Green food choices under mortality salience: a dual-path mechanism of self-esteem and cultural worldview.

Background: Climate crisis, pandemics, and food safety scandals have exacerbated public survival anxiety, driving a shift in consumer priorities toward safety and sustainability, propelling green food into the market mainstream. Methods: Grounded in Terror Management Theory, this study constructed a dual-path framework to examine the effect of mortality salience on consumers' green food purchase intention. Four between-subjects controlled experiments ( Results: The results demonstrate that mortality salience concurrently activates two distinct psychological pathways: an approach motivation, driven by a cultural worldview aligned with pro-social and environmental values, and an avoidance motivation, rooted in self-esteem and linked to economic considerations of personal and familial health protection. Furthermore, consumer perceptions of green food selectively moderate these pathways: perceived warmth facilitates the social-culturally oriented approach route, whereas perceived competence strengthens the economically-concerned avoidance route. Conclusion: These findings under-score the necessity of integrating both socio-cultural appeals and economic-functionality considerations into strategies aimed at promoting green consumption.