A Behavioral Approach to Food Waste Issue in Qatar

Introduction: Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) defines food security as stable access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Food waste is a global and complex problem that affects each of three pillars of sustainable development: environment, economic, and social (FAO, 2013). Food loss is defined as the decrease in quantity or quality of food, whereas food waste is the removal from the food supply chain of food which is fit for consumption, or which has spoiled or expired mainly due to economic behavior, poor stock management, or neglect (FAO, 2014). Food loss occurs upstream of the supply chain, particularly post-harvest losses have drawn attention. On the other hand, food waste is observed more frequently downstream the supply chain, specifically at the retail and consumption stages. The FAO estimates that around one-third of edible parts of the food produced for human consumption in the world get lost or wasted globally, which correspond to about 1.3 billion tons of food per year. Food waste is closely associated with food security as being able to reduce food waste will help feed more people and reduce the pressure on natural resources whilst alleviating the negative impact on environment due to greenhouse gas emissions from food chain operations and loss of biodiversity due to agricultural activities. Especially in developed countries consumers are considered to be one of the main sources of food waste and therefore in the past few years an increasing number of studies has examined food waste and consumer b...