Sustainable and healthy diets: an opportunity for Food Marketing

The threat of food shortages and consequent famine are becoming significant political challenges for many countries. As such, securing a reliable and healthy food supply for the future is now a key priority for many governments and research bodies around the world. At present, the world’s food system is under great pressure to ‘deliver more from less’. An increasing amount of food is required to meet the demands of an expanding and progressively affluent global population. However, the capacity of the agro-ecosystems that support food production is diminishing due to loss of arable land, scarcity of fossil fuels and fertilizers, limited new sources of fresh water and uncertainties associated with a changing climate. To address these threats to food security, action is being taken to systematically change the food system. This involves transformations across the entire food supply chain, from production to consumption, to ensure that the whole system is sustainable and resilient, and hence less vulnerable to disturbances which may affect food supply. This paper focuses on the impact that consumer choice has on the structure of the food system, and how food marketing could contribute to affecting change within it. Empirical research based on food marketing methodologies was conducted on a sample of ‘early adopters’ of low environmental impact diets in a developed country (Australia). This study identified a number of opportunities for behavioral reform based on environmental impact and likelihood of change. In particular, the reduction of ‘junk food’ consumption and avoidable food waste were identified as priority areas