VALUES AND BARRIERS TO “LESS BUT BETTER” EATING: UNDERSTANDING FOOD SOBRIETY

Author: Imen Kouas

ABSTRACT

This article examines how basic human values and perceived barriers jointly shape food sobriety, defined as the intentional pursuit of “less but better” eating through reduced quantities and higher quality, ethically coherent food choices. Drawing on Schwartz’s theory of basic human values and a qualitative study of 18 semi‑structured interviews, the analysis identifies a cluster of values, hedonism, security, conformity, tradition, benevolence and universalism, that support or constrain sober food practices. The findings show that food sobriety is anchored in a redefined hedonism centered on simple, high‑quality foods, in health‑oriented security, in traditional norms of “cooking just enough”, and in concern for close others, local producers and the environment. At the same time, “less but better” eating is hindered by multi‑level barriers: price premiums and limited availability of suitable products, ingrained habits and emotional eating, and strong social norms equating generosity and hospitality with food abundance. The study refines the conceptualization of food sobriety as a value‑driven form of sustainable consumption and highlights the need to address structural and social constraints if moderate, high‑quality and responsible eating is to become both feasible and socially legitimate.

Keywords: Food sobriety; Human values; Barriers; Sustainable food consumption; Qualitative research.

REFERENCES

  • Alexander, S., & Ussher, S. (2012). The voluntary simplicity movement: A multi-national survey analysis in theoretical context. Journal of Consumer Culture, 12(1), 66–86. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1177/14695 40512 444019.
  • Andrade, E. B., & Vieites, Y. (2025). Obstacles and opportunities for sustainable consumption: A comprehensive conceptual model, literature review, and research agenda. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 35, 637–662. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.70003
  • Association négaWatt. (2022). The energy transition at the heart of a societal transition: Summary of the négaWatt 2022 scenario for France. Association négaWatt.
  • Bardi, A., & Schwartz, S. H. (2003). Values and behavior: Strength and structure of relations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29(10), 1207-1220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167203254602
  • Barnett, M. J., Hancock, P. I., Klotz, L. E., & Attari, S. Z. (2023). Recycling bias and reduction neglect. Nature Sustainability, 6(11), 1418–1425. https://doi. org/10.1038/ s4189 3-023-01185-7.
  • Blake, C. E., Monterrosa, E. C., Rampalli, K. K., A. N. S. Khan, Reyes, L. I., & Drew, S. D. (2023). Basic human values drive food choice decision-making in different food environments of Kenya and Tanzania. Appetite, 188, 107691.
  • Bronnenberg, B. J., Bùi, T., Deleersnyder, B., Haerkens, L., Knox, G., Van Lin, A., Pachali, M. J., Paley, A., Smith, R. W., & Stäbler, S. (2025). EXPRESS: Closing the knowledge gap: Understanding and reducing the environmental impact of food choices. Journal of Marketing, 00222429251348436. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 0022242925 1348436
  • Creutzig, F., Roy, J., Lamb, W. F., Azevedo, I. M. L., Bruine De Bruin, W., Dalkmann, H., Edelenbosch, O. Y., Geels, F. W., Grubler, A., Hepburn, C., Hertwich, E. G., Khosla, R., Mattauch, L., Minx, J. C., Ramakrishnan, A., Rao, N. D., Steinberger, J. K., Tavoni, M., Ürge-Vorsatz, D., & Weber, E. U. (2018). Towards demand-side solutions for mitigating climate change. Nature Climate Change, 8(4), 260–263. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1038/ s4155 8-018-0121-
  • Chernev, A., & Blair, S. (2021). When sustainability is not a liability: The halo effect of marketplace morality. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 31(3), 551–569. https://doi. org/10.1002/jcpy. 1195
  • Elgin, D., & Mitchell, A. (1977). Voluntary Simplicity. Planning Review, 5(6), 13-15. https://doi. org/10.1108/eb053820.
  • Etzioni, A. (1999). Voluntary Simplicity: Characterization, Select Psychological Implications, and Societal Consequences. Ethical Economy, 1-26. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ 978-3-662-03900-7
  • Farrow, K., Grolleau, G., & Ibanez, L. (2017). Social norms and pro-environmental behavior: A review of the evidence. Ecological Economics, 140, 1–13. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j. ecole con. 2017. 04. 017
  • Garnett, E. E., Balmford, A., Sandbrook, C., Pilling, M. A., & Marteau, T. M. (2019). Impact of increasing vegetarian availability on meal selection and sales in cafeterias. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(42), 20923–20929.
  • Gerhardt, C., Plack, M., & Drost, M. (2020). Why today’s pricing is sabotaging sustainability. Kearney.
  • Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? : An experiment with data saturation and validity. Field Methods, 18, 59-82
  • Guillard, V. (2021), Comment consommer avec sobriété, Ed. DeBoeck Supérieur, 164.
  • Guillard, V. (2022). Comment amener le consommateur à vraiment pratiquer la sobriété. Le Journal de l’École de Paris du Management, 5, 31–43.
  • Grunert, K. G. (2011). Sustainability in the food sector: A consumer behaviour perspective. International Journal on Food System Dynamics, 2(3), 207–218.
  • Hémar-Nicolas, V., & Hedegaard, L. (2023). La sobriété alimentaire, une démarche ancrée dans l’éthique d’Épicure : Cadre d’analyse et agenda de recherche. Recherche et Applications en Marketing, 38(2), 3–27.
  • Ismagilova, E., Slade, E. L., Rana, N. P., & Dwivedi, Y. K. (2020). The effect of characteristics of source credibility on consumer behaviour: A meta-analysis. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 53, 101736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2019.01.005
  • Kang, J., C. Martinez, M. J., & Johnson, C. (2021). Minimalism as a Sustainable Lifestyle: Its Behavioral Representations and Contributions to Emotional Well-Being. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 802-813. https:// doi.org/ 10.1016/j. spc. 2021.02.001.
  • Kilbourne, W., & Pickett, G.  (2008). How Materialism Affects Environmental Beliefs, Concern, and Environmentally Responsible Behavior. Journal of Business Research, 61(9), 885-893. https:// doi.org/ 10.1016/j. jbusr es. 2007.09.016.
  • Kouas, I. (2025). De la perception à l’action : Une exploration qualitative de la sobriété perçue dans les pratiques de la consommation alimentaire. Revue Internationale des Sciences de Gestion, 8(4), 216-244. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17508490.
  • Ladhari, R., & Tchetgna, N.M. (2015). The influence of personal values on Fair Trade consumption, Journal of Cleaner Production, 87, 469 477.
  • Larsen, V. M., Sirgy, J., Wright, N. D. (1999). Materialism: The Construct, Measures, Antecedents, and Consequences. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal, 3(2), 78-110.
  • Lee, M. S., Motion, J., & Conroy, D. (2009). Anti-Consumption and Brand Avoidance. Journal of Business Research, 62(2), 169-180. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1016/j. jbusr es. 2008. 01. 024.
  • Liu, Y., Qu, Y., Lei, Z., & Jia. H. (2017). Understanding the Evolution of Sustainable Consumption Research. Sustainable Development, 25(5) 414–430. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1002/ sd. 1671.
  • Lloyd, K., & Pennington, W.  (2020). Towards a Theory of Minimalism and Wellbeing. International Journal of Applied Positive Psychology, 5(3), 121-136. https:// doi. org/ 10. 1007/ s4104 2-020-00030-y.
  • Maio, G. R., & Olson, J. M. (2000). What is a “value-expressive” attitude? Determinants of value mediation and its impact on attitude-behavior consistency. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30(3), 305-320. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(200005/06)30:3
  • Murray, C. J. L., Aravkin, A. Y., Zheng, P., Abbafati, C., Abbas, K. M., Abbasi-Kangevari, M., et al. (2020). Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990-2019: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The Lancet, 398(10295), 1223-1249.
  • Nguyen, K. H., Tran, M. D., & Adomako, S. (2025). Less is more: Exploring the role of minimalism in sustainable consumption. Sustainable Development, 33(S1), 1091-1106. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70059
  • Reisch, L. A., Eberle, U., & Lorek, S. (2013). Sustainable food consumption: An overview of contemporary issues and policies. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 9(2), 7-25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2013.11908111
  • Roccas, S., & Sagiv, L. (2010). Personal values and behavior: Taking the cultural context into account. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(1), 30-41. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2009.00234.x
  • Sánchez, L. A., Roa-Díaz, Z. M., Gamba, M., Grisotto, G., Moreno Londoño, A. M., Mantilla-Uribe, B. P., Rincón Méndez, A. Y., Ballesteros, M., Kopp-Heim, D., Minder, B., Suggs, L. S., & Franco, O. H. (2021). What Influences the Sustainable Food Consumption Behaviours of University Students? A Systematic Review. International Journal of Public Health, 66(1604149), 1-15. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604149
  • Schlemmer, E. (2015). Consommation socialement responsable et intention de consommer moins : La Théorie du comportement planifié et le rôle des valeurs de base.  Mémoire de fin d’études présenté en vue de l’obtention du diplôme de Master en politique économique et sociale Université Catholique de Louvain, 1-82.
  • Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1-65.
  • Schwartz, S. H. (2006). Les valeurs de base de la personne : Théorie, mesures et applications. Revue Française de Sociologie, 47(4), 929-968. https://doi.org/10.3917/rfs.474.0929
  • Schwartz, S. H. (2012). An overview of the Schwartz theory of basic values. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1), https://doi.org/10.9707/2307-0919.1116.
  • Schnack, A., & Gan, C. (2024). Facilitators and Inhibitors of Different Forms of Sustainable Consumption: Consumer Surveys in Australia and New Zealand. Cleaner and Responsible Consumption, 14(100207). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clrc.2024.100207.
  • Sparkman, G., Howe, L., & Walton, G. (2021). How social norms are often a barrier to addressing climate change but can be part of the solution. Behavioural Public Policy, 5(4), 528–555. https:// doi.org/ 10.1017/ bpp.2020.42
  • Stancu, V., Haugaard, P., & Lähteenmäki, L. (2016). Determinants of consumer food waste behaviour: Two routes to food waste. Appetite, 96, 7–17.
  • Steffen, W., Richardson, K., Rockström, J., Cornell, S. E., Fetzer, I., Bennett, E. M., et al. (2015). Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet. Science, 347(6223), 1259855.
  • Steg, L., & de Groot, J. I. M. (2012). Environmental values. In S. Clayton (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology (pp. 81-92). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199733026.013.0005
  • Sun, J. J., Bellezza, S., & Paharia, N. (2021). Buy less, buy luxury: Understanding and overcoming product durability neglect for sustainable consumption. Journal of Marketing, 85(3), 28–43. https:// doi.org/10.1177/0022242921993172
  • Vermeir, I., Weijters, B., De Houwer, J., Geuens, M., Slabbinck, H., Spruyt, A., et al. (2020). Environmentally sustainable food consumption: A review and research agenda from a goal-directed perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1603, 1-24. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2021.1604149
  • White, K., Habib, R., & Hardisty, D. J. (2019). How to SHIFT consumer behaviors to be more sustainable: A literature review and guiding framework. Journal of Marketing, 83(3), 22–49. https://doi. org/ 10. 1177/ 00222 42919 825649
  • Willett, W., Rockström, J., Loken, B., Springmann, M., Lang, T., Vermeulen, S., et al. (2019). Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems. The Lancet, 393(10170), 447–492.