“I care but it doesn't keep me up at night”: A qualitative exploration of perceptions of biodiversity-friendly food consumption

Abstract

Biodiversity, crucial for resilient agri-food systems, is declining at an unprecedented rate, partly due to changing food systems. Lack of consumer willingness has been identified as a barrier to adopt biodiversity-friendly agricultural practices, however, a consumer perspective remains underexplored. This paper presents findings from four focus group discussions in the Netherlands with a relatively environmentally-conscious sample (N = 24), exploring how they perceive biodiversity-friendly production and consumption. These discussions reveal two main insights: first, participants are aware of the negative ecological impacts of food systems and can identify key drivers of biodiversity loss, such as increased chemical inputs, monocultures and unsustainable consumption patterns. They recognize the systemic nature of these problems, describing the system as ‘locked in’ by economic and institutional constraints. Second, while participants stress the role of consumers in driving food systems (change), they simultaneously express ambivalence around their own agency to do so. Mapped according to the COM-B model, the study identifies drivers and barriers related to people's perceived capability (e.g., limited visibility of biodiversity), opportunity (e.g., limited availability and accessibility of alternatives), and motivation (e.g., conflicting priorities) to consume in a more biodiversity-friendly way. We argue that this tension between responsibility and agency reflects a broader discourse of consumer responsibilization, in which individuals are assigned responsibility for solving broader problems through their consumption, without being given the means to. The study demonstrates the need for systems that enable biodiversity-friendly food consumption, as well as foster a more balanced societal discourse on responsibility and agency in food systems.