Fostering local seasonality: an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour model to understand sustainable food choices.

Background: As entire global food system accounts for a significant share of total global greenhouse gas emissions, shifting towards diets that are both environmentally sustainable and healthy has become crucial. By prioritizing local and seasonal foods individuals and communities can help to reduce the environmental impact of their food choices, while also supporting local producers and economies. Psychosocial literature has already shown that Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is a solid theoretical framework to understand and predict healthy and sustainable food choices. Moreover, other studies have taken into account the additional role of biospheric values, pro-environmental beliefs, and green self-identity. In light of this, the present study aimed at testing an extended TPB model (supplemented by biospheric values, pro-environmental beliefs and green selfidentity) to understand university students’ intention to consume local and seasonal food. Methods: 315 university students (age: 18-62; M = 21.61; SD = 5.15; 86.3% females) have completed a self-report questionnaire to assess the variables being studied. Findings: Results from a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that intention is significantly predicted by attitude, subjective norms, and green self-identity, while perceived behavioural control (PBC) was not significant. Moreover, pro-environmental beliefs had a positive impact on attitude, subjective norms and green self-identity, but not on PBC. Furthermore, biospheric values were predicted by pro-environmental beliefs. Discussion: Overall, the abovementioned model could inform future interventions aimed at promoting more sustainable food choices among university students.