QUESTIONNAIRE

Consumer Awareness of True Food Costs and Demand for Incentive-Based Sustainable Purchasing in Cluj County

Draft v4 — 9 March 2026 · Kessara Sanmongkol, MSc Agribusiness, USAMV Cluj-Napoca

About This Survey We are conducting a short survey (approximately 15 minutes) to understand how consumers in Cluj County think about food prices, sustainability, and potential government incentives for sustainable food. The survey is part of a master's dissertation at USAMV Cluj-Napoca. Your participation is valuable and will help shape policy recommendations to support healthier food choices and Romania's small family farms. All responses are anonymous and will be used exclusively for academic research purposes.

Session 1 Current Behaviour & Awareness Baseline

Q1. How often do you personally shop for food?

Select one option.

Daily or almost daily 2–3 times per week Once a week A few times per month Rarely — someone else usually shops for my household

Q2. Where do you typically buy the following food products?

Select one option per row.

Food Category	Retailer(Lidl, Kaufland, Auchan, Mega Image, Profi)	Middleman	Direct from Producer(Farmer market, farm gate, brand store)	I don't buy this
CLASS I — Whole & Minimally Processed Foods
Fresh meat (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb)
Fresh fish & seafood
Milk
Eggs
Wheat flour
Cornmeal
Rice
Whole legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans, soy)
Vegetables
Fruit
CLASS II — Kitchen Ingredients (Made by simple processes: pressing, grinding, crushing, refining)
Condiments
Animal fats (lard, tallow)
Butter
CLASS III — Processed Foods (Class I or II foods further processed: salted, fermented, smoked, cooked)
Meat products (sausage)
Cheese
CLASS IV — Ultra-Processed Foods (Industrial formulations with additives, stabilisers, and emulsifiers)
Pre-packaged meat
Pre-packaged fish and seafood
Pre-packaged vegetables
Seed oils
Plant-based milk
Plant-based meat
Protein-based insect products

Q3. How often do you buy food directly from farmers or producers?

Select one option.

Every week or more 2–3 times per month A few times per year Rarely or never

Q4. Approximately how much does your household spend on food per month?

Select one option.

Q5. How important are the following criteria when making a food shopping decision?

Use the slider to indicate importance from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely important).

Q6. Apart from hunger, what motivates you most when buying a food product?

Drag items from the left box into the right box to rank them. The top item = most important (1), bottom = least important (4). You can rearrange within the right box.

📋 Options

⠿ I trust that it is safe for me and my family

⠿ It is part of my traditions and social life

⠿ It satisfies my taste and personal preferences

⠿ It aligns with what I believe is right

🏆 Your Ranking

Drag items here to rank them

Q7. Have you ever paid more for a food product specifically because you believed it was more natural, healthier, or better for the environment?

Select one option.

Yes, regularly Yes, occasionally No, but I would if I could afford it No, I don't think it's worth paying more

Q8. To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

Rate each from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 5 (Strongly agree).

Statement	1Strongly disagree	2Disagree	3Neither agree nor disagree	4Agree	5Strongly agree
I believe the food I buy is produced without significant harm to the environment
I think the price I pay for food fairly reflects full cost to society, including effects on your health, and environment (soil, water, and climate)
I am willing to change my food shopping habits if I had better information about how food is produced
I believe small family farms produce food more responsibly than large industrial operations

Session 2 The Hidden Costs of Food

Please read each of the following scenarios carefully. They describe real costs associated with food production that are NOT included in the price you pay at the shop.

Scenario A — Environmental Costs Researchers in Germany calculated that 1 kg of conventional beef from an intensive farm leaves behind about €9.60 worth of environmental damage including polluted air, dirty water, and degraded land. Beef from a smaller, pasture-based farm causes about half as much harm. But none of this shows up on the price tag. The damage is real. It is just paid by the rest of us, not by the producer.

(Michalke et al., 2023)

Q9. Before reading Scenario A, were you aware that food production generates significant environmental costs not reflected in its price?

Select one option.

Yes, I was aware I knew a little, but not the details No, this is new information to me

Scenario B — Health Costs Research shows that every €1 spent on food creates about €2 worth of damage to health and the environment (Kennedy et al., 2023). The biggest cause is conventional food, meaning cheap and heavily processed products that dominate supermarket shelves. These products are linked to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. When people get sick, the hospital bills are paid by taxpayers, not by the companies that made the profit.

Q10. Before reading Scenario B, were you aware that cheap food can generate health costs that society pays for?

Select one option.

Yes, I was aware I knew a little, but not the details No, this is new information to me

Scenario C — Social & Local Community Costs Romania has 2.86 million farms, and 9 out of 10 of them are small family farms under 5 hectares. When these farms cannot make enough money to survive, the whole village suffers. Incomes dry up, young people leave for the city, and farming traditions that have existed for generations begin to disappear. This is not just an economic problem. It is the gradual disappearance of a way of life.

(Aceleanu, 2016; Romanian agricultural statistics)

Q11. Before reading Scenario C, were you aware that food pricing can contribute to rural depopulation and the decline of small farms?

Select one option.

Yes, I was aware I knew a little, but not the details No, this is new information to me

Now that you have read all three scenarios, please answer the following:

Q12. Do you believe these hidden costs are real?

Statement	1Strongly disagree	2Disagree	3Neither agree nor disagree	4Agree	5Strongly agree
I believe these hidden environmental costs (water, climate, and soil) are real and significant
I believe these hidden health costs are real and significant
I believe these hidden social costs are real and significant

Session 3 What is the True Cost of Food?

In the previous section, you saw that food production creates hidden costs that society pays for. But how do we calculate how much these cost?

Researchers have developed a method called True Cost Accounting (TCA) to put a price on these hidden costs and add them to what you pay at the shop. These hidden costs can have positive and negative impacts. The result is the real price of food. A product that looks cheap may actually be very expensive. Food from a small family farm using fewer chemicals may cause far less damage, and cost society much less.

The price you see is not the full price. Someone always pays — just not at the checkout.

Q13. The following types of hidden cost are currently used by researchers to calculate the true cost of food. Please indicate how much you agree that each should be included.

Statement	1Strongly disagree	2Disagree	3Neither agree nor disagree	4Agree	5Strongly agree
Pollution from greenhouse gases released during food production
Air pollution, toxic chemicals, and substances that harm human bodies
Pollution of rivers, lakes, and oceans from farming run off
Damage to farmland, soil poisoning, and loss of usable land

Q14. Now that you have seen how True Cost Accounting works, how credible do you find this approach to revealing the hidden costs of food?

Select one option.

Q15. The following are hidden costs proposed by researchers but not yet included in standard True Cost Accounting calculations. How much do you agree that each should be included?

Statement	1Strongly disagree	2Disagree	3Neither agree nor disagree	4Agree	5Strongly agree
Use of fossil fuels and minerals during food production
Loss of biodiversity, damage to ecosystems, and carbon stored in healthy soil
Suffering of animals raised for food
Fair wages and safe working conditions for farm workers
The right of local communities to benefit from food produced in their area
Whether local people can still afford and access food after industrial farming moves in

Q16. Considering these gaps in the current approach, how credible do you still find True Cost Accounting as a way to reveal the hidden costs of food?

Select one option.

Q17. If the true cost of food were reflected in prices — meaning sustainable food became relatively cheaper and conventional food became relatively more expensive — which of the following would you be most likely to do?

Select one.

Buy more sustainably produced food Reduce my consumption of conventional products Seek out farmer markets and direct-from-producer channels more often Pay more attention to labels and certifications No change — I would continue buying the same products regardless Other:

Session 4 Incentive Scheme Testing

Q18. The government could intervene in food pricing in different ways. Please indicate how much you agree with each approach.

Statement	1Strongly disagree	2Disagree	3Neither agree nor disagree	4Agree	5Strongly agree
Foods that cause more environmental and social harm should cost more
Producers whose products cause more harm should pay higher taxes
Foods that cause less environmental and social harm should cost less
Consumers who buy lower-harm food should receive a financial benefit

Q19. Thinking about your own behaviour, which of the following would most encourage you to buy sustainable food?

Drag items from the left box into the right box to rank them. The top item = most effective (1), bottom = least effective (4). You can rearrange within the right box.

📋 Options

⠿ Information showing the "True Cost" of food (no price change)

⠿ A discount on sustainable food applied at the point of purchase

⠿ A tax deduction claimed at the end of the year for sustainable food purchases

⠿ A combination of higher prices on regular food and discounts on sustainable food

🏆 Your Ranking

Drag items here to rank them

Q20. What would you need to trust that a product genuinely qualifies as "verified sustainable" in order to receive the incentive?

Select up to 3 options.

Government certification (official label from a state authority) EU organic certification Independent third-party audit Community-based verification (local farmers and consumers jointly verify practices) Knowing the farmer personally or visiting the farm Traceability system (e.g., QR code showing production details) I would not trust any verification system Other:

Session D About You

These final questions help us understand who participated in this survey. All responses remain anonymous.

Q21. What is your age?

years

Q22. Gender

Select one option.

Female Male Other / Diverse Prefer not to say

Q23. Where do you currently live?

Select one option.

Cluj-Napoca (city) Cluj County (outside Cluj-Napoca) Other county in Romania I am not originally from Romania but currently live in Cluj

Q24. Highest level of education completed

Select one option.

Primary / Secondary school High school (liceu) Bachelor's degree (licență) Master's degree or higher

Q25. What industry do you currently work in?

Select one option.

Q26. Monthly household net income (RON)

Optional — select one option.

Q27. How many people live in your household (including yourself)?

Select one option.

1 2 3–4 5 or more

Thank you for completing this survey!

Your responses will contribute to research on designing fairer food pricing policies for Romania and supporting the country's small family farms.

Optional: If you would like to receive a summary of the research results or be contacted for a follow-up interview, please leave your email address below.

This information will be stored separately from your survey responses and will not be linked to your answers.