Food Consumption Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

This paper examines food consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are numerous studies on this topic. Therefore, this paper first conducted a quantitative text analysis for an overview of the related studies. The results showed that previous studies examined changes in consumption behavior and lifestyles, the impact on food security, and the state of the food system in a crisis from various perspectives. Some studies focused on consumption behaviors that involve a degree of irrationality, such as panic buying and food stigmatization. On the one hand, some studies showed that undesirable eating habits increased during the pandemic. On the other hand, many of the studies pointed to the possibility of diets changing for the better by reaffirming the importance of sustainability, health, and local food systems. This study used scanner-based panel data of beer, olive oil, and potato chips sales. We analyzed differences in consumption behavior before and after the pandemic. The results show that the consumption of higher priced products increased during the pandemic, which suggests that some consumers may have accepted the added value of these food products. It is therefore worth noting that pandemics do not necessarily have only negative effects on food consumption.