Did the COVID-19 lockdown affect consumers' sustainable behaviour in food purchasing and consumption in China?

The COVID-19 pandemic situation has altered consumers' behaviour in food purchasing and consumption. This study, as a first attempt, assesses how the COVID-19 lockdown affects Chinese consumers' purchasing and consumption behaviour from a sustainability point of view. To reach this objective, a semi-structured questionnaire is designed, collecting data from 1006 participants. The food purchasing behaviour towards the importance of sustainable attributes (P), sustainable and healthy diets (D), and food waste (W) as three dependent variables are measured, and three binary logistic regressions are estimated. The results suggest that gender and age are relevant factors affecting sustainable behaviour. Household size has a significant effect on the healthy diet shift and food waste reduction. Risk attitude has a negative and significant impact on the sustainable purchase decision. In addition, consumers' food security, financial, and health risk perceptions are highly important factors in understanding consumers' sustainable purchasing and consumption behaviour. Consumers' subjective and objective knowledge levels regarding COVID-19 influence consumers' sustainability shift during the lockdown. The findings provide some practical implications for policymakers and stakeholders to carry out more socially acceptable policy actions that ensure consumers' sustainable purchasing and consumption behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic.