Forgotten effects analysis of the consumer behavior of sustainable food products in Mexico

Abstract

The world's population has increased exponentially in recent decades, and the rising demand for resources presents crucial challenges that need to be addressed to ensure humanity's current pace of development without compromising the means of future generations. The purpose of the present study is to quantify the first- and second-order cause-effect degree of incidence that drives consumer behavior when selecting a sustainable product based on the opinions of academic experts in the field. The forgotten effects theory is employed for the treatment of information. The main advantage of this methodology is the combination of expert opinions with a robust mathematical procedure that allows obtaining not only the direct but also the indirect or hidden degree of incidence. The selected experts are academic leaders in the field of sustainability in Mexico. The results show a high direct incidence of variables such as education, income and culture and a strong indirect incidence of sustainable knowledge, environmental awareness and recommendations. The present study attempts to shed light on quantifying the direct and indirect elements that encourage consumers' choice of sustainable food products and to understand the in-depth reasons for the discrepancy between the will and actions of consumers.