Variability of Sustainable Food Choice Motives: How Motives Fluctuate Over Time, Across Consumer Groups, and Between Product Categories

Until now food choice motives are mostly approached from a static perspective. This chapter provides a literature overview and empirical evidence of the usefulness of a single-item measurement of motives to explore the variability of motives (1) over time, (2) across consumer groups, and (3) between product categories.
The results reveal the usefulness of a single-item measurement of food choice motives in revealing variability. Empirical evidence from two monitoring instruments is used - the Agrifoodmonitor and the Protein Monitor. Firstly, the results illustrate the fluctuations of motives over time at a societal level. Secondly, cross-sectional analyses demonstrated that motives differ across consumer groups. Thirdly, detailed near-time consumption data revealed that motives differ between product categories, such as animal-based and plant-based product groups. Specifically, regarding sustainability motives, the results reveal a decrease in importance over time, small differences among young adults and a representative sample, and higher importance of social justice and environmental and animal welfare for meat analogues compared to other product categories.
In conclusion, this chapter underscores the usefulness of a single-item motives scale to explore the variability across time, groups, and product categories. Implications for policy and marketing include various routes to include dynamic strategies, such as changing consumer priorities and product-category-specific messaging that emphasizes various sustainability benefits for specific groups. We conclude with a research agenda. Future research should focus on more longitudinal within-subject studies, cross-cultural comparisons, and innovative methodologies to advance our understanding of food choice motives and, with that, contribute to the ability to enhance sustainability efforts in the food sector.