Thursday, September 27, 2007

The environmentally aware or nationalistic 50-plus?

The over 50s seem to be more environmentally savvy than their younger counterparts, with a greater understanding of seasonality and propensity to “buy British”. These conclusions come from a research study conducted by BMRB.

It looks like 55% of 25-34s are aware of the concept of food miles compared with 72% of over 50s. 49% of 25-34s regularly or always buy food grown in Britain, compared with 66% among the over 50s.

I think this research is possibly drawing false conclusions, although I cannot sure without seeing the research questionnaire. I think the propensity of the 50-plus to “Buy British” has far more to do with supporting British (often English) farmers than concern about food miles and the ozone layer.

It would be interesting to hear from anybody who was involved in this research to know if these motivations were excluded from the results – I bet my boots they were not. Dick Stroud

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