According to the United Nations, global food systems as well as food packaging and distribution are responsible for more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions in the world. In order to limit the impact on the environment, the UN recommends consuming more foods of plant origin, which are less resource-intensive than those of animal origin, and to buy products produced locally to restrict emissions linked to transportation.
According to a survey carried out by Statista Consumer Insights between July 2023 and June 2024 in 21 countries, around one in four consumers cited the regionality of products among the most important criteria when purchasing food (several answers possible among 16 criteria). The Swiss as well as Austrians are the most inclined to turn to local products (45 percent cited this aspect as important), followed by Germans (38 percent), the French (34 percent) and Italians (32 percent).
Conversely, the regionality of food products seems to be of much less importance for American and Chinese consumers: Only 10 percent of them said regionality was important for their purchasing decisions. However, beside perception of importance, there are several other factors that have an influence on the purchase of regional foods, for example price and availability.
