Mottainai!—A Practice Theoretical Analysis of Japanese Consumers’ Food Waste Reduction

Noora Sirola,Malla Mattila,Elina Närvänen,Ulla-Maija Sutinen,Nina Mesiranta

doi:10.3390/su11236645

Abstract

This study focuses on food waste and its reduction by describing and analyzing the food waste-related everyday life of Japanese consumers through a practice theoretical lens. The research enables paying attention to the role of culture in sustainable consumer behavior, which is a largely unexplored area in previous food waste research. The methodological approach is qualitative and the empirical data of the study were generated through mobile ethnography. It combines elements from diary methods, multi-sited ethnography, and digital ethnography, producing visual and textual data of the practices that the participants of the study considered meaningful. The analysis identifies materials, meanings, and competences of the practices related to food waste reduction. These practices were interlinked with five broader food-related practices: planning, grocery shopping, cooking, eating, and handling surplus food. The findings reveal specific elements related to Japanese culture such as mottainai—a concept used to express the regret of wasting something valuable. The study contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption by emphasizing the importance of identifying and understanding how culturally linked practices may support sustainable (or unsustainable) consumption.

Highlights

Food waste, defined as edible food lost from food production and consumption [1], is an increasing sustainability issue
The research questions are as follows: (1) What are the key elements of Japanese consumers’ food waste reduction practices? and (2) How do these practices appear as part of their food-related everyday life? Conducting a mobile ethnographic study, we identified materials, meanings, and competences [21] related to reducing food waste in the everyday lives of 13 Japanese study participants
The analysis identified five interlinked food-related practices: planning, grocery shopping, cooking, eating, and handling surplus food

Summary

Introduction

Defined as edible food lost from food production and consumption [1], is an increasing sustainability issue. Previous research has shown that households are the biggest contributors of food waste emergence in developed countries (e.g., [5,6]). Food waste studies at the household level have largely focused on reasons for food waste emergence. It has been demonstrated that the emergence of food waste is related to consumer attitudes (e.g., [7]), awareness (e.g., [8]), and everyday practices such as food acquisition, preparation, and provisioning [9,10,11]. It is important to study active food waste reduction in everyday life as part of sustainable consumption [12], in order to better capture the consumer practices that support food waste reduction

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Discussion

Conclusion