Climate Change and Consumers’ Food Choices towards Sustainability: A Narrative Review

This narrative review explores key issues surrounding climate change and diets, highlighting individual-level dynamics and structural constraints to implementing policies that prioritize sustainability through a political economy lens. Strong interconnections exist between climate change and agri-food systems. Current eating patterns are unsustainable, threatening both human and planetary health. Hence, the urgency of promoting "Planetary Health Diets." Available evidence confirms that the healthiest diets exert the least pressure on the environment. Partially substituting meat with plant-based alternatives and reducing the intake of ultra-processed foods can contribute to more climate-friendly dietary patterns. Environmental issues, eco-emotions, health-related dietary motivations, and ethical aspects likely encourage consumers to adopt more sustainable eating habits. In contrast, high prices, consumers' low acceptance, low education, lack of a standardized definition, and weakness in the current information-based instruments related to sustainable food production pose significant challenges to consumers' choices. Effective governance at global, national, and local levels is pivotal. Integrating sustainability issues in national food-based dietary guidelines, education and awareness campaigns, along with reforming public food procurement and offering economic incentives for sustainable foods have the potential to foster the transition towards a healthy sustainable eating. Current dietary patterns negatively affect both planetary and human health. However, consumers are increasingly inclined toward sustainable food options. While individuals play a role in food choices, structural interventions are essential to ensuring a successful transition.