The Critical Consumer of Today’s Inauthentic Messages : A qualitative interview study on how young people make sense of communication promoting sustainable food consumption

Abstract: In Swedish society, food is the fourth most prominent area of consumption. The number of large grocery shops is increasing, and today a consumer can choose between several different brands for the same product. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about defining sustainable food consumption as well as a lack of knowledge about how the consumer receives communication about sustainable food consumption. By using semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews with students from a Swedish university, this study investigates whether sustainable food consumption is relevant to young people living with limited resources and how they define the concept. The study also examines how the interviewees make sense of communication promoting sustainable food consumption. Results illustrate that sustainable food consumption is not as relevant for students due to today’s expensive food prices. However, these students were also motivated and informed. They knew how to consume sustainably but were constrained by the economic situation. In addition, the students had difficulty defining sustainable food consumption, while they had no problems defining the more general concept of sustainability. Secondly, the public opinion about communication to promote sustainability was negative because the messages were either misleading or not transparent enough; the recipients became confused and critical. The messages were therefor interpreted as inauthentic.