Entering into the 21st century, sustainable living has become a popular topic of concern for scientists and engineers, politicians, news reporters and individuals alike. Most importantly though, sustainable living has become popular to the modern consumer, and many firms are attempting to understand and cater their efforts to the ecologically conscious consumer. Previous studies have shown that the use of psychographics, as opposed to demographics, result in more significant results that can help firms identify ecologically conscious consumers. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the relationship between consumers who identify as pescetarian, vegetarian, or vegan, and their respective participation in the green movement in terms of their pro-environmental attitudes and their purchase behaviors. Consumers' reason for choosing an alternative diet, their relative commitment to the alternative diet, as well as their level of green participation based on the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale and the Ecologically Conscious Consumer Behavior (ECCB) scale was measure and analyzed. Additionally, a conclusion and discussion of the study, potential marketing implications, and suggestions for future studies will be reviewed.

Bakgrund Det finns många olika motiv till att individer väljer att äta växtbaserat. De främsta motiven är egenhälsan och etiska aspekter i form av djurrätt, men även minskad klimatpåverkan. Den största barriären till att övergå till en mer växtbaserad kosthållning är informationsbrist om kosthållningen. Näringsinnehållet skiljer sig mellan mejeriprodukter och växtbaserade alternativ, vilket kan leda till brister om mejeriprodukter helt eller delvis utesluts ur kosten. Syfte Syftet med studien var att undersöka skillnader i attityd och kunskap om mejeriprodukter kontra växtbaserade alternativ hos unga vuxna i åldrarna 18–30 år. Metod Studien var kvantitativt designad och genomfördes via webbenkät i september 2020 med 125 deltagare. Enkäten innehöll bakgrundsfrågor, kunskap- och attitydpåståenden. Data analyserades med IBM SPSS Statistics 27. Signifikansnivån p <0,05 valdes.  Resultat 117 svar analyserades, majoriteten var kvinnor, personer mellan 18–24 år och kosthållningen blandkost. Signifikanta skillnader sågs för påståendena om hälsa, etik och smak mellan kosthållningarna blandkost och vegetarian (p=0,011, p=0,023, p<0,001) samt blandkost och vegan (p<0,001, p=0,042, p=0,008). Samtliga kosthållningar var över lag mer benägna att hålla med om de påståenden som var positivt vinklade för deras kosthållning. 50-87 % svarade fel eller vet ej på kunskapspåståendena, förutom på påståendet Kalcium förekommer naturligt i mejeriprodukter där majoriteten svarade rätt. Inga signifikanta skillnader sågs mellan åldersgrupperna gällande kunskap och attityder. Slutsats Attityderna till mejeriprodukter kontra växtbaserade alternativ skiljer sig beroende på kosthållning, framförallt mellan omnivorer och veganer. Kunskapen om näringsmässiga skillnaderna mellan mejeriprodukter och växtbaserade alternativ var låg hos blandkost och pescetarian och vegetarian och vegan. / Background The motives for consuming plant-based diet vary, the main ones being health related and animal-welfare. Decreasing environmental impact also ranks quite high. The biggest perceived barrier to follow a plant-based diet is the lack of information regarding the diet. The nutritional content of plant-based dairy-alternatives differs from dairy-products. If dairy-products are partially or completely excluded from the diet there is a risk of nutritional deficiencies. Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the difference in attitude towards and knowledge of dairy-products and plant-based alternatives in 18-30-year-olds. Method A web-based survey was conducted in September of 2020 with 125 participants. The survey consisted of three sections with questions regarding background, knowledge of nutritional differences and attitudes towards dairy-products and plant-based alternatives. The data was analysed through IBM SPSS Statistics 27. The significance level was set to p<0,05. Results 117 participants' answers were in the final analysis. Most of them were women and omnivorous. Significant differences in attitude towards health, ethical aspects and taste preferences could be seen between omnivores and vegetarians (p=0,011, p=0,023, p<0,001) as well as omnivores and vegans (p<0,001, p=0,042, p=0,008). In general, the different dietary preferences were prone to agree with statements that agreed with their diet. 50-87% answered incorrectly or “Don’t know” at the knowledgestatements, except Calcium naturaly occurs in dairy products where the majority answered correctly. No significant differences were found between the age groups regarding knowledge or attitude. Conclusion Attitudes towards dairy-products and plant-based dairy-alternatives significantly differ depending on diet. The biggest differences were seen between omnivores and vegans. Knowledge about the nutritional differences between dairy-products and plant-based dairy-alternatives was low among both omnivore and pescatarian and vegetarian and vegan.