Consumer-Related Food Waste: Causes and Potential for Action

Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, Ilona De Hooge, Pegah Amani, Tino Bech-Larsen and Marije Oostindjer
Additional contact information
Jessica Aschemann-Witzel: MAPP—Centre for Research on Customer Relations in the Food Sector, Aarhus University, Bartholinsalle 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Ilona De Hooge: Department of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 8130, 6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands
Pegah Amani: SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden—Food and Bioscience, P.O. Box 5401, SE-402 29 Göteborg, Sweden
Tino Bech-Larsen: MAPP—Centre for Research on Customer Relations in the Food Sector, Aarhus University, Bartholinsalle 10, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
Marije Oostindjer: Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, P.O. Box 5003, 1432 Ås, Norway

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 6, 1-21

Abstract: In the past decade, food waste has received increased attention on both academic and societal levels. As a cause of negative economic, environmental and social effects, food waste is considered to be one of the sustainability issues that needs to be addressed. In developed countries, consumers are one of the biggest sources of food waste. To successfully reduce consumer-related food waste, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the factors influencing food waste-related consumer perceptions and behaviors. The present paper presents the results of a literature review and expert interviews on factors causing consumer-related food waste in households and supply chains. Results show that consumers’ motivation to avoid food waste, their management skills of food provisioning and food handling and their trade-offs between priorities have an extensive influence on their food waste behaviors. We identify actions that governments, societal stakeholders and retailers can undertake to reduce consumer-related food waste, highlighting that synergistic actions between all parties are most promising. Further research should focus on exploring specific food waste contexts and interactions more in-depth. Experiments and interventions in particular can contribute to a shift from analysis to solutions.

Keywords: food waste; consumer behavior; household; retail; suboptimal food; leftovers; literature review; expert interview; date labelling; pricing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (109)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:7:y:2015:i:6:p:6457-6477:d:50144

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