct, personal survey which were later analyzed with the use of Berelson’s content analysis method. We found that a consumer shows low interest in sourcing the information about sustainable food consumption. The most credible, from the consumer’s point of view, information about food, consumption and the food market, comes from reports and scientific papers, as well as from the consumers’ families or friends. Gathering information is connected with devoting time which we spend on finding the right content. The information connected to environmental issues was the most distinctive for the respondents; other categories of information concerned the waste of food, shopping planning, the direction of changes, personal health issues and the influence of food products on one’s health, as well as consumption in connection with recommendations concerning health (among others, in the scope of nutrition, recommendations and specialistic advices). The knowledge of the most credible sources of the information about food consumption, the frequency of acquiring such knowledge, the costs of gathering information and the perception of messages should be reflected in properly chosen communication channels for the promotion of sustainable food consumption. In the research over sustainable food consumption we should focus more on our information needs. The network approach and the perspective of active engagement of consumers in the process of creating innovations in food products give us a new approach for the market analysis, popularization of the idea of sustainable food consumption and let us change some deeply rooted habits and behaviors of consumers. As a result of such engagement, consumers will be more willing to cooperate and trust one another, and thanks to the feeling of social effectiveness, they will be more interested in the development of the sustainable food consumption model and food policy.