FOOD WASTE BEHAVIOR OF ORGANIC FOOD CONSUMERS IN TURKEY

Abstract

The amount of food lost or wasted is increasing in the world. While the problem of food waste is alarming, the existence of people suffering from hunger reveals the problem of the efficient allocation of food. Not only food waste is an economic problem, it is also an environmental problem. Thus, reducing food waste behaviour will be crucial in promoting sustainability and fighting against climate change. A widespread sustainable agricultural food production method is organic agriculture. The organic food demand is globally increasing with one of the main motivation, environmental concern. Organic consumers motivated to contribute to the environment and sustainability are also part of sustainable consumption. In this study, we reveal the food waste behaviour of organic food consumers. We have conducted an econometric analysis using data from 250 organic food consumers in five main districts of Istanbul. Our findings indicate that the frequency of organic food consumption negatively correlates with food waste. We see a general trend of low food waste among organic consumers, whereas their food waste behaviour varies regarding their organic food consumption frequency and product types.