The aftermath of COVID-19 impacts: examining the impact of COVID-19 on residents' current food waste behavior

Bright Obuobi (), Hong Wang (), Faustina Awuah, Emmanuel Nketiah, Gibbson Adu-Gyamfi and Mavis Adjei
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Bright Obuobi: Nanjing Forestry University
Hong Wang: Beijing Institute of Technology
Faustina Awuah: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Emmanuel Nketiah: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Gibbson Adu-Gyamfi: Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Mavis Adjei: Nanjing University of Science and Technology

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2024, vol. 26, issue 10, No 39, 25503-25526

Abstract: Abstract The food waste (FW) campaign has always been a great concern for nations before COVID-19. The menace has been a world problem and studies into the area to curb it is imperative. Many studies relating to COVID-19 and FW were conducted in the real-time pandemic era. A few years after the pandemic, it is relevant to do the aftermath of COVID-19's influence on current food waste behavior. As the world recovers from the impacts of COVID-19, the study assesses how the crisis has impacted current food waste behavior. To achieve this, the theory of planned behavior is extended with perceived future uncertainties and changes in eating habits to examine food waste behavior. A total of 407 responses were sampled from the Jiangsu Province in China and evaluated using the partial least square structural equation model. Results from the study indicate that attitude and perceived behavioral control influence residents’ intention to reduce food waste. Change in eating habits is triggered by perceived future uncertainties which eventually affected their FW reduction intention and behavior positively. Also, perceived future uncertainties positively influenced food waste reduction intention. Residents' intentions to reduce food waste positively translated to the behavior to do so. The study’s results present useful understandings of the relevance of changing habits and reducing FW in the face of future uncertainties. It provides a unique viewpoint on FW in residents’ behavioral context during pandemics and possible future economic recessions.

Keywords: Food waste; Sustainability; Eating habits; Structural equation modeling; COVID-19 pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-03693-0

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