Perception and behaviors | alternative-diets

Perception and behaviors of alternative diet followers

Perception on food

The majority of the respondents have a special approach and perception on food. The first thing that is common among all the interviewees is to considerate food as a mean to assert what they believe in and what they defend. In this case, food is a way to affirm its identity, I eat what I am.

“I’m vegan. I boycott all the products from animal exploitation.”

In this quotation the person logical chain is clear. I am “vegan” and I believe in it so I don’t eat products from animal exploitation. The individual is defending his values through his consumption of food. This particular thing is common to all the consumers we interviewed.

For numerous interviewees, food is also a way to be healthy and a factor of health. That is why, health is such an important motivation when the consumers decide to change their diets.

“I, for one, don’t want to intoxicate myself, to intoxicate my son and then I think that it’s also, it’s not only eating, to eat it’s really setting upon true acts.”

The last most widely shared perception of food among interviewees is the notion of conviviality. Food is not only a mean to satisfy its hunger but it’s also a powerful social force. The consumers like to cook their food and the meal is a moment of sharing. Even when they purchase their food, they try to talk with the producers and they take their time to buy.

“Here it’s the theme of the local and the diversity, it’s also the fact to keep things that tend to disappear, products that are cultural marker and this is also the same with local production. We are going toward a kind of glacis where we have the same craps to eat for everyone and this is also a thing that must be fought. As for me, I’m not seeing food stuff, I’m seeing a pretty, young woman who represent the French region identity and all its diversity. It’s important for me too to be in an environment where we have the choice between a whole whack of goods which evoke a cultural diversity, a history… when we eat, that’s about that. When I eat, I don’t eat only to satisfy my hunger but also because there is an aspect of conviviality, a cultural aspect. When we eat, we can spend hours to discuss about what we’re eating. It’s not the case when you eat at Mac donald’s.”

Commitment and holistic views

The consumption of the people who are following an alternative diet can be described as “committed”, in the sense that it doesn’t simply meet the basic needs or desires of the consumer but it actually fit the values of the consumer. The consumer purchase products according to the values it defends. Besides, several interviewees do not hesitate to use the lexical field of the fight or the resistance to speak about their diet. Thus, when the consumers are interviewed about the difficulties they experience in their diet in the daily life, here is what we can hear:

C.: "No because it’s very complicated when we go out, we haven’t always… when we go to the restaurant, we haven’t always the choice

F.: Ah, a resistant life is not always easy."

There is indeed a commitment in this type of consumption, the individuals who choose to adopt an alternative diet are not consumers like others, they are committed consumers and in this case we can talk about active consumption. In contrast to a passive consumption which only meet the needs and desires of the consumer.

It is noticeable that this commitment often goes deeper than the simple choice of consumption. Besides, the vast majority of the interviewees are committed also in associations. These are not consumer associations where the individuals share the same consumption patterns. Many of our interviewees are committed in association for the environment, the protection of animals or the enhancement of the local territory. The individual claims the values he or she believes in by a commitment in his consumption and an associative commitment.

Distribution circuit and alternative diet

The consumers interviewed about their alternative diet have several locations for food purchasing. Most of them claim to favor organic and local products but it can really change depending on the consumer and the diet followed.

For instance, several vegetarians and vegans whom priority are animal welfare don’t hesitate to purchase in supermarkets and have no specific locations for their purchase. Thus, to the question “where do you buy the product you use in your diet” a vegetarian answer:

Mostly in the supermarket but sometimes in organic shops. I don’t give priority to organic or locally grown products but sometimes I buy some.

It’s obviously not the same thing for consumers who have preoccupations about health, environment and who want to favor the local economy. They favor different distribution channels. People who change their habits of consumption because of health hazards tend to give priority to organic food no matter where it comes from.

“As for me between those two, if it’s some peers full of pesticides, I’ll take the others which come from far away no matter how the carbon footprint increases, this doesn’t bother me. I don’t want to eat local fruits full of craps and which will make me die and not exotic fruits which can be produced by small producers from Guatemala and in which no chemical were used.”

They are going to buy products from organic farming in specialized stores such as organic shops and farmers’ market to find fresh and healthy products. Those who have a strong sensibility to environmental problematic choose organic products but have also preoccupations about the carbon balance of what they purchase. In order to limit their carbon footprint, they prefer to buy in shops that ensure a perfect traceability of the goods and the exact location of the production site.

“I’m going in organic shops and at the biocorp that sail only products that are not transported by plane, otherwise I’m going to the farmer market, there are few things I buy in supermarket but that’s it.”

They are also consumers who have preoccupations on economic and social solidarity. Those will favor to purchase directly at the producer’s location in order to reduce the number of intermediaries in the supply chain.

“And now there are several reasons for buying organic and local products: it is at the same time for political convictions and health reasons. And we buy local for economic reason, but in the sense of the social and solidary economy (...) we prefer that the money we are going to spend goes in the producer’s pocket, and we are willing to pay a little more for that. We prefer that than giving money to distributors who pay the producers less.”