Abstract
The era of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a variety of individual lifestyle and behavioural changes, and could, therefore, potentially involve a shift towards more sustainable food systems. This research was conducted through an online survey of cross-sectional design. We surveyed 8272 Canadians in August of 2020. Participants answered questions about socio-demographic food waste amounts in kilograms, and food-waste-management behaviours. In this exploratory study, we assessed the relationships between socio-demographic variables, and self-reported food-waste behaviours through two-tailed significance testing. Results indicated that Canadian households self-reported an insignificant decrease in food waste during the pandemic. Respondents reported allowing food to expire, not utilizing leftovers, and not finishing meals. Understanding food-waste behaviour changes is key to designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce household food waste and to minimize the environmental consequences with which food waste is associated.
Highlights
The era of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a variety of individual lifestyle and behavioural changes, and could, potentially involve a shift towards more sustainable food systems
Understanding food-waste behaviour changes is key to designing effective mitigation strategies to reduce household food waste and to minimize the environmental consequences with which food waste is associated
The COVID-19 crisis has been framed by some as an opportunity to reflect on the transformation that is needed to develop a food system that regenerates and sustains the environment [43]
Summary
The era of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a variety of individual lifestyle and behavioural changes, and could, potentially involve a shift towards more sustainable food systems. Some researchers believe that the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic will permanently change individuals’ behaviours [9,10,11], including impacts on the individual, behavioural, and socioeconomic factors that influence food waste decisions [12,13,14,15,16,17]. These changes are not entirely understood yet within the context of COVID-19, and should be considered for further research because of the environmental implications of food waste
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