Toward a Sustainability Label for Food Products: An Analysis of Experts' and Consumers' Acceptance

Abstract

The recent proliferation of standards and labels for organic, fair-trade, locally produced, and healthy food products risks creating confusion among consumers. This study presents a standardized approach to developing a comprehensive sustainability label that incorporates ecological, economic, and social values. The methodology is based on an extension of modular life-cycle assessment to non-environmental sustainability criteria. Interviews with a wide range of experts (n = 65) and a consumer survey (n = 233) were conducted to analyze the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the approach. Responses indicated that a comprehensive sustainability label could considerably influence consumption patterns and facilitate cross-product comparisons.

KEYWORDS:

• sustainability label
• food labels
• sustainable consumption
• modular life-cycle assessment
• public health

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Christian Poncini for the project inputs and evaluation support; Thomas Bernauer, Nils Jungbluth, and Shazeen Attari for valuable comments; and Stephanie Keller, Sonia Paget, Claudia Jenny, and Sally Atwater for proofreading the manuscript.