---
title: Survey Reveals Australians Place Low Priority on Sustainability
description: Ask any Australian how they feel about food sustainability, the great majority would probably say that they consider it important.
image: https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Recent-Study-Shows-Australian-Citizens-Rate-Sustainability-Low-in-Priority-1.jpg
---

# Study Shows Australian Citizens Rate Sustainability Low in Priority

Ask any Australian how they feel about food sustainability, the great majority would probably say that they consider it important.

[![Food Safety Supervisor Course](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/home/AFS%20Sidebar.webp) ](https://www.foodsafety.com.au/courses/food-safety-supervisor?utm_campaign=28973228-AFS%20Blog%20Sidebar%20CTA&utm_source=hubspot&utm_medium=sidebarCTA)

[![Food Safety Supervisor Course](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/home/AFS%20Sidebar.webp) ](https://www.foodsafety.com.au/courses/food-safety-supervisor?utm_campaign=28973228-AFS%20Blog%20Sidebar%20CTA&utm_source=hubspot&utm_medium=sidebarCTA)

[![Food Safety Supervisor Course](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/home/AFS-mobile.webp) ](https://www.foodsafety.com.au/courses/food-safety-supervisor?utm_campaign=28973228-AFS%20Blog%20Sidebar%20CTA&utm_source=hubspot&utm_medium=sidebarCTA)

![Recent Study Shows Australian Citizens Rate Sustainability Low in Priority](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Recent-Study-Shows-Australian-Citizens-Rate-Sustainability-Low-in-Priority-1.jpg?width=820&height=462&name=Recent-Study-Shows-Australian-Citizens-Rate-Sustainability-Low-in-Priority-1.jpg)

 November 29, 2012

If you ask any Australian how they feel about issues like sustainability in regards to the foods they eat, the great majority would probably say that they consider it important and think Australia as a nation should be taking steps to improve it.

However, recent studies show that in practice, sustainability is at the lower end of the priority scale for most Aussies.

The research in question was originally conducted by Lonergan Research over the summer of 2012 and commissioned by John West Australia. This study showed that when purchasing items where sustainability is a concern – such as canned tuna or other seafood – only 4-5% of those polled said that sustainability was an important factor in their purchasing decisions. This is the same priority level found to be placed on the actual size of the can itself.

The research also showed that what’s the most important to modern Australians was taste and flavor with over 30% saying it was their primary concern when shopping. At least 25% of the rest of those polled ranked taste as being among their top concerns.

However, many experts believe that the low level of concern shown for the sustainability of the foods Australians buy could well be related to a lack of national awareness as to what the term “sustainable seafood” actually means. Other studies conducted estimate that thorough awareness hovers around 25% of the Australian population with men being 6% more likely than women to be ranked among those numbers.

The solution to the awareness problem may lie in labeling, as 85% of Aussie citizens said that they don’t know how to tell a given product is sustainable unless labeled. Another 60% have stated that if labeling became compulsory, they would not purchase seafood that wasn’t caught using proper sustainable practices.

![For Students](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/menu/accounts1.jpg)

## For Students

Taking an AIFS course? If you are enrolled in a course, log in here to:

- start the course or continue your progress
- complete your final submission
- check your assessment status

[Student Login](https://my.foodsafety.com.au/customer/account/login/)

![For Business](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/menu/accounts2.jpg)

## For Business

If you have a Business Account with us, log in here to:

- enrol your staff in a food safety course
- access reports and invoices
- view your order history

[Business Login](https://my.foodsafety.com.au/customer/account/login/)

![For Members](https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/menu/accounts4.jpg)

## For Members

Members get unlimited access to our Resource Library. Log in here to:

- access 'how-to' guides and videos
- download custom forms, fact sheets and checklists
- search our food recall feed

[Member Login](https://resources.foodsafety.com.au/user/login)

Cancel

Need help? [Contact us](https://www.foodsafety.com.au/contact)

```json
{
  "@context" : "https://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Australian Institute of Food Safety",
    "url" : "https://news.foodsafety.com.au/author/australian-institute-of-food-safety"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2024-11-12T21:58:03.778Z",
  "datePublished" : "2012-11-29T05:00:00.000Z",
  "headline" : "Survey Reveals Australians Place Low Priority on Sustainability",
  "image" : [ "https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Recent-Study-Shows-Australian-Citizens-Rate-Sustainability-Low-in-Priority-1.jpg" ],
  "mainEntityOfPage" : {
    "@id" : "https://news.foodsafety.com.au/recent-study-shows-australian-citizens-rate-sustainability-low-in-priority",
    "@type" : "WebPage"
  },
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "url" : "https://news.foodsafety.com.au/hubfs/afs/logos/afs-logo-horizontal-stack-green.svg"
    },
    "name" : "Moncel"
  }
}
```