Social & Cultural Change of Food Behaviour

The transition to sustainable and healthy diets is urgent and requires not only a drastic transformation of food policies, industry and retail, but also for changes in the behaviour of consumers.

However, food consumption patterns are deeply rooted in traditions, culture and everyday routines. Future Food scientists explore in diverse fields and on diverse levels how consumers' food choices are shaped and can be changed; how they process available information about food, be it on labels, in stores or on the media; how consumers can be supported to develop a more sustainable food literacy; what sustainable policy measures citizens would accept and under what circumstances; what the social, psychological and cultural factors are that support a transition to more healthy and sustainable food choices, on an individual, but also collective level.

Example of research within the Social and Cultural change of food behaviour (in Dutch)
Examples of research:
Some of our experts within this theme:
  • Paul Smeets - Neural processes in the decision to eat.
  • Denise de Ridder - Self-regulation, Health regulation, Consumer behaviour.
  • Maartje Poelman - Relationships between health aspect and food environment, Food Consumption and food taxes.
  • Eggo Mueller - Media as food intermediaries, food communication & cultures.
  • Marijn Stok - Health behaviour change, health communication.
  • Maarleen Gillebaart - Behavioural Interventions, Self regulation.
  • Bregje Holleman - Ways communication can support complex decision making, cognitive processes of text interpretation, relation between opinions and attitudes and language.
  • Rick Dolphijn - Ethics of Consumption.