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- Aquaponics as a sustainable and healthy food production system for PortugalPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma LampreiaThe aquaponics biological cycle Aquaponics has enormous potential in the regulation and recycling of valuable nutrients, otherwise lost to the environment with pollution potential. Aquaponics integrates freshwater aquaculture and hydroponics in a mini ecosystem. It uses the water of a Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) in soilless plant farming. The process includes a biofilter where nitrifying bacteria oxidize ammonia, resulting from fish excreta or uneaten feed, into nitrates and nitrites. While fish are extremely sensitive to ammonia, they are more tolerant to nitrates and nitrites. Nevertheless, these need also to be removed from the fish environment before accumulation to toxic levels. This is where hydroponics may come in as a useful manner of disposing nitrogen off the RAS. Nitrogen is the main macronutrient for plant growth, therefore an indispensable element in fertilization. The advantages of combining a RAS with hydroponics becomes therefore evident as a win-win solution for the problematic nitrates of the RAS and the expensive nitrogen fertilizers of plant production.
- Profiling European consumers that engage in boycottingPublication . Mata, F.; Baptista, Nuno; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma Lampreia; Jesus Silva, NatachaBoycott involves abstention from buying specific products or brands for political, ethical, or ecological reasons. Boycott is usually framed as an expression of political consumerism and has been on the rise. Companies that suffer a boycott may endure severe consequences including long-term damaged brand image and harmed reputation. However, there is still an incomplete picture of the socio-political and demographic profile of boycotters. Most characterizations of political consumers are based on research that combines boycotters and buycotters under a single construct of political consumers, and yet these consumers are driven by different motivations. The objective of this exploratory study is to provide a general characterization of European political consumers that engage in boycotting. The data used was collected between the 25th of May, 2022 and the18th of September, 2022, and was retrieved from the 10th edition (2022) of the European Social Survey. The study employs binary logistic regression to assess the association between boycotting and various potential factors listed in extant literature. Results indicate that boycotting behaviour is affected by age and other life-cycle variables, gender, education, institutional trust, the degree of satisfaction with the political system and the government, the level of trust in information and communication technology, reported self-happiness and self-general health perceptions. In general, the parameters of the models suggest that European consumers that engage in boycotting behaviour tend to be female, young, well-educated, trust on national political institutions and make intensive use of digital media. The conclusions of the empirical study are discussed and interpreted in light of current theories of consumer behaviour that highlight the post-modern, fragmented and globalized characteristics of current western societies. The results of this study enrich the literature on consumer boycotts and confirm the predicting power of various socio-demographic, psychological and attitudinal variables. Avenues for future research are identified together with consideration of the study limitations.
- The society of information and the european citizens’ perception of climate change: natural or anthropological causesPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma Lampreia; Cano-Díaz, Concha; Jesus, Meirielly; Vaz Velho, ManuelaThe scientific community has reached a consensus on humans’ important role as causative agents of climate change; however, branches of society are still sceptical about this. Climate change is a key issue for humanity and only the commitment to change human attitudes and lifestyles, at the global level, can be effective in its mitigation. With this purpose, it is important to convey the right message and prevent misinformation to manipulate people’s minds. The present study aims to understand the factors shaping European citizens’ thoughts on the causes of climate change. Using data from the European Social Survey 10 collected in 2022, we fitted statistical models using the people’s thoughts on causes of climate change (natural, anthropogenic or both) as dependent variables. As independent variables, we used the impact of the media through time spent on news and time spent on the internet, level of education, level of trust in scientists, awareness of online or mobile misinformation and gender. We concluded that the typical European citizen who believes in anthropogenic causes of climate change is a female, is more literate, trusts more in scientists, is younger, spends more time reading the news and has more awareness of misinformation presence in online and mobile communications
- European citizens’ evaluation of the Common Agricultural PolicyPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma LampreiaThe Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is crucial in ensuring food safety and security in Europe. Providing a stable and diverse food supply also supports rural economies and promotes social, environmental and economic sustainability. However, as CAP consumes approximately 30% of the EU budget, debates regarding its pertinence have arisen. This paper aimed to understand European citizens’ perceptions of CAP, its associated benefits and their level of agreement regarding the allocation of the EU budget. Ultimately, the goal was to gain insights into EU citizens’ attitudes and perceptions towards the CAP. Information and data come from the European Survey Eurobarometer. The methods include statistical inferential techniques adjusted to the nature of the variables and goals. The findings confirm that European citizens generally perceive the CAP positively and have positive attitudes about the CAP. While some differences among various social groups may exist, the results did not identify any specific group strongly opposing the CAP. Overall, European citizens hold a favorable attitude towards the CAP, its associated benefits and budget allocation. This paper brings new insights into new European CAP measures and programs to promote food security and the sustainability of agriculture among European countries and citizens. These insights may be useful for public decision-makers to define better policies and measures adjusted to European citizens and to promote food security and sustainability.
- Attitudes towards consumption: the development of an operational scalePublication . Baptista, Nuno; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma Lampreia; Mata, F.; Jesus Silva, Natacha; Matos, NelsonThe western economic development, which allowed the consumer to have access to goods and services in an easy and accessible way, brought the attention of the academia and practitioners for the current mass consumption society and consumption’s role in generating happiness among consumers. However, contradictory to the contemporary way of life, some consumers have established a different current, in which anti-consumption is seen as a way to also achieve well-being, while contributing to the sustainability of the planet. The discontented consumer and the consequent upraising of the activist consumer means that the negative consumers’ attitudes towards consumption and the corporate world need to be addressed. The concept of consumerism comprises the activities of governments, business, and independent organizations to protect and promote consumers’ rights. This rather different approaches from the consumers to the market offer requires better understanding, due to the impacts on marketing practitioner’s policies and actions. (…)
- Attitudinal and behavioural differences towards farm animal welfare among consumers in the BRIC countries and the USAPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma Lampreia; Cocksedge, JackThis study explores cross-cultural differences in consumers’ attitudes toward farm animal welfare (FAW) in BRIC countries. Questionnaires administered in each country contained the following questions: (i) “It is important to me that animals used for food are well cared for”, (ii) “The typical nationality thinks it is important that animals used for food are well cared for”, (iii) “Low meat prices are more important than the well-being of animals used for food”, and (iv) “The typical nationality thinks that low meat prices are more important than the well-being of animals used for food”. Answers were given on a Likert scale (from total disagreement to total agreement). Data fit multinomial logistic models using “Country” and “Gender” as factors and “Age” as a covariate. The results showed that women had stronger pro-animal attitudes. Statements on the perception of FAW importance had an agreement tendency that increased with age, while the opposite was true for meat prices. Brazil showed the highest levels of individual pro-FAW attitudes, and the same trend in relation to meat prices. Russia showed a slightly lower pro-FAW attitude, but the perception of the compatriots’ attitudes towards FAW showed the opposite. Russians in general disagree with low meat prices in exchange for the detriment of FAW. Indians were the least supportive of FAW and, together with the Chinese, were the least supportive of an increase in meat prices to improve FAW. The Chinese showed prominent levels of neutrality towards FAW. These results may contribute to the definition of food and trade policies and help to adjust the supply chain to consumers’ socio-cultural and economic differences.
- Smart cities through urban short supply chains of foodPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma Lampreia; Baptista, Nuno; Jesus Silva, NatachaThe cities around the world in general and in the Mediterranean area in particular are facing tremendous challenges at the environmental, social, economic and institutional levels (Fernandez-Anez et al., 2020). Currently, cities need to be sustainable and smart (Silva et al., 2018). An economically important and innovative sector in urban areas is food security. To the best of our knowledge, the majority of the literature explores the concept of smart cities from the point of view of information and communications technology, and the connection with sustainability aspects remains unsolved. This study tries to overcome this gap in the literature. The main aim is to analyse the contribution of urban short-supply chains of foods in terms of sustainability of smart cities. The study reports the conclusions of a revision of the literature and the preliminary results of four research projects in this area, including the SGDsCONSUM project. The results confirm positive impacts of short supply chains of food in urban areas in the four dimensions of sustainable development and smart and sustainable cities. The conclusions of this study will be helpful for producers, consumers, traders, importers, exporters, tourists, financial institutions, and particularly for government sectors related to agricultural economic activities, projects, and programs in policy development.
- Sustainable consumption in urban short supply chainsPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma Lampreia; Baptista, Nuno; Jesus Silva, NatachaThe United Nations, national and regional public decision-makers, and the academy are increasingly paying attention to sustainable development. They are debating the main institutional ways and the respective restrictions to achieve a compromise solution among the economic, social, environmental, and institutional dimensions of sustainable development (Kumar, 2022). Sustainable food production and sustainable consumption in urban short-supply chains are dependent on the links between various stakeholders, including companies, consumers and public decision-makers (Govindan, 2018). Previous literature lacks a systematic and holistic view of these actors and corresponding dependencies, limiting our understanding of how to leverage sustainable innovation and design sustainable strategies and policies for food production and consumption. Based on a systematic literature review of a large sample of representative publications included in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, this study tries to overcome this gap in the literature by exploring the relationship between ethical and sustainable consumption and production in short supply chains and offers an agenda for future research. This study, which was developed under the SDGsConsum project, proposes a holistic model of integrative development. The main results confirm that, despite the huge development in SDGs literature, and sustainable development of consumption, the focus on urban shortly supply chains of production in the literature is modest in general, and in particular in food sectorial activities. Moreover, the motivations and constraints that drive and restrain consumers and companies toward sustaina- ble consumption and how these two dimensions complement each other or overlap remain a topic that needs to be further investigated. The results of this study can help shape policies that are adequate to promote a better adjustment of sustainable food supply and demand. Moreover, it might also bring new approaches to integrate and promote short supply chains of foods in urban areas for a more sustainable development of the world.
- Analysis of the policies and constraints limiting the aquaponics industry in PortugalPublication . Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma LampreiaAquaponics is an innovative and potentially sustainable method of producing vegetables and fish, enabling local, inland fish production, and vegetable production without the need for artificial fertilization. With the aim to analyze the potential development of commercial aquaponics in Portugal, a group of Portuguese stakeholders and experts were interviewed to capture their understanding of the challenges faced by the emerging Portuguese aquaponics sector. The paper evaluates and discusses the main issues experienced by stakeholders, proposing solutions to overcome barriers and restrictions. Legal and administrative barriers were identified, and it is recognized that aquaponics requires its own legal and administrative framework. Bureaucracy is duplicated in licensing processes, authorizations for sale, and permits. Exotic fish species, such as tilapia (Tilapia spp.) face legal barriers to their use in aquaculture. The freshwater aquaculture species to consider for integration into aquaponics systems are largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), pikeperch (Sander lucioperca), and eel (Anguilla anguilla). To address barriers to the organic certification of aquaponics products, producers need to collaborate and establish their own certification schemes.
- Sustainable consumption and the drivers of product boycott in EuropePublication . Jesus Silva, Natacha; Baptista, Nuno; Mata, F.; Dos Santos, Maria José Palma LampreiaInstitutional sustainability is a dynamic and multifaceted concept that relies on the contributions of various institutions, including the legal and the scientific system. On the other side, consumers boycotts are an expression of political consumerism by which consumers can use their market power to attain sustainability objectives. This article explores institutional trust on the legal system and trust on scientists as potential drivers for consumers’ boycotts. Using data retrieved from the European Social Survey covering twenty-five countries, the study employs binary logistic regression to assess the importance of institutional trust and other potential drivers of product boycotts in Europe. Results confirm that boycotting behaviour is affected by institutional trust, as well as other individual variables including gender, age and life-cycle effects, education, interest in politics and level of satisfaction with the political system, generalized trust, personal well-being, and consumers’ use and perceptions of information and communication technologies. The results of this study enrich the literature on consumer boycotts and have implications for policymakers involved in sustainability initiatives.
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