Food Waste Behaviour: A Cross-country Study

Managing food waste is key to tackling climate change

PurposeAccording to a study by European Commission, 88m tons of food waste are generated per year, of which 46.5m tons are wasted by households. Households still remain the main source of food waste (53 percent). The purpose of this paper is to estimate households’ food waste and wastage-related losses of energy and nutrients among middle school students as well as assess educational intervention regarding food waste prevention.Design/methodology/approachThe study included 555 students from 11 schools in Poland. The study was conducted using the survey questionnaire and the three-day record of food waste. The interventional group filled a questionnaire before and after of education as well as after three months of intervention.FindingsStudents waste 23 g of food per day. The most wasted products are: potatoes, bread, fruits and vegetable as well as meet and ham. Energy losses from leftovers are less than 1–10 percent. Losses of nutritional value along with wastages were the highest for vitamin C, but also for dietary fiber, potassium and folate. Food waste education was nearly twice as strong in study group with films intervention, than those who received only a leaflet for parents.Research limitations/implicationsMiddle school students are responsible for households’ food waste and contribute to energy and nutrition losses. Educational intervention is more effective, while using multimedia methods and need to be continued.Practical implicationsThe paper is a scientific study and addressed to the scientific audience. However, due to the problem of households’ food waste, general public could be also interested.Social implicationsFood waste is an element of waste management. Studying the scale of food waste and waste related behavior can help to better understand causes of food waste. The search for ways to limit food waste, through education address to young people, can be an effective method of prevention of waste. The UN has established 17 new development goals for the years 2015–2030 (United Nations, 2015). One of them (Goal 12) is focused on ensuring sustainable consumption and production. It means halving food waste at the retail and consumer levels and food losses at the production and post-harvest stages by 2030.Originality/valueThere are few publications available about food waste including energy and nutrients waste. This study shows the scale of household waste, the quantity and type of wasted products and causes of disposal. Also, the way of handling with food waste at homes was examined. It is also important to draw attention to the responsibility of young people in wasting food, which was examined in the paper.

PurposeFood waste is one of the most challenging issues humanity is currently facing. Therefore, there has been a growing interest in the prevention of food waste because of world hunger, environmental impacts, resource scarcity and economic costs. The purpose of the study is to investigate the factors that influence food waste and the role of technology in tackling food waste in India and the Netherlands.Design/methodology/approachIn order to explore differences in food loss and waste further this study will examine a number of practices on both the production and the consumer side, in a developing country and a developed country with different culture/economic backgrounds: India and the Netherlands. The factors that influence food waste were examined with a preliminary qualitative study, which consists of semi-structured interviews, and quantitative research that comprises a survey. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in both India and the Netherlands, which consists of five interviews. The survey data was collected from 78 individuals from India and 115 individuals from the Netherlands.FindingsOne of the main findings of the research is food waste is divided into waste within agricultural production (i.e. food loss) and final household consumption (i.e. food waste). Different factors influence food loss in different stages in the supply chain. Some of these factors include wastage during processing, storage, transportation and at the market-place. New technologies can utilize food loss for new purposes, so food loss is reduced to the minimum. Food waste is mainly influenced by food passing expiry date, food that is left too long in the fridge and consumers buying too much food. In final household consumption, technologies such as digital platforms enable individuals or organizations to share and donate their food, thereby creating awareness on food waste prevention and the environmental and ethical benefits.Originality/valueThe authors examine to what extent and in which ways supporting consumers to minimize food waste can be achieved via three stages: (1) understanding and evaluating food loss and waste, (2) identifying the factors that influence food loss and waste, (3) understanding consumer behaviors to encourage food waste reduction and (4) identifying the technological impact that would reduce food waste. As such, this paper contributes to ongoing debates about food waste by looking at the role of context and culture and by exploring differences between developed and developing countries. Also, the authors advance the debate by exploring both the role of advanced technology such as blockchain and drones in both preventing loss and waste as well as non-technological mechanisms.

Food waste has been identified as one of the major factors that constitute numerous anthropogenic activities, especially in developing countries. There is a growing problem with food waste that affects every part of the waste management system, from collection to disposal; finding long-term solutions necessitates involving all participants in the food supply chain, from farmers and manufacturers to distributors and consumers. In addition to food waste management, maintaining food sustainability and security globally is crucial so that every individual, household, and nation can always get food. “End hunger, achieve food security and enhanced nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture” are among the main challenges of global sustainable development (SDG) goal 2. Therefore, sustainable food waste management technology is needed. Recent attention has been focused on global food loss and waste. One-third of food produced for human use is wasted every year. Source reduction (i.e., limiting food losses and waste) and contemporary treatment technologies appear to be the most promising strategy for converting food waste into safe, nutritious, value-added feed products and achieving sustainability. Food waste is also employed in industrial processes for the production of biofuels or biopolymers. Biofuels mitigate the detrimental effects of fossil fuels. Identifying crop-producing zones, bioenergy cultivars, and management practices will enhance the natural environment and sustainable biochemical process. Traditional food waste reduction strategies are ineffective in lowering GHG emissions and food waste treatment. The main contribution of this study is an inventory of the theoretical and practical methods of prevention and minimization of food waste and losses. It identifies the trade-offs for food safety, sustainability, and security. Moreover, it investigates the impact of COVID-19 on food waste behavior.

The purpose of this multi-campus research was to investigate the relationships of food type and personal factors with food choice, consumption, and waste behaviors of college students at all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities. The amount of food taken and wasted was indirectly measured in units relative to the plate size using before and after photos taken by the diners themselves. Animal protein and mixed dishes (e.g., stir fry, sandwich) took up more of diners’ plate space and these items were correlated to both greater hedonic appeal as well as a higher likelihood of the item being pre-plated. Greater confidence in liking an item before choosing it was correlated to a larger portion being taken. Finally, increased satisfaction with the meal and frequency of visiting the dining commons was correlated to less food waste. Understanding these potential food choice drivers can help dining facilities better target healthier meals to diners while reducing food waste.

Consumers' food cycle and household waste. When behaviors matter

Food waste is a global hindrance to sustainable food systems. In Indonesia, a lot of food suitable for consumption is wasted annually. In 2023, Banyumas Regency was dominated by the most significant portion of food waste, with a daily volume of 541.80 tons. Food waste comes from hotels, restaurants, and trade sectors, such as food court areas. Therefore, this study aims to analyze factors influencing consumers' food waste behavior at food courts in Banyumas Regency. The method used was quantitative, with 410 respondents, and this research employed structural equation modeling-partial least squares (SEM-PLS). The factors influencing food waste generation include food choice, food literacy, social influence and normative behavior, food ordering routine, intention to reduce food waste, and food waste behavior. The results show that food choice and food literacy have a significant relationship with intention to reduce food waste (IR), and IR has a significant relationship with food waste behavior (FWB). The result also shows that IR mediates the relationship between Food choice (FC) and FWB, and IR mediates the relationship between food literacy (FL) and FWB. Food choice and literacy play a significant role in shaping the intention to reduce food waste. This contributes to the literature on avoiding food waste behavior by emphasizing the importance of cognitive (food knowledge) and affective (food preferences) influences on changing more sustainable consumption behavior. The food court manager can develop visual campaigns in the area, train consumers, and provide flexible food portions that suit customer needs to minimize food waste.

Food and food-related waste is a high priority in terms of waste minimisation in New Zealand. Over the summer of 2012–2013, a survey of 147 participants was conducted on a range of views and practices related to environmental challenges and understandings. The survey, undertaken in Palmerston North, New Zealand, captured a wide socio-demographic. This article focuses on respondents’ food practices from purchase, to plate, to disposal and the environmental implications of these practices. The survey data have allowed an enriched understanding of both individual and structural level challenges as well as incentives towards improving environmental practices in relation to household food waste minimisation. The results indicated that, in keeping with other research in this area, food waste increases according to the number of individuals in a household, and in particular the number of younger people. Also, while the majority of participants were at least “somewhat concerned” about their households’ environmental impact, over three quarters of participant households put food waste into their rubbish bin. Some solutions and directions to further progress research, policy, and practice in this area are offered, and include the need for more direct and personalised communication regarding waste minimisation, along with the provision of kerbside food waste collections. It is clear that individual- or household-level changes are important and must be supported systemically by both local body and state level legislation and initiatives, if there is to be any substantial decline in food waste going to landfill.

The food waste hierarchy as a framework for the management of food surplus and food waste

Uncovering residents and restaurants' attitude and willingness toward effective food waste management: A case study of Macau.

Household food waste in an emerging country and the reasons why: Consumer´s own accounts and how it differs for target groups

Convenience or price orientation? Consumer characteristics influencing food waste behaviour in the context of an emerging country and the impact on future sustainability of the global food sector

Background: Breast cancer is the first cause of cancer-related deaths among women in Iran. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to compare the traditional statistical analysis and data mining technique as the research methods for identifying the prognostic factors regarding the survival time of patients with breast cancer. Decision tree method is one of the predictive models that used in the medical field. The most used algorithms are classification and regression trees (CART), the quick, unbiased, efficient statistical tree (QUEST), Chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAIDs) algorithm, and the C5.0 algorithm. Methods: We used data for 438 patients, who were referred to cancer research center in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The patients were visited and treated during 1992 to 2012 and followed up until October 2014. The data were analyzed by regression logistic and decision tree method. Six measures for evaluation of predictive performance of different models were used. Results: The C5.0 algorithm performed better than CHAID, QUEST, CART algorithms, and the logistic regression in predicting breast cancer survival. The multiple logistic regression results indicated that the factors of age at diagnosis, histologic grade, axillary lymph node status, and type of surgery were statistically significant with regard to the probability of death in patients with breast cancer. Moreover, based on C4.5 they reported that tumor size, age of menarche, hormonal therapy, axillary nodal status, and histological grade are the most prominent variables. Conclusions: The more precise methods can identify the more accurate predictors. The decision tree method was able to predict the probability of death more accurately compared with the conventional logistic regression. Some improvements for classical classification tree such as boosting and bagging have been developed in order to obtain better predictive performance. We suggest that the modern classification tree method in the breast cancer context be the focus of future studies.

Minimizing food waste is crucial due to its environmental, economic, and social implications. As higher education institutions play a very important role in moulding the future society, educating and incorporating the behaviour of food waste minimization practices among young adults at college may help to create a society that is sustainable and environmentally conscious. The objective of this review is to examine the food waste reduction strategies implemented in university and college environments. The effective strategies in reducing waste and changing the behavior of the students were also investigated.The study systematically searched articles on interventions for food waste reduction in Pubmed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Springerlink databases from 2013 to 2023. From the 623 articles screened, 16 articles were included in this study. The interventions to decrease food waste that have been extensively researched in academic settings include awareness and information campaigns, tray-less dining and portion size reduction. In addition, altering plate sizes, offering financial incentives, and encouraging food sharing among college students were also implemented as food waste reduction strategies and evaluated in literatures. As the studies are heterogeneous, quantitatively comparing the effectiveness of different strategies in reducing food waste was not done. The majority of research involved implementing interventions during dinning time; however, adjustments can also be made beforehand based on students' preferences and food choices, which may lead to a reduction in food waste. In the future, research on Nudge-type interventions that take sociocultural and lifestyle aspects into account can be conducted to determine the long-term effects on students' changing food waste behaviors.

The crisis ignited by COVID-19 has transformed the volume and composition of waste generation and requires a dynamic response from policy makers. This study selected Bangkok as a case study to semi-quantitatively examine the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on consumer-generated food and plastic waste by examining changes in lifestyles and consumption behaviour through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Travel bans and diminished economic activity due to COVID-19 have led to a dramatic reduction in waste from the business sector and in the total amount of municipal waste generated. However, the results of the survey showed that both food and plastic waste generated by households in Bangkok increased during COVID-19. The shift from eating out to online food delivery services led to an increase in plastic bags, hot-and-cold food bags, plastic food containers, and food waste. Reasons for the increase in household food waste during COVID-19 varied, with respondents citing excessive amounts of food and unappetising taste, followed by exceeding the expiration date and rotting/foul odours. These reasons may be the result of the inability to predict quantity and quality when ordering online, and inadequate food planning and management by consumers. To achieve more effective food and plastic waste management, home delivery services, consumer food planning and management, and the formation of a circular economy based on localised supply chains may be considered as important intervention points.