Call for testing interventions to prevent consumer food waste

Abstract

Over the last decade, practitioners have implemented various interventions against consumer food waste. In contrast, academics have only just started to examine how to prevent consumer food waste. This review synthesizes practical and academic evidence on anti-consumer-food-waste interventions. The basis for this synthesis was a systematic framework of antecedent interventions (informational intervention, prompts, modeling (social norms), commitment) and consequence interventions (feedback, rewards, penalties) that we have drawn from general behavioral change and intervention research. This review shows that (1) informational interventions are the most commonly used intervention type even though evidence indicates that this intervention type is relatively ineffective, and (2) there is a lack of evidence of the effectiveness of anti-consumer-food-waste interventions. With reference to general behavioral change and intervention literature, we suggest that (1) intervention types other than informational interventions should be considered, and (2) anti-consumer-food-waste interventions should be evaluated in a systematic manner; that is, by using a framework with standardized definitions and measurement methods that addresses specific behaviors and change processes and that allows accurate identification of short-term and long-term effects. Overall, this review outlines current conceptual and methodological challenges and sets an agenda for implementing effective anti-consumer-food-waste interventions.