Cultural Influences on Fruit and Vegetable Food-Wasting Behavior in the European Union

Corina Pelau, Roxana Sarbu and Daniela Serban
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Roxana Sarbu: Department for Business, Consumer Science and Quality Management, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010371 Bucharest, Romania
Daniela Serban: Department for Statistics and Econometrics, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 010371 Bucharest, Romania

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 22, 1-15

Abstract: In a context of increased world population and imbalanced access to resources, the concept of food waste has gained increased attention in the past years. The waste of food has a negative impact on the economy, the society and the environment. In order to reduce the quantities of wasted food, it is important to understand the factors and the situations in which food waste occurs. Several studies have shown that food waste happens mostly at the consumer level and that it is determined by a wide range of factors, such as socio-demographic characteristics and consumption patterns. The objective of this paper is to determine the impact of the national culture on the quantity of wasted fruit and vegetables. Based on secondary data, the panel regression analysis was applied for 28 European countries with the purpose of determining the influence of the cultural dimensions as described by Hofstede on the quantities of wasted fruit and vegetables. The results of the research show that the uncertainty avoidance of a culture complemented by the indulgence index influences the quantity of wasted fruit and vegetables, confirming that certain characteristics of the national culture are factors that affect the quantity of wasted food.

Keywords: food waste; sustainable consumption; food security; cultural dimensions; Hofstede’s model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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