Table 2 Sustainable diet barriers and... | Emerald Publishing

Table 2

Sustainable diet barriers and sample quotes among n = 30 Canadian young adults who completed individual interviews exploring perceptions of sustainable eating

Sustainable diet barriers	Sample quotes
1. Affordability − The high cost of food, especially fresh, organic, local foods and plant-based products − Costs associated with gardening − Inflation − The high cost of living	134 (female, university education, urban resident): Unfortunately, I just think it’s ridiculously priced. I’ve gone to market warehouses and eggs are $7.00 for a dozen. And I’m like I can’t even keep up with $3.50 at the grocery store, what do you mean?
2. Accessibility − Lack of transportation to grocery stores − Canadian climate – difficulty buying local food − Difficulty grocery shopping with children for sustainable food to cook at home − No option for composting in apartment building − Inconvenience of farmers markets (i.e. distance) − Lack of resources and accessibility of gardening (knowledge, space, time, climate) − Increased time demands to eat sustainably – particularly for students, parents, shift workers	139 (male, university education, urban resident): if I had to go get some, we’ll say very fresh local vegetables, there’s a very limited number of places you can go to 106 (female, college education, rural resident): I’d love to plant our own garden, but we would really need to landscape our yard to do that. Time wise and money wise, that’s not always easy to do 149 (female, university education, urban resident): I live in an area where there’s no real farmers markets. So, we have to drive 30 min to get there, and [large chain grocer] is literally 5 min away
3. Availability of food − Lack of plant-based options − Lack of availability of sustainable food at corner stores − Limited food inventory at grocers − Lack of options for buying groceries – mostly large conglomerate grocers − Limited local food options	103 (male, high school education, urban resident): I know people that are either vegan or [inaudible] and I’ve seen how much they can struggle to find good food 139 (male, university education, urban resident): It’s not only the access of like the physical location, but the actual inventory or quantity of the particular item that they have, that’s really telling. Even if I looked at something like a common grocery store, you’d be shocked how often you’d go in there and they have no yellow onion or no green pepper. And so, there’s that kind of just availability piece that I think is an important factor
4. Lack of awareness, knowledge and education about sustainable diets − Lack of awareness of the definition of sustainable diets − Lack of knowledge related to a) Region-specific, scholarly, trustworthy sources b) The nutritional value of plant-based protein foods c) Plant-based recipes d) Food labelling (i.e. free range, grass fed, etc.) e) Where to buy “ugly” vegetables − Lack of food skills related to sustainable diets, such as cooking plant-based meals	108 (female, university education, urban resident): Say, you know, chicken breast … How much plant-based protein do I need to eat in order to get the same nutritional value? I have no idea. And what the equivalencies are, what would I need to substitute? What types of plant-based proteins have a lot of protein? I actually really don’t know 167 (male, high school education, rural resident): Not going to lie, I don’t really have a great idea on what sustainable eating is 140 (male, university education, urban resident): To be honest, I wouldn’t say I’ve heard or seen anything specific [about sustainable eating] 146 (male, college education, urban resident): I don’t think I’ve heard [the term sustainable eating] before 118 (female, university education, rural resident): I mean, sure, if it says organic, you know that is sustainable. But what else? What if you buy something else? How do you know if it’s sustainable?
5. Distrust − Capitalism − Global food production − Industrial farming − Recycling and organic waste programs − Large chain grocers − Vegan food products − Greenwashing − Misinformation	149 (female, university education, urban resident): Different countries probably have different laws for pesticides. And I mean things could happen during transportation, like keeping food at temperature or just contaminations and stuff like that 145 (male, university education, rural resident): It’s annoying when companies will like throw around terms like sustainable, regenerative, organic, like, whatever these descriptors are without essentially being vetted by a third party certifier or, you know, have any teeth to them 142 (female, university education, urban resident): There’s misinformation, disinformation, mal information, all the types of that quadrant of information, it’s difficult to know what is best
6. Food-related values, beliefs and norms − Beliefs about what a meal should be (i.e. meat and potatoes) − Social norms	110 (female, university education, urban resident): If you tend to have family, or relatives, or friends who are very traditional, I think that could have an impact on how much more or less likely you are to change your eating habits
7. Food preferences and restrictions − Children’s and partner’s food preferences − Dietary restrictions and allergies − Poor taste of plant-based products − Plant-based meals less satiating − Food restrictions of vegan diet	101 (male, university education, urban resident): For me, like I find sometimes I will try to eat a tofu meal like a tofu stir fry or something like that. But I actually get hungry, and [partner] doesn’t like it when I make those meals sometimes because she knows shes like “… You’re gonna be really hungry”, and the next day like it actually makes me a little bit irritable 108 (female, university education, urban resident): I’m not the one that cooks. [Partner] does all the cooking, so I’m not going to be picky about what’s being cooked. He enjoys animal protein like steak and stuff like that. So, I tend to kind of go with the flow

Sustainable diet barriers	Sample quotes
1. Affordability − The high cost of food, especially fresh, organic, local foods and plant-based products − Costs associated with gardening − Inflation − The high cost of living	134 (female, university education, urban resident): Unfortunately, I just think it’s ridiculously priced. I’ve gone to market warehouses and eggs are $7.00 for a dozen. And I’m like I can’t even keep up with $3.50 at the grocery store, what do you mean?
2. Accessibility − Lack of transportation to grocery stores − Canadian climate – difficulty buying local food − Difficulty grocery shopping with children for sustainable food to cook at home − No option for composting in apartment building − Inconvenience of farmers markets (i.e. distance) − Lack of resources and accessibility of gardening (knowledge, space, time, climate) − Increased time demands to eat sustainably – particularly for students, parents, shift workers	139 (male, university education, urban resident): if I had to go get some, we’ll say very fresh local vegetables, there’s a very limited number of places you can go to106 (female, college education, rural resident): I’d love to plant our own garden, but we would really need to landscape our yard to do that. Time wise and money wise, that’s not always easy to do149 (female, university education, urban resident): I live in an area where there’s no real farmers markets. So, we have to drive 30 min to get there, and [large chain grocer] is literally 5 min away
3. Availability of food − Lack of plant-based options − Lack of availability of sustainable food at corner stores − Limited food inventory at grocers − Lack of options for buying groceries – mostly large conglomerate grocers − Limited local food options	103 (male, high school education, urban resident): I know people that are either vegan or [inaudible] and I’ve seen how much they can struggle to find good food139 (male, university education, urban resident): It’s not only the access of like the physical location, but the actual inventory or quantity of the particular item that they have, that’s really telling. Even if I looked at something like a common grocery store, you’d be shocked how often you’d go in there and they have no yellow onion or no green pepper. And so, there’s that kind of just availability piece that I think is an important factor
4. Lack of awareness, knowledge and education about sustainable diets − Lack of awareness of the definition of sustainable diets − Lack of knowledge related to a) Region-specific, scholarly, trustworthy sources b) The nutritional value of plant-based protein foods c) Plant-based recipes d) Food labelling (i.e. free range, grass fed, etc.) e) Where to buy “ugly” vegetables − Lack of food skills related to sustainable diets, such as cooking plant-based meals	108 (female, university education, urban resident): Say, you know, chicken breast … How much plant-based protein do I need to eat in order to get the same nutritional value? I have no idea. And what the equivalencies are, what would I need to substitute? What types of plant-based proteins have a lot of protein? I actually really don’t know167 (male, high school education, rural resident): Not going to lie, I don’t really have a great idea on what sustainable eating is140 (male, university education, urban resident): To be honest, I wouldn’t say I’ve heard or seen anything specific [about sustainable eating]146 (male, college education, urban resident): I don’t think I’ve heard [the term sustainable eating] before118 (female, university education, rural resident): I mean, sure, if it says organic, you know that is sustainable. But what else? What if you buy something else? How do you know if it’s sustainable?
5. Distrust − Capitalism − Global food production − Industrial farming − Recycling and organic waste programs − Large chain grocers − Vegan food products − Greenwashing − Misinformation	149 (female, university education, urban resident): Different countries probably have different laws for pesticides. And I mean things could happen during transportation, like keeping food at temperature or just contaminations and stuff like that145 (male, university education, rural resident): It’s annoying when companies will like throw around terms like sustainable, regenerative, organic, like, whatever these descriptors are without essentially being vetted by a third party certifier or, you know, have any teeth to them142 (female, university education, urban resident): There’s misinformation, disinformation, mal information, all the types of that quadrant of information, it’s difficult to know what is best
6. Food-related values, beliefs and norms − Beliefs about what a meal should be (i.e. meat and potatoes) − Social norms	110 (female, university education, urban resident): If you tend to have family, or relatives, or friends who are very traditional, I think that could have an impact on how much more or less likely you are to change your eating habits
7. Food preferences and restrictions − Children’s and partner’s food preferences − Dietary restrictions and allergies − Poor taste of plant-based products − Plant-based meals less satiating − Food restrictions of vegan diet	101 (male, university education, urban resident): For me, like I find sometimes I will try to eat a tofu meal like a tofu stir fry or something like that. But I actually get hungry, and [partner] doesn’t like it when I make those meals sometimes because she knows shes like “… You’re gonna be really hungry”, and the next day like it actually makes me a little bit irritable108 (female, university education, urban resident): I’m not the one that cooks. [Partner] does all the cooking, so I’m not going to be picky about what’s being cooked. He enjoys animal protein like steak and stuff like that. So, I tend to kind of go with the flow

Source(s): Authors’ own work