Quantities, Determinants, and Awareness of Households’ Food Waste in Italy: A Comparison between Diary and Questionnaires Quantities

Claudia Giordano, Fabrizio Alboni and Luca Falasconi
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Claudia Giordano: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Fanin 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Fabrizio Alboni: Department of Statistics, Università di Bologna, via delle Belle Arti, 40100 Bologna, Italy
Luca Falasconi: Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Fanin 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-15

Abstract: Food waste at the household level accounts for a significant share of total food waste in developed economies, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Studies have shown that this share varies between 0.3 kg to 4.5 kg per person per week, depending on the definitions and methodologies applied. In Italy, quantities, behaviors, and attitudes regarding food waste have been solely explored through the use of questionnaires, typically leading to discrepant values of food waste. In this study, we estimate and analyse the determinants of food waste over a 388 units’ panel spread over the national territory, through a diary and questionnaire study. Moreover, by comparing food waste value that was declared in questionnaires and reported in diaries, we confirm that the awareness of food waste quantities is heavily biased. The results confirm that the average food waste value is significantly higher when gathered through diaries, while questionnaires are able to catch less than one-third of food waste determinants.

Keywords: household food waste; quantification; Italy; analysis; methodology; awareness; cognitive biases (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

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