Everything has become more expensive since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, especially food. How safe do people think the food supply in Germany is?
In view of the high food prices, aspects of sustainability only play a subordinate role for consumers when shopping. At least that’s according to a recent survey.
According to the result of the representative online survey commissioned by the German Institute for Food Technology (DIL) in Quakenbrück and the state initiative for the food industry in Lower Saxony, buying behavior is currently dominated by rising prices and concerns about food shortages. Almost 1,500 people across Germany were interviewed for the survey from April 21 to 25, two months after the start of the Ukraine war.
Almost 70 percent of those surveyed stated that they sometimes spend significantly more money on food than before the Ukraine war. Around 24 percent stated that they spent the same amount of money on food as before the Ukraine war.
When shopping, those surveyed currently pay particular attention to special offers or cheap groceries. For some people, climate and environmental protection aspects have taken a back seat, it said. In contrast, during the corona pandemic, the sustainability aspects in particular were much more important for many people.
Many do not see German agriculture as crisis-proof
The survey shows that a secure national supply of food is important to people, as is the regionality of food. However, it is surprising that 42 percent of those surveyed do not see German agriculture as crisis-proof. The outbreak of war made people much more aware of their dependence on agricultural imports, said co-author of the study, Adriano Profeta.
A majority of those surveyed are concerned about food shortages: almost 80 percent of those surveyed stated that they considered a shortage to be likely, at least for individual food groups. More than half believe that restrictions on cooking oils (67 percent) and staple foods such as flour, sugar or pasta (58 percent) or bread and baked goods (36 percent) are likely in the near future. On the other hand, shortages of local fruit, alcohol or seasonal vegetables are considered unlikely.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
