Environmentally friendly household food consumption behavior

Abstract

Abstract Natural resources, namely land and water, as the main input factors for food production have undergone degradation in quantity and quality. On the other hand, demand for food has been growing due to population increase, which requires to intensify the use of natural resources that may harm environment. One of the solutions to this problem is by managing household food consumption pattern. This study aimed to analyze current and eco-friendly household consumption behavior in Indonesia to overcome the above problem. A technical review was conducted to various nationally representative publications, mainly from Statistics Indonesia, Indonesian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture. Results of this study indicated that in 2020 the Indonesian average daily energy and protein intake has met the recommendation. However, based on Desirable Dietary Pattern score, food consumption pattern was not balanced, dominated by cereals as carbohydrate food sources, while consumption of tubers, legumes, animal protein sources, vegetables, and fruits were still inadequate. Among high income households, consumption of animal products exceeded the recommendation whereas production of this food requires the highest environmental resources. Meanwhile, a large proportion of food waste are produced by household, mostly in the form of vegetables and fruits. Driving factors of household food selection were mainly based on social, economic, and cultural aspects rather than environmental consideration. Therefore, to reduce environmental damage, environmentally friendly food consumption behavior should be promoted. Government together with nutritionist and agronomists should create a grand design of food system which balances productivity, sustainability, and community nutrition fulfillment.