World is eating better, mostly

The latest Greendex survey by the National Geographic Society and the research consulting firm GlobeScanmeasured consumption habits and attitudes in 18 countries. Each was scored on the relative size of its environmental footprint. (Related: 8 Surprising, Depressing, and Hopeful Findings From Global Survey of Environmental Attitudes.) This year's report, the fifth since 2008, focused on food. It found noticeable improvements in eating habits even as environmentally sustainable behavior when it came to housing, transportation, and consumer goods appeared stuck or had worsened, National Geographic reports. Consumers in 11 countries, including South Korea, Hungary, Australia, and Canada, had higher food scores compared with their scores in the previous survey, in 2012. (Read "The Next Green Revolution" in National Geographic magazine.) ndia, which has ranked first in food sustainability in every Greendex, came out far ahead again, thanks to its culturally dictated eating habits. Nearly one in four Indians is a vegetarian, and those who aren't tend to avoid beef, the most environmentally damaging meat. Indians have reduced the amount of imported food they eat and increased their consumption of locally produced, homegrown, and organic foods.

Sprawling Countries Eat the Most Locally More than half of consumers surveyed frequently eat locally grown food. Russians are the biggest locavores-77 percent consume local food daily or several times a week-followed by Indians and Chinese. Russians, along with Hungarians, Swedes and Germans, also are eating more organic food and natural foods, now more and more part of mainstream diets. Better informed consumers are more likely to pay attention to food ingredients, believe meat is bad for the environment, and be willing to pay more for organic and local foods. Despite the move toward more sustainable habits, just 34 percent of consumers think they know enough about the quality, origin, and safety of the meals on their plates, and 43 percent believe they have little influence over how their food is produced. Consumers in every country are more concerned about food safety than in 2012, with the Chinese worrying the most, after a recent series of tainted-food scares in their country. "Consumers feel somewhat alienated from the food system," says Eric Whan of GlobeScan. "They don't feel particularly empowered to affect how food is produced."

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