In this study, the participants’ statements are classified according to the key components of sustainable diet in five themes: “Health and Nutrition”, “Food and Agriculture Security”, “Environment and Ecosystems”, “Markets, Food trade and production chains” , “Social, Cultural, and Policy factors”.
Table 1 represents the demographic characteristics of the participants in the qualitative study. The conceptualization of participants’ statements showed that among the determinants of food choice in adults, there were some concepts which classified for a sustainable diet (Table 2).
Participants’ food choices in the domain of “Health and Nutrition” included several components of a sustainable diet. Observing food diversity involves the consumption of different food groups and avoiding repetitive food choices. Majority of participants stated that they try to choose the food which has better quality and this quality could be of high-quality raw materials, the appearance of foods, less use of preservatives, food hygiene and standardization:
“I care about the quality of the food and I take care that the quality of the food does not go down. Usually, the food we prepare is standard food and my wife is very careful when cooking it to get high quality.” (Male, 62 years old)
Physical activity level was one of the items that some participants mentioned and noted its importance in the amount and type of food consumed:
“Since most days I go to sports or clubs or yoga, my breakfast is just a little bit of date, tea and walnut. I do not eat too much bread and cheese. I prefer to exercise with a light stomach and so I feel better. I mean, for me, dates and walnuts are good for breakfast.” (Female, 39 years old).
According to the study participants, some of the foods they choose are influenced by their concerns about being overweight and losing their current fitness. Sometimes people would choose foods that they believed could improve their appearance by refraining from some foods such as sweets that might be harmful to them.
“I like confectionary but try to eat less. why? Because of its fat content. But my family eats. I eat sometimes” (Male, 62 years old)
Non-communicable diseases such as diabetes were also a concern for choosing some foods for most of the participants. These sensitivities were particularly increased in the case of high-calorie foods containing sugar and fat.
“When trying to buy meat, I try to get beef that has less fat, or when trying to buy yogurt or dairy, I try to get the low-fat variety. Well, anyway, obesity has many dangers.” (Male, 38 years old)
“I try to do not eat fat and salt in our food anymore. We don’t eat at all, and my weight was too high. My weight was 106kg, I’m 80kg now, and I’m very happy. I find it much easier to live this way.” (Male, 63 years old)
In the domain of “Food and Agriculture Security”, the majority of participants’ food choice centered on traditional, indigenous and local products. Many participants explained that because of the healthiness and usefulness of traditional foods, they preferred these foods to industrial food, but there were still those who had to choose foods containing the additive and the occasional preparation of traditional foods because of a busy lifestyle. The concept of indigenous, local and traditional foods was classified into two groups of having a healthy look and ethnic pattern of food.
Having healthy look:Most of the Participants believed that the local food has a positive impact on health and wellbeing of themselves and their children compared to the industrial food that was considered unhealthy.
The positive impact of local food on the health and wellbeing of children, traditional food preference to industry due to unhealthy, healthy beliefs and the character of local food were statements expressed by majority of the interviewees about the local and indigenous foods.
Local and traditional foods are one of the most important cultural and indigenous symbols. Almost all of the foods that are cooked in one place and geographical area originate in the customs of that area. According to the most of the participants’ opinions in this study, local foods are better and healthier than modern foods and fast foods and have a very good effect on the health and disease status of the community:
“We still eat some local foods sometimes. I taught my kids to eat these foods, for example, KASHK (an Iranian cuisine that derived from dairy products) have a lot of calcium. I think they were more proper because we had more power when we ate that kind of food. I’m healthier.” (Female, 39 years old)
“I think local food is much more effective. When my kids eat local food, I think they are much healthier and much better in terms of health” (Female, 43 years old)
Despite the fact that the majority of participants preferred traditional food, the time and skills required to prepare them, and the availability of ingredients prevent them from cooking these foods:
“To cook “Abgoosht” [mutton soup thickened with chickpeas], you have to be in the kitchen from morning to noon, or to cook the “Ghorme Sabzi” (an Iranian stew which is a mixture of sautéed herbs, kidney bean and meat), and you have to wash the vegetables the night before, chop, fry then cook.” (Male, 62 years old)
“I like traditional foods like beetroot “Ash [heavy soup]”. Or I use Ghee myself to cook “Halva” but my children don’t like it. But I do and I love it” (Female, 34 years old).
Ethnic patterns of food:Some of the participants talked about ethnic patterns of food, such as: preparing special traditional foods at a special occasion, reception, and ethnic training about the specific way of cooking, and cooking local foods when all family members have been gathered. Several participants believe special dishes are also served for many special occasions and ethnic patterns:
“Sometimes in a special occasion that my family and others join, such as my mother-in-law, father-in-law, grandmother, grandfather or sisters, particular food such as local foods is prepared.” (Male, 62 years old).
Within the domain of “Environment and ecosystems”, the key components of the use of pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer were discussed among participants. Majority of Participants’ tendency to consume organic food was seen as one of the indicators of healthy food. Their knowledge of how to produce and process organic food made them able to choose organic food. Since organic food are produced with minimal use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and hormones, they were a desirable option to consume for those people who were concerned about the contamination of food with toxins and hormones. However, in this study, there are some barriers to the consumption of organic foods, such as high cost and low availability according to the participants’ quotes:
“These green [organic labeled] Chickens are a bit more expensive than regular chickens. I haven’t eaten so far. There are also ostrich and turkey meats that I rarely buy as I can’t afford them.” (Male, 43 years old)
“When spear thistle [a wild local plant] comes to market in spring and early summer, we eat a lot because we love it. We’re consuming things that’s natural more, for example, spear thistle grows in the mountains naturally, and has no fertilizer” (Male, 62 years old).
“I try to make our food organic so that we don’t have to worry about it [pestsides and chemicals] anymore and feel comfortable eating it.” (Male, 63 years old).
In the domain of “Markets, food trade and production chains” and their role in the sustainable diet, most of the participants talked about several components. In this study, several participants pointed out components such as proper infrastructure and access to markets, distance to market, transportation costs to market, storage, food availability and food prices, food marketing in terms of advertising and food packaging:
“I only care about my time, and whether I have enough space to store a food item in the fridge before I buy, or need it now. Some foods like some vegetables and fruit need preparations before storage, like carrots, if I want to buy them, I have to prepare them before I store. ”(Female, 36 years old)
“Ever since we have entered the mechanical and industrialized life system and with including new appliances such as fridge and freezer, our food has become more stored and frozen.” (Female, 61 years old)
Economic feasibility was expressed as the most important factor in the food selection process. From the majority of participants’ point of view, many factors contributed to their food choices, but what ultimately played the most important role was the financial affordability of the food that could affect the quantity and quality of the food in various forms. In many cases, people were aware of the benefits of healthy foods, but due to economic constraints, it was not possible to supply such foods:
“As usual, family income is very important, on whether the foods that are healthy can be purchased” (Female, 36 years old).
“Sometimes we had no money, and we had to put aside meat and poultry and replace with the other foods such as textured soy protein and mushroom” (Female, 39 years old).
According to some participants, they were exposed to widespread advertising by manufacturers, exporters, importers and via Internet networks every day. The majority of those believed that foods promoted through the press and mass media, especially radio and television, were safe, healthy and harmless. According to the study participants, media advertising played a significant role in their understanding of the food and familiarity with reputable brands:
“There are various messages delivered via advertisements, for example, one of them says “do not eat tilapia fish, it is harmful”. This message unconsciously affects me in a way that I may not eat fish anymore”. (Female, 39 years old).
“The educational messages we received from broadcasting or the media is very effective in changing people’s lifestyles in some ways”. (Female, 36 years old).
According to the most of the interviewee, the type and appearance of the food packaging were one of the factors influencing their choices. This was especially evident when people went to grocery stores to shop. The good color of the packaging could be so effective that people were encouraged to choose that food because the packaging was attractive, particularly even when they had no previous plans for that food:
“The food packaging is very important to me. When I go to Hypermarket, and I see the fruit items that are in packages which are very neat and clean, I would like to buy them”. (Female, 50 years old)
“In my choice of food, the packaging also has some influence. I like to be stylish”. (Female, 33 years old)
In the “social, cultural and political” domain of sustainable diet, some of the components such as nutrition awareness, consumer acceptance and taste preferences, knowledge, skills, education and nutritional literacy are mentioned in this study. People’s awareness of food properties, cooking skills, the effect of foods on health and disease influenced their food choices. Participants also pointed to the role of nutritional awareness in the quality of their food choices. According to them, nutritional knowledge was acquired through training classes, related books, newspapers and television programs and information gained through employment:
“With this information and knowledge we get from people around or we hear in the media, or we read and acquire in the training class, our awareness has increased here, and we have learned how to make healthier foods.” (Female, 62 years old)
Color, odor, and taste of food were some of the factors that the participants paid particular attention to when purchasing food, and even in some cases, they were considered as indicative of nutrients and healthiness of food. Many participants considered tastes as one of their main reasons for choosing food.
“Taste is very important. I choose more sour foods than sweet ones.” (Female, 62 years old)
The intrinsic tendency of the flavors, tastes and some of the special foods resulted in choosing food only according to taste and ignoring other criteria.
“I consider more my interest and if I am not restricted, my taste is the main drive for my choice”. (Female, 35 years old)
Poor cooking skills were another reason why people were forced to abandon certain foods:
“I like fish and seafood but one reason [for not consuming these foods is that] it’s hard to cook at home, so I use them less”. (Female, 39 years old).