• Energy Research

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.

Abstract The extent of food waste raises concern about its effect on natural resource use, food security and future sustainability of the international food sector. It is expected that emerging countries with a growing middle class will exhibit a similar extent and pattern of consumer-related food waste, which is disturbing given that food waste coexists with food insecurity. However, the topic is yet under-researched, as are potential actions against food waste. Through an experimental survey, individual consumer characteristics explaining self-reported food waste at home and choice of price-reduced suboptimal food otherwise wasted in stores were explored among a sample of 1124 Uruguayan consumers. Results showed that food waste was higher among price and convenience-oriented, but lower for value conscious consumers. Choice of suboptimal food was more likely for price-oriented consumers and less likely for convenience-oriented ones. Gender and age explained wastage and choice of suboptimal food. Perceived norms did not play any role, but perceived quality of suboptimal food had a major effect. For packaged foods, value consciousness decreased suboptimal food choice likelihood, while convenience orientation decreased the latter for fresh foods. Consumer price orientation impacted food waste when related to eating food waste incidents more than to storage food waste incidents. The findings show that convenience orientation is a driver of food waste behaviours both when shopping and at home. However, findings imply that tackling food waste requires context-specific consumer-targeted strategies: food market stakeholders should appeal to value consciousness in the household, and perceived quality and price orientation in the store.

Significant reductions in household food waste have been regarded as a key step towards achieving global sustainable development. Household food waste is a complex phenomenon determined by consumer behavior along the steps of the "food journey" that goes from purchasing to final disposal. Although avoiding food waste is socially desirable and raises positive attitudes, consumers do not frequently engage in avoidance behaviors. The objectives of the present work were: i) to explore the views of Uruguayan citizens on household food waste, and ii) to identify drivers of food waste among Uruguayan households. A total of 20 in-depth interviews based on a semi-structured guide were conducted by telephone. Participants were asked to recall and describe the last time they discarded food, as well as to describe the most common food waste situations in their household, the most commonly used strategies to avoid food waste and how they could reduce it. The transcripts were analyzed using content analysis based on a deductive-inductive approach. Interviews revealed that most of the participants perceived food waste in their homes as null or low, whereas food waste in the country was regarded as high. When participants described food waste incidents, they perceived it as 'unavoidable', suggesting that they tended to find a rational explanation outside of their will to justify their behavior. Participants' discourses enabled the identification of drivers related to behavioral factors, personal factors, product factors, and contextual factors. Results stress that most promising entry points for communication campaigns and intervention programs to reduce household food waste should focus on behavioral factors, planning throughout all the household stages of the food journey and the provision of knowledge and skills on food storage, handling, and preparation.

The agricultural sector is responsible for a large share of natural resource use and climate impact. A sustainable food system transition requires amongst others that a majority of consumers begins to eat more plant based. However, so far, only a niche or minority of consumers eats primarily plant based. With a conceptual background in positive tipping points in sustainability transitions and social network theory, this paper uses a segmentation analysis of representative consumer survey data in Denmark to characterize segments that differ in psychographic drivers or barriers of meat reduction. From the eight segments found, three are already part of the niche, three emerge as opposed to plant-based, but two are potential next consumers. We discuss how to trigger behaviour change towards eating more plant-rich in ways that match the segments potential motivations and barriers and contribute to literature and work on sustainable food systems transitions.

Abstract Consumers in the ‘clean label’ trend are increasingly interested in knowing the ingredients of their food. There is also an emerging demand for more and diverse protein products as well as a trend towards plant-based foods. Food manufacturers consider reformulation of the ingredient lists of their products or innovation of new food products answering to these trends. However, they need to know how consumers perceive new alternative ingredients, such as alternative proteins, and how the exchange of ingredients affects overall product and subjective quality perception. An experimental quantitative and qualitative survey study among 495 consumers in Denmark explored how consumer ingredient perception carries over to product perception as well as how differences in one protein ingredient affects attitude and subjective quality perception for plant-based products containing protein. Results confirm the favourable view on protein as an ingredient. Among consumers who have experience with or an interest in plant-based food, specifying the protein origin leads to more favourable perception of the product. Potato protein emerges as particularly favourable in a number of subjective quality dimension, is freely associated with starch and well understood as providing texture. Findings suggest food manufacturers can improve product perception among the target market when highlighting the precise protein type in the ingredient list. Potato protein can be a worthwhile alternative protein to use as it leads to favourable consumer perception.

Food waste has received increasing attention in recent years. As part of their corporate social responsibility strategies, food supply chain actors have started to act towards avoiding and reducing food waste. Based on a literature review, an expert interview study, and example cases, we discuss food marketing and the role and responsibility of retail. Food marketing and retailing contribute to consumer-related food waste via decisions on date labeling, packaging sizes and design elements, and pricing strategies encouraging overpurchase, as well as communication shifting consumer priorities to the disadvantage of food waste avoidance. Potential actions to tackle food waste relate to improved packaging and information, altering pricing strategies, and cooperation with other actors across the supply chain. Three cases highlight the extent to which moral and strategic motives are interlinked and that there are opportunities for competitive advantage through corporate social responsibility and a business case for sustainability in the area of food waste.

Abstract Background Humanity's current use of resources is not in line with the goal of sustainable development. Climate change impact scenarios appear worryingly pessimistic. The agricultural and food production accounts for a particularly high share of the impact, and this also holds for consumption of food. Transforming food consumption plays a crucial role in tackling the challenges, and sensory consumer science can contribute to this. Scope and approach This commentary examines what is required of the agricultural and food sector in order to sustainably transform, and outlines the current research streams in sensory consumer science from a sustainability perspective. Based on a comparison of the requirements and research, we suggest a categorization of the contributions that sensory consumer science can make to sustainable development. Key findings and conclusions Six necessary transformations to which sensory consumer science can make a contribution are derived and outlined: 1) promotion of a dietary shift towards more sustainable foods and diets, 2) increase of food diversity, 3) food waste reduction, 4) enhancement of the circularity of the food system, 5) heightening and prioritising food-related well-being, and 6) coping with the effects of climate change. So far, sensory consumer science studies have focused on foods regarded as sustainable (e.g. organic, sustainably claimed, insects and meat alternatives) as well as issues that contribute to sustainability (e.g. shelf-life, fruit and vegetable consumption, unfamiliar food). The conclusion for further future research is that designing sensory consumer science research to explicitly target the six required transformations can increase the discipline's contribution to sustainable development.