CONSUMER COPING STRATEGIES OF EATING LOCAL

Jim Bingen (1) , Julie Sage (2) , Lucie Sirieix (3)

1 Michigan State University [East Lansing]
2 Montpellier SupAgro - Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques
3 UMR MOISA - Marchés, Organisations, Institutions et Stratégies d'Acteurs

This paper reports the results of an exploratory investigation of the coping strategies of a small group of local food consumer “activists” –those committed to, and those who promote “eating locally” in Michigan. Following a brief review of discussions surrounding different definitions of local food and the concept of coping strategy, this paper presents the methods for collecting preliminary information about local food coping strategies in Michigan and then discusses the coping strategies of these activists. The consumers we interviewed mostly adopt problem-centered strategies: they change their food-consumption habits including shopping, purchasing, cooking, storing and obviously, eating. None of these changes are easy to implement, and most require re-allocations of time as well as trade-offs to overcome time and cost barriers. In return, most of these consumers feel empowered.

Mots clés: Local food; consumption; coping strategies

Domaines: Agriculture, économie et politique

Jim Bingen, Julie Sage, Lucie Sirieix. CONSUMER COPING STRATEGIES OF EATING LOCAL. ISDA 2010, Jun 2010, Montpellier, France. 9 p. ⟨hal-00525606⟩