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‘Growing your own’: A multi-level modelling approach to understanding personal food growing trends and motivations in Europe

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

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Abstract

Growing food for personal and family consumption is a significant global activity, but one that has received insufficient academic attention, particularly in developed countries. This paper uses data from the European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) to address three areas of particular concern: the prevalence of growing your own food and how this has changed over time; the individual and household context in which growing takes place; and whether those who grow their own food are happier than those who do not. Results showed that there was a marked increase in growing your own food in Europe, in the period 2003–2007. This increase is largely associated with poorer households and thus, possibly, economic hardship. In the UK however the increase in growing your own food is predominantly associated with older middle class households. Across Europe, whether causal or not, those who grew their own were happier than those who did not. The paper therefore concludes that claims about the gentrification of growing your own may be premature. Despite contrary evidence from the UK, the dominant motive across Europe appears to be primarily economic — to reduce household expenditure whilst ensuring a supply of fresh food.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 71-80

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Ecological Economics (Volume 110)

Publication milestones

  • Accepted/In press - 18/12/2014
  • Published - 09/01/2015

Publication status

Published - 09/01/2015

ISSN

0921-8009

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/625146
  • Scopus: 84920913195

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