Exploring young students attitudes towards a sustainable consumption behaviour

A comprehensive understanding of the sustainable consumer behaviour needs a complex analysis of influencing factors and actors involved in the food chain. Concerns about sustainability issues are nowadays present in the whole food chain, including professionals, practitioners and consumers. The current paper intends to assess the sustainable consumption behaviour of young generations in Romania with the aim to improve the education process related to sustainability at university level. The study was conducted on students enrolled in life sciences programs, using a face-to-face survey. Education for sustainable consumption behaviour, decision buying criteria, and awareness about the flow of products within the food value chain were the main topics included in the questionnaire. The approach was undertaken on individual and global level with the aim to emphasize the complexity of the phenomenon. Results indicate that students assign different importance to the production process, commercialization networks, environmental impact, and social aspects. Respondents claim that the benefits of food consumption on own health is more important than assuring the animal welfare within the production process. By grouping the main aspects that define sustainable consumption behaviour it was noticed that the individual concerns (health and safety) are more valuable than the global ones (socio-economic and environmental). Universities are ethically responsible for educating students towards sustainable consumption habits. Similarly, young people should be aware that individual actions have impact on the collective well-being, for the present and future generations.