Food consumer models: The case of the responsible consumer

Abstract

The profile of the responsible consumer, that is, an individual whose purchases strive to satisfy altruistic aims above and beyond one’s merely personal consumer necessities, is closely correlated to the one’s socio-economic conditions. All subjective aspects considered, the correlation between responsible consumption in the agri-food sector and the level of education of the individual was studied herein by way of a statistical survey, conducted on a sample of 108 individuals. Likewise, the correlation between the level of responsible consumption and the average monthly expenditures was also elucidated. The study was carried out using the statistical software environment R and the results indicate that responsible consumption is positively correlated with both of the aforementioned variables. The study is suited to identify which segment of the population has the possibility of making informed choices in the market based on the fact that its income allows better access to certain markets, and by virtue of the fact that a higher cultural level allows one to have better access to information, which makes for a more thorough understanding of the issues.