Food waste interventions: Experimental evidence of the effectiveness of environmental messages

Abstract

Given the need to reduce food waste, information-based intervention campaigns that present messages to individuals are crucial and likely part of the solution. However, the subject matter of these messages has been under scholarly debate. Although empirical evidence is lacking, scholars and practitioners have recently focused on environmental messages even though, traditionally, others have advocated for taste- or financially-oriented messages. With two experiments, totaling 1,656 participants, we contribute to the resolution of this debate. We examined how environmental and taste-oriented messages affect behavioral intentions to reduce food waste and to plan meals (Experiment 1) and how environmental and financially-oriented messages affect interest in food waste reduction efforts (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, we found that a message linking meal planning to tackling climate change elicited more future meal planning intentions and more general intentions to reduce food waste than the control condition. We also found that an environmental message was more effective in increasing general intentions to reduce food waste and as effective in increasing future meal planning intentions, than a message that linked meal planning to tasty food. In Experiment 2, we found that an environmental message promoted more interest in food waste reduction efforts than no message and was as effective as a message that conveyed the financial burden of food waste. We discuss implications for future intervention campaigns and research.