Consumers with high shares of organic food consumption are more likely to feel obliged to reduce the climate impact of their food – a segment-level analysis based on two separate datasets

Abstract This study investigated the extent to which consumers with high organic consumption are more climate-oriented than segments of consumers with low organic consumption. We did this by identifying comparable organic Light user and Super user segments in two separate datasets and comparing attitudinal and behavioural patterns across segments. We found that the Super users felt a stronger obligation to reduce their climate impact than Light users based on responses to an online survey. Moreover, we identified four barriers to transitioning towards a more climate-friendly diet. Both of the segments of consumers that we study faced barriers in terms of low priority for climate-friendly food when shopping and perceived practical barriers in terms of not knowing what to buy, where to find it, or how to prepare it. Additionally, Light users more often faced barriers in terms of negative attitudes towards climate-friendly food, and they perceived climate-friendly food to be too expensive. The other dataset consisting of observed household purchase data revealed that the households with the highest organic budget shares allocated lower shares of their total food budgets to beef and pork and higher shares to vegetables than Light user households. This could indicate a more climate-friendly purchase pattern among Super users than Light users. The differences between the Light user and Super user segments found in the two datasets indicate that different motivational tools may be needed to encourage the two segments to shift towards more climate-friendly eating habits.