Issue Of Food Waste Research Articles

Transdisciplinary approaches to graduate student training for food–energy–water challenges

AbstractSystems‐level approaches are required for addressing the world's major challenges at the food–energy–water nexus. Taking on complex issues, such as rising food insecurity, malnutrition, and food waste, concomitant with unprecedented levels of stress on environmental systems, will necessitate that future scholars and decision makers be prepared through transdisciplinary student training. However, in higher education, students tend to be siloed within their discipline. In this study, we present a case for the development of transdisciplinary graduate student training based on an inter‐institutional and fully remote group of graduate students who assembled during the COVID‐19 pandemic to address the issue of food waste. We use our wide‐ranging disciplinary backgrounds, high‐performance transdisciplinary team training, and stakeholder feedback to develop and conduct a weeklong social media campaign to share educational resources for reducing household food waste. This work offers valuable lessons learned through the student's lens to those seeking to create or improve future transdisciplinary training methods for tackling food waste and other global grand challenges. Key insights from this process include the importance of accountability and open communication when conducting collaborative teamwork, the utility of various mobile and online tools for effectively facilitating remote group work, and the vital role of transdisciplinarity in devising creative solutions.

Strategi Komunikasi Garda Pangan dalam Menarik Minat Masyarakat Menjadi Relawan Pangan

Indonesia is ranked second in the world's food waste-producing countries. Garda Pangan is a pioneer NGO that raises the issue of food waste to the surface through volunteer movements. The development of communication technology is now making garda Pangan adapt in conveying information on their activities through Instagram. Through the diffusion of innovation how communicants can adopt new innovative ideas and how they make decisions about them. This makes many people interested in becoming mobilizers through volunteer activities. Based on the phenomenon, researchers are interested in knowing the Communication Strategy of the Food Guard in attracting people to become Food Volunteers. The research method uses a qualitative descriptive approach with observational data collection techniques and interviews. The results in this study show that the communication strategy carried out by the Garda Pangan by using content visualization in the form of images, designs, and videos and strengthened by captions to attract people's interest in becoming food volunteers is right on target.

Application of bio-preservation to enhance food safety: A review

Consumers and industry experts frequently have negative perceptions of most chemical preservatives. Although most people concede that they cannot resolve global food waste issues without preservatives, they prefer products without chemical preservatives. Numerous emerging technologies is now surpassing conventional methods for mitigating microbial food deterioration in response to consumer demand and fundamental health and safety considerations, including biological antimicrobial systems such as using food-grade microorganisms and their metabolites primarily originating from microorganisms, plants, and animals. Microbial compounds, including bacteriocins, bacteriophages, and anti-fungal agents, plant extracts such as flavonoids and essential oils; and animal-originated compounds, such as lysozyme, chitosan, and lactoferrin, are considered some of the major bio-preservatives. These natural compounds can be used alone or with other preservatives to improve food safety. Hence, the use of microbes or their metabolic byproducts to extend the shelf life of foods while maintaining safety standards is known as bio-preservation. To manufacture and consume foods in a safe condition, this review primarily aims to broaden knowledge amongst industry professionals and consumers regarding bio-preservation techniques, bio-preservatives, their classifications, and distinctive mechanisms to enhance food safety.

Analysis of housewives’ knowledge levels and behaviors toward food waste and sustainable nutrition

This article aims to reveal the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of housewives living in Turkiye about food waste and sustainable nutrition. This study was conducted with 90 housewives between the ages of 25-65 from Turkey using the survey method. According to the research results; 24% of the participants stated that they waste food, while 53% stated that they do it sometimes. A significant positive correlation was found between education level and red meat and meat products, milk and dairy products and egg waste (p<0.05). Sustainable nutrition knowledge scores of the participants were found to be insufficient, with an average of 22.54 ± 3.80. A positive correlation was found between the amount of protein and zinc intake and the level of sustainable nutrition knowledge (p=0,027, r=0,233 and p=0,033, r=0,225). A significant and positive relationship was found between the scores of the participants in the scale of sustainable nutrition and healthy eating behaviors and their age (p=0,040, r=0,220). It has been determined that the knowledge levels of housewives about sustainable nutrition are deficient and insufficient. The issues of food waste and sustainable nutrition gain importance in terms of raising awareness and taking precautions for today and future generations, both economically and socioculturally.

“Low-Hanging Fruits” against Food Waste and Their Status Quo in the Food Processing Industry

Food processing companies have a financial interest in saving resources. However, they have different perceptions of the relevance of the issue of food waste. Hence, companies deal with the topic of waste in different ways. Some companies do implement measures systematically, others do not. The aim of this study is to analyze which recommendations against food loss and waste are effective, easy to implement, and are already part of the status quo in the food processing industry. For this purpose, based on the results of a previous exploratory study, a standardized questionnaire was developed and sent to food processing companies. From the 82 participating companies, 19 of 53 recommendations were classified as basic recommendations and 22 of the 53 recommendations were classified as ‘low-hanging fruits’. The results showed that companies rated the recommendations that were best implemented as very effective and easy to implement. Moreover, the results showed that the food processing industry’s strength in preventing food waste relate to the internal processes. However, at the borders of the value chain, there are still deficits in terms of exchange and communication with other stakeholders.

Does Food Shopping Behaviour Determine Food Waste Vulnerability in Private Households? Quantitative Analysis on Case Studies from Germany

The discussion about food waste is conducted from many different scientific perspectives. Studies from the perspective of retail geography have hardly been part of this so far. Within the framework of own empirical studies 2020–2022 for case studies from Germany, postal and online surveys were conducted in urban and rural areas in order to correlate psychographic attitudes according to self-assessment about food and shopping with practical shopping and disposal behaviour. Four different clusters can be distinguished, demonstrating that food waste realities are associated with characteristic attitude sets of groups of people as either unconscious wasters or conscious savers. Waste baskets are visualised via relational networks, which help to capture the complexity and completeness of sources of food waste in private households. This approach makes it possible to expand the causes of food waste not only in private households themselves, but also from upstream purchasing practices and the retail geographical characteristics of individual business formats. This study shows that the differences between groups and their receptiveness to the issue of food waste do not diverge systematically, but that niche-like variations in attitudes or purchasing behaviour can make a big difference.

Exploring the Global Scientific Literature on Food Waste and Loss

The growing global population and modern dietary patterns are the main drivers of current unsustainable food systems, with one of the most serious consequences being the growing issue of food waste and loss (FWL). FWL is a global problem since one-third of the global food produced for human consumption is wasted or lost yearly. FWL occurs throughout the food supply chain. In this study, the scientific literature on FWL was explored. Social network analysis and bibliometrics were integrated to explore the issue of food waste in relation to environmental impact and food security. The generated network maps displayed the relationships among keywords, authors, and countries dealing with the issue of food waste, highlighting the exponential growth of the studies focusing on food waste since 2010. The results allowed for the understanding of the evolution of food waste scientific research, identifying the most important topics and research paths. In addition, the results also showed a clear research shift from an older approach to food waste, based on the downstream notion of waste, to a more modern approach, based on sustainability, food security, consumer behavior, and the circular economy, addressing the problem of food waste by preventing it with upstream actions and policies. Considering the remarkable ethical, environmental, social, and economic implications of FWL, the outcomes of this study display the need for developing interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies capable of providing a comprehensive understanding of the FWL issue.

Exploring food loss in the food industry: A survey-based approach for Lithuania

Food loss and waste is relevant for all stages of a food supply chain. Methodological and empirical solutions are needed to properly quantify these losses. The present paper embarks on the quantification of food loss in the Lithuanian food processing sector. This issue has not received substantial coverage in the literature yet, even though the transition economies face serious food losses due to malfunctioning markets and limited understanding of the issue of food loss and waste in general. In this paper, by exploiting the questionnaire survey, the food loss rates in the major sub-sectors of the Lithuanian food industry are assessed and the root causes behind food loss are identified. The results are then extrapolated to provide insights into the extent of food loss in the Lithuanian food industry as a whole. The results suggest that an estimated 10.9 thousand tonnes of food, or 4 kg per capita, may be lost at the processing level each year in the country. Issues related to processing operations as well as product non-compliance with commercial standards appear as the underlying causes for food loss.

Do stakeholders have the same concerns about anti-food waste law in China? Using big data from social media

As an important issue in global sustainable development, food waste and related waste management is an essential way to achieve China's “double carbon” goal and a critical factor in reaching global climate goals. To address the issue of food waste, the Chinese government issued the Anti-Food Waste Law (AFWL) in 2021. The implementation of the policy has had an impact on public life and sparked intense disputes on social media platforms. Based on Sina Weibo data, this study analyzed the connection between the main stakeholders and the AFWL from the multi-stage, multi-subject, and dynamic information perspective to clarify the current status of the AFWL implementation and then propose policy recommendations. The results show that public attention to AFWL is positively correlated with local economic development; the influence of integrated media accounts is more significant than that of specific food media accounts; stakeholders show a more consistent discourse tendency, but each has its focus according to the functions of each stakeholder. To promote anti-food waste efforts, the following policy recommendations are proposed: refine existing standards and develop localized policies, strengthen the guidance of opinion leaders and information monitoring in social media, set standards to regulate corporate food marketing models and promote digital marketing, and gradually cultivate consumers' awareness of food waste reduction. The study provides direction for optimizing AFWL in China, and the framework can be applied to other policy studies.

Examining the Relationship between Consumers’ Food-Related Actions, Wider Pro-Environmental Behaviours, and Food Waste Frequency: A Case Study of the More Conscious Consumer

The implications of food waste extend to the environment, society, and the economy. In the Global North, consumers’ food waste contributes significantly to the current global levels, with action and practice largely driving this contribution. The resulting policies largely centre around raising awareness amongst consumers. However, awareness is not always found to lead to action, resulting in what is termed the ‘value-action gap’. Thus, the focus of this study is on consumers who have demonstrated awareness and knowledge of food waste issues in their willingness to take part in a home food growing campaign. This sample allows us to examine how consumers can be moved beyond awareness and encouraged towards action. This study investigates the actions and practices of consumers that contribute to the likelihood of wasting food while also exploring the relationship between wider pro-environmental behaviour and food waste in the context of social practice theory. Quantitative analysis of survey data (n = 1106) shows that growing food and composting decrease the likelihood of wasting food, supporting a shift in mindset surrounding how food is viewed and reducing the disconnect between consumers and food that is prevalent in modern society. Overall engagement in wider pro-environmental behaviours was found to decrease an individual’s likelihood of wasting food. A layered policy approach with a practices perspective is suggested, with recommendations proposed for interventions and initiatives at individual, community, and broader societal levels.

Application of Data Science on Food Waste Problem: A Preliminary Work

Food waste refers to food that is fit for human consumption, but is discarded after it is kept past its expiration date or allowed to spoil due to factors like food spoilage, market surplus, and individual shopping and eating habits. It is a common problem worldwide, including in Malaysia. In reality, one-third of the total food generated is wasted or lost annually, and at least 820 million people worldwide do not have sufficient food. This study attempts to observe the current trends in the amount of food waste generated in Malaysia so that the public awareness can be increased. This paper also wishes to study about the undernourishment crisis for lowering the extreme hunger issues and to reduce the food losses especially rice, along the production and supply chain. This study indirectly aligns with sustainable development goals (SDG) related to zero hunger, and responsible consumption and production. Initially, the data science processes were implemented including data collection, data pre-processing, data cleaning, data exploration and selection, data wrangling, and exploratory data analysis (EDA). In Japan, the food waste issue was not given enough attention. It reflects the significant upswing in its early graph, which then began to decline. On the other hand, the food waste issue in Korea initially exhibited a sharp surge before a progressive drop. Regarding the undernourishment issue, almost all Southeast Asian nations nowadays are putting a lot of effort into eradicating or drastically lowering undernutrition among their citizens compared to the past. Rice is the common food type in Southeast Asia, which means it gets discarded frequently. The residents of Southeast Asia regard rice as a main food source.

Odnos Grka prema otpadu od hrane

The subject of the present paper is an empirical study of the attitude and behaviour of Greek consumers on the issue of food waste. In March 2022 an empirical investigation was organized as a continuation of previous research on this issue. In order to conduct the research in a short time, the convenience research method was chosen. A structured questionnaire with cross-references from previous research (Pitoska & Grana 2021) was used to collect data. Finally, it seems that the issue of food waste is known in Greece but there are big limitations for informing consumers so the country will approach the European goals for reducing food waste.

THE STATE OF KNOWLEDGE ON FOOD SAFETY AND FOOD WASTE AMONG YOUNG CONSUMERS

Background. Consumer behavior and food waste are crucial factors that contribute to global food in security. This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge of food safety and food waste young consumers in Poland have. The survey was conducted among young people aged 15 ÷ 29. The impact of education, place of residence and household residence on the knowledge of food safety and food waste was exam ined. The cross-sectional survey was carried out between September and December 2022, using the CAWI technique for data collection. The anonymity and confidentiality of data were ensured. Results and conclusion. The respondent group comprised 640 people. Significant differences were observed in the definition of food safety among groups with different levels of education. The vast ma jority of respondents were not familiar with or did not even hear of the WHO's "5 Keys to Safe Food" (68.1 %), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (86.3 %) or the concept of sustainable food (59.1 %). On the other hand, when it came to issues of food loss and waste, 86.5 % of respondents were familiar with these concepts. As many as 67.3 % of respondents admitted to throwing food away. The groups differed significantly both in terms of education and place of residence. Based on logistic regres sion, it was estimated that those living alone, those living in the city and those with secondary and higher education were more likely to pay attention to food waste. Based on the survey, it can be concluded that large-scale educational action is needed.

Collaborating to reduce food waste: building collaborative advantage in local food systems

Abstract Food loss and waste throughout the food supply chain is a growing issue with significant economic, social and environmental implications. Wasted food represents lost profits for the food industry, increased food insecurity in communities and the unnecessary production of greenhouse gas emissions, among many other detrimental consequences. Due to the large number of stakeholders involved in the food supply chain and the complexity of their relationships, there is increasing interest in addressing food waste issues through collaborative governance approaches, such as food policy councils (FPCs). Assessing how FPCs engage diverse stakeholders and organizations in food waste reduction efforts can provide important lessons for improving local food systems governance more broadly and contribute to the creation of more sustainable food systems. To do this, we leverage the theoretical concept of ‘collaborative advantage’ to analyze how FPCs foster collaboration, both internally and with external partners, to achieve policy and programmatic goals that individual stakeholders could not achieve alone. Drawing on plan documents and semi-structured interviews with members of five FPCs across the USA, we find that FPCs can foster collaborative advantage by establishing comprehensive food system plans, systematically measuring progress toward objectives, and transparently communicating the evidence of their progress to the communities they serve.

Food Waste to Bioethanol: Opportunities and Challenges

The increasing global population will require sustainable means to sustain life and growth. The continuous depletion and increasing wastage of the energy resources will pose a challenge for the survival of the increasing population in the coming years. The bioconversion of waste generated at different stages of the food value chain to ethanol can provide a sustainable solution to the depleting energy resources and a sustainable way to address the growing food waste issue globally. The high carbohydrate and nitrogen content in the food waste can make it an ideal alternative substrate for developing a decentralized bioprocess. Optimizing the process can address the bottleneck issues viz. substrate collection and transport, pretreatment, fermentative organism, and product separation, which is required to make the process economic. The current review focuses on the opportunities and challenges for using the food loss and waste at different stages of the food value chain, its pretreatment, the fermentation process to produce bioethanol, and potential ways to improve the process economics. The impact of substrate, fermentative organisms’ process development, downstream processing, and by-product stream to make the bioethanol production from the waste in the food value chain a commercial success are also discussed.

Sustainable choices: The relationship between adherence to the dietary guidelines and food waste behaviors in Italian families.

Food loss and waste are urgent problems to address. Recent estimates highlighted that the highest quantities of waste are generated at the household level and for this reason, the interest in this sector has increased over years. To investigate if there is a connection between consumers' behaviors aiming at reducing food waste and consumers' choices in adopting healthy eating habits, a survey among a sample (n = 2,869) representative of the Italian population was carried out with the use of validated questionnaires. Results demonstrated that the higher the adherence to the Italian dietary guidelines indicator (AIDGI) the higher the score measuring household food waste behaviors (HFWB). In particular, the highest AIDGI corresponds to a preponderance of respondents that was more able to plan the shopping and the use of food (38.9%, p < 0.001), to better evaluate the quantities to cook (40.4%, p < 0.001), to avoid impulsive buying (35.2%, p < 0.01), to have a high knowledge of the food stored (38.4%, p < 0.001), to reuse leftovers (35.4%, p < 0.001), to assess food safety (34.7%, p < 0.001), to plan accurately (34.9%, p < 0.01), to know how to prolong the shelf life of a product (34%, p < 0.05), and to cook creatively (32%, p < 0.01). In addition to that, half of the respondents with the lowest AIDGI score did not receive any education regarding food waste (51.1%, p < 0.001). HFWB indicators globally resulted in scores ranging from 40 to 80% revealing the attention of Italians to food waste issues. Regarding eating habits, in half of the sample (50.4%) a consumption pattern with low adherence to nutritional recommendations was found, in particular among men (34.4%), younger age groups (40%), and people living in large families (42.3%). The overall results provided interesting information that could give input for planning nutrition education actions and identifying targets and topics to be addressed.

Improving Food Security Through Quantification of Food Waste: A Small Study at University’s Cafeterias

Food loss and waste are mainly occur in developing and industrialised Asian countries due to spoilage in warm and humid climates. Service is one of the main food waste generator including restaurants and institutions. This study aimed to investigate and quantify the food waste generated from cafeterias in Universiti Sains Malaysia Health Campus (USMKK). Weighing of food waste were conducted daily and repeated for three cafeterias within five weeks using portable hanging weight scales. Questionnaire were distributed randomly to 369 respondents. This survey was conducted to investigate customers’ opinions on food waste issues within university cafeterias. The number of customers was determined using a checklist. The results indicated that USMKK cafeterias generated average of 71.78 kg avoidable food waste and 275.93 kg unavoidable food waste. 26% of the customers claimed that they were regularly leave a quarter plate or bowl of uneaten food. Significant positive correlations (p<0.001) were found between number of customers and amount of food waste generated at the cafeterias. Factors that influence the generation of food waste at the cafeterias were include poor food quality, lack of freshness of the food, habits of consuming little amount of food and hours of operation of the cafeterias. The amount of avoidable and unavoidable food waste generated between the three cafeterias were significantly difference (p=0.001). Awareness campaign could increase the level of knowledge about food waste among customers. This would help the top management to plan suitable programme in minimising the production of food waste as to support sustainable environment.

Generation Z diners’ moral judgements of restaurant food waste in the United States: a qualitative inquiry

This study explores Gen Z diners’ perceptions of restaurant food waste generation and prevention, as well as their related moral decision-making. Drawing on the norm activation model and moral disengagement theory, a dual-route process model was developed to depict Gen Zers’ the moral judgement for wasting food or not at restaurants. Six online focus groups with Gen Z diners in the United States were conducted and thematic analysis was applied. The findings of this study identified multiple underlying psychological mechanisms (e.g., moral obligation activation vs. moral disengagement) for explaining Gen Z diners’ food waste behaviors. Situational factors, cultural factors, and restaurant-related factors all play a key role in the moral judgment process. The findings also revealed what Gen Z diners expect restaurants to do in order to address the food waste problem. This study provides valuable theoretical and managerial implications for tackling the food waste issue. The practical contribution of this study supports the restaurant industry to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”.

Addressing food waste: An analysis of causes, impacts, and solutions in modern societies

Purpose: The primary aim of this paper is to explore the issue of food waste in contemporary societies, its causes, consequences, and potential solutions. Methodology: The authors conducted a survey among households in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland to diagnose the structure and causes of food waste. They also analyzed statistical data on food waste in European Union countries. Results: The study found that the most food waste occurs in Germany, France, and Italy, while the least occurs in Malta, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. The authors concluded that food waste harms three interconnected areas of sustainable development goals: environmental, economic, and social. Theoretical Contribution: This paper contributes to the ongoing discourse on food waste by providing a comprehensive analysis of its causes and impacts backed by empirical data. It adds value to sustainability studies by linking food waste to broader socio-economic and environmental issues. Practical Implications: The authors propose several measures to reduce food waste, such as planning purchases, processing food, sharing food with relatives or pets, using conventional and non-standard methods of food storage, and increasing the level of education and awareness about the issue. Individuals, communities, and policy-makers can implement these practical suggestions to address the problem of food waste.

ANALYSIS OF FOOD WASTE CAMPAIGN CONTENT ON THE HASHTAG #HABISKANMAKANANMU ON INSTAGRAM

The rise of food waste issues has prompted the implementation of several social campaigns, one of which is the #HabiskanMakananmu social campaign. This study aims to identify the characteristics and analyze the effectiveness of social campaign content on #HabiskanMakananmu on Instagram. This research is an exploratory design with a content analysis method. The data collection used a purposive sampling technique of 200 social campaign content on Instagram using the content analysis method. The data was processed by cross-tabulation and descriptive interpretation using Microsoft Excel, IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0, and Voyant web as a qualitative data processing application. The results of content effectiveness show that most of the content is interesting, uses standard language in delivering messages, contains two to three pieces of information, creates a sense of awareness and sympathy for readers, and has the potential to change reader behavior. Therefore, content readers can choose and read content wisely and apply habits that reduce food waste.