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The behaviour of food consumers is full of paradoxes. People are aware of what constitutes a healthy diet but choose an unhealthy one. They expect food to be ‘safe’ but usually worry about the wrong things. Throughout Europe, food consumers display consistency in how they judge quality in a food product, yet diets vary greatly both within and between nations. Consumption can often be very sensitive to price changes, but sometimes quantities purchased hardly change at all when prices fluctuate. Drawing on a series of research projects undertaken by agricultural marketing staff at Newcastle University, this lecture will attempt to make sense of this perplexing creature – THE FOOD CONSUMER.

Christopher Ritson was appointed Professor of Agricultural Marketing in 1979 and was Head of the Department of Agricultural Economic and Food Marketing from 1987–92. From 1992–2002 he was Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Biological Sciences, and is now an Associate Director of the Centre for Rural Economy. Professor Ritson’s record in food research led to substantial involvement in public policy at a national level. He has been a member of the Department of Health, Ministry of Agriculture Food Advisory Committee and the Food Standards Agency advisory committees on Research and Novel Foods. He was Deputy Chairman of the Home Grown Cereals Authority from 2000–08, and is currently a Trustee Director of the Food Ethics Council.