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1 – 10 of over 22000Ulrike Gretzel, Jamie Murphy, Juho Pesonen and Casey Blanton
This paper aims to provide a perspective on food waste by tourists and tourist households, now and in the future.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide a perspective on food waste by tourists and tourist households, now and in the future.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a perspective article that summarizes contemporary thinking about food waste and conceptualizes food waste specifically for tourist household settings.
Findings
In tourism, food is more than nourishment and extends to visitor experiences and attractions. Yet food waste arising from tourism activity is a major environmental and societal issue. Festive moods and holiday spirits – synonymous with over-sized portions, bountiful buffets and entertainment excess – exacerbate food waste. Cultural norms that portray food waste as a sign of good hospitality further aggravate the problem. This paper argues that efforts to reduce food waste in tourism require new conceptualizations of tourist households, and where food waste occurs in relation to tourism, and of who should be responsible for preventing and managing food waste.
Research limitations/implications
The tourism industry faces ever-growing economical, societal and legislative reasons to address food waste, which are dynamic and difficult to predict.
Practical implications
Savvy meal providers will migrate towards reducing their food waste or turning it into assets. However, a focus on preventing food waste only in traditional food service and accommodation establishments ignores the reality of growing tourist households and will stifle sustainability efforts unless theoretically unpacked and practically addressed.
Social implications
A third of food produced globally is lost or wasted. Stark facts, proclamations and regulations underscore food waste as a burgeoning global problem with major environmental, social and economic costs.
Originality/value
Food waste, in general, and by tourists, is a burgeoning environmental, social and economic challenge. This is one of the first articles to focus on this topic and introduces the concept of tourist households.
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David R. Just and Jeffrey M. Swigert
Little work has directly addressed the potential to control food waste. This chapter focuses on behavioral nudges and their potential to reduce food waste and, in turn…
Abstract
Purpose
Little work has directly addressed the potential to control food waste. This chapter focuses on behavioral nudges and their potential to reduce food waste and, in turn, implications for food security.
Methodology/approach
Key methodological and definitional challenges that must be met to make effective use of interventions to reduce food waste are examined. Chief among these challenges are determining welfare measures that are robust to the behavioral anomalies and apparently inconsistent preferences observed under behavioral interventions.
Findings
Targeted reductions in food waste can be significantly impacted by simple behavioral interventions either in institutional settings or within the home. Some evidence suggests that food waste is rampant not only in developed countries, but also among developing countries.
Practical implications
Our findings highlight the need to create a research program addressing the behavioral causes of food waste both in developed and developing country contexts.
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The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainability attributes of frozen and fresh food consumption in a typical household. The reason for writing this paper is that food…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define the sustainability attributes of frozen and fresh food consumption in a typical household. The reason for writing this paper is that food preservation is often overlooked when developing sustainability strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses established carbon footprint data for specific food types and consumer survey data to determine how consumers use fresh and frozen products in the home. Consumption and waste data for 83 households was obtained using a combination of narrative and graphical association questions.
Findings
The results show greenhouse gas emissions associated with a diets containing frozen food are reduced because 47 per cent less frozen foods is wasted as compared to fresh foods with a typical household wasting 10.4 per cent of fresh food and 5.9 per cent frozen food.
Research limitations/implications
This research has highlighted the importance of understanding the waste impacts of catering and food service consumption outside the home.
Practical implications
This research will guide future product development for frozen foods with regard to dietary planning and portion control.
Social implications
The cost and sustainability benefits of meal planning are identified and these will inform policy making and education to improve dietary choices.
Originality/value
This work extends the scope of current consumer surveys that assess quality, value and taste attributes to sustainability criteria and it will enable collaboration between fresh and frozen product categories to deliver sustainable dietary options.
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Freezing extends the shelf life of food. Home freezing of fresh foods and the purchase of frozen foods have been advocated as approaches to reduce food waste in US households…
Abstract
Purpose
Freezing extends the shelf life of food. Home freezing of fresh foods and the purchase of frozen foods have been advocated as approaches to reduce food waste in US households. This paper discusses how commonly US households apply these practices, quantifies frozen food waste and relates these practices to food waste.
Design/methodology/approach
We add questions to the summer 2022 wave of the US Household Food Waste Tracking Survey. The novel survey data provide important baseline information and household behaviours, such as food waste, home freezing of fresh food and the purchase of frozen foods. We analyse the association among these behaviours from more than 1,000Â US households.
Findings
We find that US household wastes about 26Â g per person per week of food that was once frozen, which is about 6% of all household food waste. The finding indicates that a small portion of food waste in US households comes from frozen food. Vegetables and meats are the most commonly discarded frozen foods. Among the frozen items reported as discarded, about 30% were purchased as frozen rather than purchased fresh and then frozen at home by the consumer and about 30% more were reported as discarded from the refrigerator rather than directly from the freezer. The findings are important for informing strategies to reduce household food waste.
Research limitations/implications
While the data provide important baseline information and correlate the use of freezing with lower waste levels, more work is needed to understand if interventions encouraging frozen food purchase or home freezing would reduce household food waste.
Originality/value
We provide unique, detailed information about the quantity of frozen food waste in US households and the relationships between consumer food waste and the practices of frozen food purchasing and home freezing.
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Kamiar Mahmoudifar, Ahmad Raeesi, Behzad Kiani and Mitra Rezaie
The purpose of the study is to comprehensively and extensively investigate food waste in hospitals and the environmental and economic effects it imposes on society. By knowing the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to comprehensively and extensively investigate food waste in hospitals and the environmental and economic effects it imposes on society. By knowing the reasons and factors affecting the creation of such wastes, it is possible to help reduce these effects.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was conducted by systematic search in PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct and Web of Science databases.
Findings
The results suggest that high-income countries such as Denmark, Sri Lanka, Portugal and Spain have more significant amounts of food waste than low-income countries like Turkey. The main reasons for food waste include inadequate food quality, low patient appetite and issues with the dining environment. Therefore, it is crucial to address these root causes to minimize food waste and alleviate the burden on the environment.
Research limitations/implications
The study relies primarily on secondary data analysis and does not include original food waste audits or interviews with hospital staff. While the literature review provides useful background, conducting first-hand audits and interviews could strengthen the study by providing more current, contextualized and granular insights into food waste in hospitals. The lack of primary data collection limits the ability to make hospital-specific recommendations or quantify the opportunity for improvement. Additionally, the focus is on general frameworks rather than interventions tailored to the needs and constraints of hospitals in low- and middle-income regions. More region-specific research would be needed to understand nuanced challenges and develop customized solutions suitable for implementation in those settings.
Originality/value
Effective measures can be taken to make policies and determine appropriate solutions to reduce these wastes. By recognizing the problems in structures, one can take steps to reduce global warming and waste of national funds.
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Cansev Ozdemir, Gizem Sultan Kaman and Hakan Yilmaz
The purpose of the study is to evaluate mobile apps developed to prevent food waste from the perspective of responsible production and consumption.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to evaluate mobile apps developed to prevent food waste from the perspective of responsible production and consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employs qualitative methods, and the dataset consists of the 1,382 content and online reviews and comments for 11 mobile apps in addition to 30 in-depth interviews conducted with consumers and restaurant managers/owners using the apps.
Findings
Mobile apps are proving to be popular with people, inviting users to fight food waste in a sustainable and responsible way. While users' main motivations for becoming food waste fighters are responsibility, positive emotions and economic sensitivity, restaurants' motivations are different, such as social responsibility, innovative business models, attracting new customers and cost orientation.
Practical implications
Creating digital value and contributing significantly to sustainability in the food industry, mobile apps offer different opportunities to the market. By supporting and encouraging the use of these apps, businesses can reduce food waste, prevent financial losses and offer consumers more choice and variety.
Originality/value
The present study aims to address this lack of empirical research based on a holistic perspective by providing a multidimensional assessment. Such an approach should contribute to a thorough understanding of the motivations that drive users and restaurants to become food waste fighters.
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Regine Marguerite Abos, Simone Taffe, Jane Connory, Gamithri Gayana Karunasena and David Pearson
This paper aims to demonstrate how the design of data visualisations can act as a tool to support social marketing messages in prompting behaviour change to reduce food waste…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to demonstrate how the design of data visualisations can act as a tool to support social marketing messages in prompting behaviour change to reduce food waste using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) as a theoretical framework. It also responds to a lack of consumer-led insight to develop campaigns in reducing food waste.
Design/methodology/approach
The research uses data collected by the End Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre (EFW CRC) in Australia to determine which text-based campaign messages are most likely to prompt people toward reducing food waste. Behaviour change messages were first identified through workshops with 11 food waste experts, then explored through online focus group discussions with 18 participants from three food-wasting market segments. The messages were further tested via a quantitative survey among 1,000 decision makers in Australian households in their own homes, with the top three performing messages examined using summative content analysis.
Findings
The significant findings were that participants want to see 1) evidence of how adopting new behaviours would lead to financial savings and benefit the environment, and 2) concrete steps to reduce food waste. When examined through the ELM, the findings suggest that tools that encourage both cognitive and peripheral processing as a means of persuasion, like data visualisations, may be useful for changing food-wasting behaviours.
Research limitations/implications
Applying principles from the field of communication design to the ELM has uncovered the potential for a cross-disciplinary approach to enhance theoretical frameworks for understanding consumer engagement with messages. This process in turn, may lead to the development of more effective behaviour change marketing strategies.
Practical implications
Six principles for using data visualisations in a social marketing campaign are proposed: personal relevance, ease of use, emotional storytelling, context, prioritising the message itself and long-term usage.
Originality/value
This study proposes that data visualisations could enhance the effectiveness of social marketing campaigns by leveraging consumer-derived insights and the persuasive capacity inherent in their theoretical underpinnings.
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Siong-Hoh Ting, Choi-Meng Leong, Tze-Yin Lim, Thiam Yong Kuek and Bibiana Chiu Yiong Lim
Food waste among young consumers is a significant concern that threatens food sustainability due to consumption behaviour. This study has integrated the Theory of Interpersonal…
Abstract
Purpose
Food waste among young consumers is a significant concern that threatens food sustainability due to consumption behaviour. This study has integrated the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour to extend the Theory of Planned Behaviour to measure young consumer’s intention to reduce food waste in a developing country context. Bringing in emotion, habits, and facilitating conditions to predict the consumers' attitudes, this study assesses the intention to reduce food waste for corporate sustainability from the perspective of consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quantitative approach and purposive sampling, 205 samples were collected from the young generation aged 18 to 30, who frequently have meals at home. The PLS-SEM technique was employed to examine the hypothesised model.
Findings
The findings supported all the hypotheses mentioned where attitudes, subjective norms (SN) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) affect the intention to reduce food waste among young consumers. Furthermore, the other variables, namely, habits, emotions and facilitating conditions, also significantly impact the attitudes of the young generation.
Originality/value
Understanding young consumers' food waste behaviour is vital from the social, economic, and environmental perspectives. This study showcases a comprehensive food waste behaviour model among young consumers by integrating the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour and the Theory of Planned Behaviour to examine the intention to minimise food waste. Practically, this study offers insights to business practitioners and communities in managing food waste from the young consumer perspective. Socially, this study supports the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 12 by contributing to global food waste reduction efforts.
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Caterina Trevisan, Marco Formentini and Madeleine Pullman
Food waste is generated along the entire agricultural supply chain. From farm overproduction to lack of cold chain infrastructure, waste occurs for multiple reasons and negatively…
Abstract
Purpose
Food waste is generated along the entire agricultural supply chain. From farm overproduction to lack of cold chain infrastructure, waste occurs for multiple reasons and negatively impacts the environment and society while generating economic losses. Although various supply chain actors and institutions have made attempts to reduce it, the activity is often confined to a single farm or to a retailer and charity dyad, without a systematic resolution of the problem. The environment is not only negatively impacted by the reduction of soil, water and biodiversity but also human beings suffer from malnutrition and food insecurity and finally, the entire supply chain faces considerable economic losses. Various supply chain actors have attempted to reduce this waste, but the results are often limited. The purpose of this paper is to consider systematic resolution by proposing a reconceptualisation from an alternative Operations and Supply Chain Management (O&SCM) perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed paper is problem-based research, which merges the research and industry perspectives derived from the authors’ field experience interviewing different supply chain stakeholders in Italy, the UK, the USA and France with an analysis of O&SCM literature related to food loss and waste.
Findings
In order to address the food waste problem, we propose a new perspective in dealing with food loss and waste through the lens of O&SCM. By reconceptualising O&SCM theories and methods with the unique aspects of food loss and waste and taking into account the multitude of stakeholders involved, we propose five research avenues.
Originality/value
The perspective of O&SCM management is missing when dealing systematically with food loss and waste, as researchers neglect its unique characteristics.
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Gianluca Biggi, Ludovica Principato and Fulvio Castellacci
This paper investigates strategies for addressing the global challenge of food loss and waste (FLW) within the food industry. It examines the relationship between corporate social…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper investigates strategies for addressing the global challenge of food loss and waste (FLW) within the food industry. It examines the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and state regulatory interventions for reducing FLW.
Design/methodology/approach
This mixed method study utilizes a unique panel dataset which includes the 150 largest food industry companies in Italy, Norway and the UK. It combines quantitative data analysis with qualitative insights derived from corporate strategies and corporate communications.
Findings
The analysis reveals that food companies with an established CSR strategy and in particular companies whose CSR reports highlight their environmental and social achievements are more likely to achieve in effective FLW reduction. Additionally, national-level regulatory interventions guided by European Union waste strategies act as pivotal benchmarks and encourage stricter corporate food waste management policies.
Practical implications
This research underscores the significance of CSR strategies and effective state regulation in the fight against FLW and offers policymakers and businesses valuable insights enabling development of robust strategies.
Social implications
By emphasizing the interplay between CSR and regulatory intervention, this research contributes to the achievement of a more sustainable and efficient global food system that addresses both economic and ethical concerns and could have far-reaching societal and environmental implications.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on the interplay between CSR initiatives and regulatory interventions for tackling FLW and emphasizes their synergistic impact on sustainable practices within the food industry.
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