Abstract
Food waste from the food service and hospitality industry is increasing, especially in Mezze serving restaurants, where a variety of dishes are usually served. To date, information on the factors affecting food waste generation in restaurants is scarce. This study aimed to identify the drivers and determinants of food waste generation while dining out at restaurants serving Mezze-type cuisine. According to the results from a convenience sample of 496 restaurant clientele, gender, age, and marital status did not affect food waste generation. Diners in both low and high price range restaurants waste above the grand mean compared to middle-range ones. Waste generation decreased significantly as the number of diners per table increased. However, ordering water-pipe, alcohol, or more dishes contributed significantly to food waste generation. As food waste is not the outcome of a single behavior, our study puts food waste generation drivers and determinants while dining out in perspective.
Highlights
The projections of a world population increase to 9.6 billion individuals by 2050 has driven many commentators to note that food production needs to increase by a minimum of 70% to keep up with the pace [1,2,3]
We aimed to identify the drivers and determinants of food waste generation while dining out at MediterraneanLebanese restaurants
The respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, and marital status, did not affect the food waste generation. This was in line with other studies [31,32,33,34], which reported that socio-demographic characteristics are modest predictors of food waste generation
Summary
The projections of a world population increase to 9.6 billion individuals by 2050 has driven many commentators to note that food production needs to increase by a minimum of 70% to keep up with the pace [1,2,3]. Increasing food production requires extensive use of resources, such as land, water, and fuel, among others, all of which are associated with massive environmental and economic burdens on the very populations they aim to feed adequately. Food producers are often challenged with massive competition for these resources, limiting the quantity of food that can be produced. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) describes “food loss” as a decrease in edible food in quantity or quality, typically occurring during production and distribution along the food supply chain, mainly due to the production and food supply system’s performance or its institutional and legal frameworks.
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