Understanding the Effect of Dining and Motivational Factors on Out-Of-Home Consumer Food Waste

Francesca Goodman-Smith,Miranda Mirosa,Romain Mirosa

doi:10.3390/su12166507

Abstract

Approximately 12% of total food waste is generated at the hospitality and food service level. Previous research has focused on kitchen and storeroom operations; however, 34% of food waste in the sector is uneaten food on consumers’ plates, known as “plate waste”. The effect of situational dining factors and motivational factors on plate waste was analysed in a survey of 1001 New Zealand consumers. A statistically significantly greater proportion (p < 0.05) of participants reported plate waste if the meal was more expensive, longer in duration or at dinnertime. Irrespective of age or gender, saving money was the most important motivating factor, followed by saving hungry people, saving the planet and, lastly, preventing guilt. Successful food waste reduction campaigns will frame reduction as a cost-saving measure. As awareness of the environmental and social costs of food waste builds, multifactorial campaigns appealing to economic, environmental and social motivators will be most effective.

Highlights

Food waste is an issue of great concern, with around one-third of food produced not eaten [1]
In 2019, governments representing 12 percent of the global population were measuring food loss and waste [3], and the percentage of countries measuring this will increase significantly following new obligations introduced in European Union (EU) waste legislation in May 2018 that require EU member states to monitor food waste levels at each stage of the food supply chain as of 2020 [6]
Perhaps women were thinking more about reducing their food waste, and this contributed to them identifying that more of the motivational factors could have a positive effect on their behaviour

Summary

Introduction

Food waste is an issue of great concern, with around one-third of food produced not eaten [1]. The issue is gaining traction, with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3 (SDG 12.3) to halve food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030 ratified by 193 countries [2]. Reducing food waste is a practical way to mitigate economic, environmental and social issues concerning the global food supply [5]. In 2019, governments representing 12 percent of the global population were measuring food loss and waste [3], and the percentage of countries measuring this will increase significantly following new obligations introduced in European Union (EU) waste legislation in May 2018 that require EU member states to monitor food waste levels at each stage of the food supply chain as of 2020 [6]. Due to an increasing proportion of food being consumed out of the home, there is a need to better understand food waste in this setting [10]

Methods

Results

Conclusion