Spaghetti soup: The complex world of food waste behaviours

T.E. Quested, E. Marsh, D. Stunell and A.D. Parry

Resources, Conservation & Recycling, 2013, vol. 79, issue C, 43-51

Abstract: There is growing awareness of the positive impact of reducing the amount of wasted food on greenhouse gas emissions, energy use, food and water security, and land use. In developed nations, food waste generated in homes is a large contributor to the total amount of food waste. The behaviours and practices associated with this waste prevention (and waste generation) are complex for a number of reasons: food waste is the result of multiple, interacting activities and this leads to separation between the activity and their consequences. These behaviours are usually performed for reasons unrelated to waste prevention and have both a marked habitual element and a pronounced emotional component. Furthermore, the prevention of food waste has less ‘visibility’ to other people (e.g. neighbours) than many other pro-environmental behaviours (e.g. recycling), and therefore social norms around ‘waste’ play a reduced role compared to more ‘visible’ activities.

Keywords: Food waste prevention; Behaviour change; Greenhouse gas emissions; Consumption; Values (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (36)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:recore:v:79:y:2013:i:c:p:43-51

DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2013.04.011

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