Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures

This research presents a clear overview of greenwashing practices in the food industry, along with instances in the academic literature. In this work, a bibliometric analysis covering over 711 articles from the Scopus database was carried out. According to the findings, research on greenwashing in g...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Widya Satya Nugraha, Dávid Szakos, Miklós Süth, Gyula Kasza
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784324000603
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846115707904851968
author Widya Satya Nugraha
Dávid Szakos
Miklós Süth
Gyula Kasza
author_facet Widya Satya Nugraha
Dávid Szakos
Miklós Süth
Gyula Kasza
author_sort Widya Satya Nugraha
collection DOAJ
description This research presents a clear overview of greenwashing practices in the food industry, along with instances in the academic literature. In this work, a bibliometric analysis covering over 711 articles from the Scopus database was carried out. According to the findings, research on greenwashing in general has expanded dramatically in the previous ten years, indicating an increasing importance for the upcoming years. While greenwashing is an established phenomenon in the food industry and an emerging topic among consumers, relatively few research papers are available on the subject; this review identified 16 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The review offers a detailed analysis of these papers. Key factors contributing to greenwashing practices in the food industry include advertising, access to information, transparency, knowledge, trust, and labelling. The review also identifies six major subtopics that significantly influence the food industry: retailers, corporate social responsibility, consumer research, food supply chain, and stakeholders. This study aims to serve as a valuable reference for policymakers and scholars who are determining the future path of greenwashing research. This review also aligns with the focus of the research agenda of several nations, and the EU, to act firmly against greenwashing practices and deceptive environmental claims.
format Article
id doaj-art-e91e6547f1eb4ad8916c9b0b60d75df4
institution Kabale University
issn 2666-7843
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
spelling doaj-art-e91e6547f1eb4ad8916c9b0b60d75df42024-12-19T11:01:01ZengElsevierCleaner and Responsible Consumption2666-78432024-12-0115100227Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasuresWidya Satya Nugraha0Dávid Szakos1Miklós Süth2Gyula Kasza3Doctoral School of Food Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Vill ányi Street 29-43, 1118, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Agricultural Socio-Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 55281, IndonesiaDepartment of Applied Food Science, Institute of Food Chain Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, H-1078, Budapest, István utca 2., Hungary; Corresponding author.Institute of Food Chain Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, H-1078, Budapest, István utca 2., HungaryDoctoral School of Food Science, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Vill ányi Street 29-43, 1118, Budapest, Hungary; Department of Applied Food Science, Institute of Food Chain Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, H-1078, Budapest, István utca 2., HungaryThis research presents a clear overview of greenwashing practices in the food industry, along with instances in the academic literature. In this work, a bibliometric analysis covering over 711 articles from the Scopus database was carried out. According to the findings, research on greenwashing in general has expanded dramatically in the previous ten years, indicating an increasing importance for the upcoming years. While greenwashing is an established phenomenon in the food industry and an emerging topic among consumers, relatively few research papers are available on the subject; this review identified 16 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The review offers a detailed analysis of these papers. Key factors contributing to greenwashing practices in the food industry include advertising, access to information, transparency, knowledge, trust, and labelling. The review also identifies six major subtopics that significantly influence the food industry: retailers, corporate social responsibility, consumer research, food supply chain, and stakeholders. This study aims to serve as a valuable reference for policymakers and scholars who are determining the future path of greenwashing research. This review also aligns with the focus of the research agenda of several nations, and the EU, to act firmly against greenwashing practices and deceptive environmental claims.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784324000603GreenwashingFood industrySystematic reviewSustainability
spellingShingle Widya Satya Nugraha
Dávid Szakos
Miklós Süth
Gyula Kasza
Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
Cleaner and Responsible Consumption
Greenwashing
Food industry
Systematic review
Sustainability
title Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
title_full Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
title_fullStr Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
title_full_unstemmed Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
title_short Greenwashing in the food industry: A systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
title_sort greenwashing in the food industry a systematic review exploring the current situation and possible countermeasures
topic Greenwashing
Food industry
Systematic review
Sustainability
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784324000603
work_keys_str_mv AT widyasatyanugraha greenwashinginthefoodindustryasystematicreviewexploringthecurrentsituationandpossiblecountermeasures
AT davidszakos greenwashinginthefoodindustryasystematicreviewexploringthecurrentsituationandpossiblecountermeasures
AT miklossuth greenwashinginthefoodindustryasystematicreviewexploringthecurrentsituationandpossiblecountermeasures
AT gyulakasza greenwashinginthefoodindustryasystematicreviewexploringthecurrentsituationandpossiblecountermeasures