City Research Online

Abstract

A talk presented to the FSA food for thought seminar on the Tuesday 25thApril 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has impacted UK (and global) food habits, influencing what and where consumers eat. This presentation will delve into the results of three pilot online surveys (n=473, 701, 1,234) run in March-April 2020. Each of the studies looked at aspects of UK citizen perception including food insecurity, food waste generation, cooking habits, food safety, animal welfare, purchase intention, deliciousness and carbon footprints. Together (with other early COVID surveys) these capture a unique moment in time and offer insights into future directions for post lockdown policy and guidance for public facing communications. I use this evidence base to propose to directions of travel towards healthy, sustainable, affordable, safe, and culturally appropriate diets. Particularly interesting findings from the studies include: Perceptions of food safety, animal welfare, purchase intention, deliciousness and carbon footprint are influenced by origin and ethical status information. e.g. Chicken from the USA and China is perceived to be higher risk and have lower animal welfare standards than identical products from the UK. https://emeraldopenresearch.com/articles/2-35/v1 39% of respondents (from n=471) have experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months. Employment status, gender and number of children in the household were not associated with food insecurity. However being younger, a greater BMI and living in a smaller household were associated with experience of food insecurity. Those who are food secure self-report throwing away a smaller percentage of uncooked and cooked foods compared to those who are food insecure. We also identify differences in food waste behaviours and cooking confidence between the food secure and insecure consumers, and observe demographics associated with food insecurity. 33.0% of those who self-reported Ultra Processed Foods as their main type of food (from n=1,234), also experience very low food security - higher than that found in other dietary patterns. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341882323_Food_Insecurity_and_Lived_Experience_of_Students_FILES

Publication Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Speech)
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine S Agriculture > SB Plant culture
Departments:	School of Health & Psychological Sciences School of Health & Psychological Sciences > Healthcare Services Research & Management > Food Policy

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