Characteristics of built food environments associated with alternative protein food choices: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review contributes to the understanding of the characteristics of built food environments that may be associated with choices of alternative protein foods (APF). Using the built food environment typology proposed by Downs et al., we investigated various environmental structures (e.g., supermarkets, other retailers, farmers' markets, restaurants, schools, and online vendors) and the characteristics that may facilitate or hinder consumers' choices. For example, facilitators and barriers may refer to the physical characteristics of environmental structures, food presentation practices, the organizational strategies or policies operating in the setting, or the actions that retailers or consumers engage in while selling, serving, choosing, trying, or purchasing APF in these environmental structures. METHODS: A systematic review (PROSPERO database preregistration; no. CRD42023388700) was conducted by searching 13 databases for peer-reviewed journals focusing on the fields of economics and business, agriculture, medical sciences, and social sciences. Data searches, coding, and quality evaluations were conducted by at least 2 researchers. A total of 31 papers (36 original studies) were included. The risk of bias was evaluated with the Joanna Briggs Institute quality evaluation tool, with 24 publications presenting low risk of bias. RESULTS: The findings indicate that perceived and actual availability facilitate consumers' APF choices across a built food environment. Several barriers/facilitators were associated with APF choices in specific types of built food environments: the way food is presented in produce sections (supermarkets), consumer habits in terms of green and specialty shopping (grocery stores), and mismatches among retailer actions in regard to making APF available in one type of food environment structure (e-commerce) and consumers' preferences for APF being available in other food environment structures (supermarkets, grocery stores). The effect of a barrier/facilitator may depend on the APF type; for example, social norms regarding masculinity were a barrier affecting plant-based APF choices in restaurants, but these norms were not a barrier affecting the choice of insect-based APF in restaurants. CONCLUSIONS: Addressing barriers/facilitators identified in this review will help in developing environment-matching interventions that aim to make alternative proteins mainstream. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO database registration: #CRD42023388700.

Individual differences in functional food consumption: The role of time perspective and the Big Five personality traits.

Prior research suggests inconsistent relationships between individuals' personality traits, time perspective, and specific behavior. In a large representative sample of Norwegian consumers (N = 810), we investigated the relationships between the Big Five personality traits, domain-specific consideration of future consequences (CFC), and consumption of functional foods. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the hypothesized associations. Both CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate were positively related to the consumption of functional foods, whereas personality traits exerted no direct influence on consumption. Several significant associations between personality traits and CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate were found, and three of the five personality traits-Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism-exerted indirect effects on consumption frequency via CFC-Future. Results support an integrative and hierarchical understanding of how personality traits and time perspective interact in explaining variation in functional food consumption. The findings support the notion that (domain-specific) CFC is better conceptualized as two distinct-albeit related constructs-that are shaped, in part, by broader personality traits.