Consumer misperception and misinterpretation of food labels can lead to consumers not buying a product or purchasing products that do not align with their environmental or sustainability interests. Consumer purchasing behavior can be explained by looking at consumer food values or food quality attributes. This study aimed to (a) determine the effect label information has on consumer preference shares for selected sustainability-related food labels and (b) if correlations exist between food labels and food values. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the comprehension of 12 different labels and identify how food labels relate to food value preferences. Responses from the best-worst scaling experiment of food value and environmental food label choice sets were analyzed using the random parameter logit model. Results reveal preference shares changed for each label as more information was provided to the respondents about the various labels included in the study. These findings should support food policy efforts requiring strict, clear label standards. Food labels should represent the food’s core food values to increase consumer preference for the product. These findings also further support the need for efforts to increase consumer knowledge and understanding of the labels on food packaging.

The plethora of alternative food labels emerging in the marketplace reflects consumer interest in informed and sustainable purchasing. However, consumers’ preferences vary with respect to the sustainability metrics represented by labeling programs. The goal of this project was to characterize public university students’ perceptions of product parameters commonly represented by food labels for produce (e.g., cost, taste, certified organic, locally grown). A consumer survey (n = 338) was conducted at two university dining halls, located in close proximity to major residence hall communities which house approximately 2600 students. Culinary, health and cost attributes (taste, nutritional value, price and appearance) were ranked as more influential in determining purchasing decisions than sustainability attributes related to production and sourcing. While sustainability values were not as influential in driving purchasing behaviors as compared with product attributes, they were important to approximately 50% of the survey respondents. By identifying the sustainability values of students and their willingness to pay more for specific types of sustainable food, results from this study can inform efforts to align priorities of campus dining services with the values of their student patrons, as well as identify educational opportunities around agriculture and food production.

With food security increasingly seen as an urban concern, urban agriculture (UA) has emerged as one strategy for improving access to healthy, affordable food within cities in the Global North. This research evaluates the contributions of three types of urban gardens in Santa Clara County, California, to food security. Survey, interview and harvest data were collected from home gardeners, community gardeners and gardeners participating in community food security (CFS) programs, which provide low-income families with the materials and training to grow their own vegetables. To assess food security we use a multi-dimensional framework that encompasses food availability, accessibility, nutritional adequacy and cultural acceptability as well as agency within the food system. Over the summer of 2015, median garden production ranged from 26 kg for participants in CFS programs to 56 kg for home gardeners. All garden types produced enough produce for at least one adult to consume the number of cups of vegetables recommended by federal nutritional guidelines. Gardening also increased some low-income gardeners’ access to healthy food, allowing them to have the diet they wanted—one high in organically grown vegetables—but could not otherwise afford to purchase. Interviews showed that gardeners do not think of cultural acceptability strictly in terms of the presence of certain types of cultural crops; they also articulated a broader set of values concerning the environmental and social conditions of food production. At all income levels, gardeners frequently described a set of food values related to knowledge, control, trust, freshness, flavor, organic production methods and sharing, which they were able to enact through gardening. Taken together, these findings demonstrate the nutritional contributions that urban gardens make but also highlight the importance that low-income gardeners place on having food that aligns with their cultural and ethical values and being able to exercise greater autonomy in making food choices. In conclusion, we suggest that more robust, holistic assessments of UA's contributions to food security will include the subjective aspects of food as well as quantitative measures related to food production.