Developing and validating the Food Ethics Awareness Scale (FEAS): Linking awareness to consumer dietary preferences

This study aimed to develop the Food Ethics Awareness Scale (FEAS) and examine its psychometric properties, providing initial evidence of its validity. Specifically, it sought to identify socio-demographic factors influencing food ethics awareness in Türkiye, assess the current level of awareness within the general population, and explore the relationship between food ethics awareness and consumer preferences. Existing instruments capture certain aspects of ethical food decision-making but do not comprehensively assess overall food ethics awareness; FEAS was designed to address this gap. The development process involved four main phases: (1) item generation, (2) expert review, (3) sampling and administration (N = 600), and (4) psychometric analyses. The scale provided preliminary evidence for an early-stage tool, including content, convergent and discriminant validity (Fornell–Larcker criterion), known-groups validity, acceptable internal consistency, satisfactory test-retest reliability, and acceptable fit under Item Response Theory. The final version comprises 17 items across five dimensions: Food Consumption (5 Items), Food Security (3 Items), Global Hunger (3 Items), Sustainable Food (3 Items), and Biotechnological Food (3 Items). Known-groups validity was supported, with significant differences observed across age, education, income, and dietary preference groups. Overall, participants exhibited slightly above-average food ethics awareness. Notably, consumers were generally hesitant to positively evaluate biotechnological foods (e.g., cloned animals, artificial meats, and genetically modified foods) as solutions to global hunger, independent of dietary preferences. These findings demonstrate the utility of FEAS and highlight key individual differences, offering a more comprehensive tool compared to existing measures.