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Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective
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Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Food".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2024 | Viewed by 5135

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Efrat Elimelech

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Guest Editor
Department of Sociology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Interests: waste management; food waste; food security; environmental behavior; sustainable consumption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Ofira Ayalon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Environmental Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Interests: environmental management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Claudia Giordano

E-Mail
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
Interests: food waste; food policy and governance; sustainable food production and consumption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the FAO published its first report on "Global food losses and food waste" (Gustavsson et al., 2011), research on food waste has flourished. As final consumers (i.e., restaurants, catering services, hotels, households, etc.) have been identified as major contributors to food waste in developed countries (Stenmarck et al., 2016), the last decade (2010 to 2020) produced an impressive increase in the number of publications on this topic, especially at household’s (Giordano and Franco, 2021) but also on food waste at food service. Early research focused on quantifying the extent of the problem, followed by studies that reviewed different measurement methods and determinants through standardized questionnaires. However, to meet the ambitious target of 50% reduction in per capita food waste rates (SDG 12.3), we seem to lack a comprehensive understanding of how and why food waste is generated at the consumption stage. To achieve a broad understanding and design the appropriate policies, we need an international perspective that emphasizes the variety of approaches to understanding the individual, social and cultural causes of food waste (Elimelech et al., 2023) and, in particular, how food practices are created. In other words, studying consumer food waste in isolation from the contexts of food, culture, community and place may undermine our efforts to reach the sustainable development goals.

Therefore, the purpose of this Special Issue is to collect theoretical and empirical contributions that cross disciplinary boundaries, combine knowledge and methods from different disciplines and offer a new perspective on how and why consumer food waste is created and how it can be reduced. Articles based on experimental approaches and/or exploratory research are encouraged.

Elimelech, E., Mintz, K. K., Katz-Gerro, T., Segal-Klein, H., Hussein, L., and Ayalon, O. (2023). Between perceptions and practices: The religious and cultural aspects of food wastage in households. Appetite, 180, 106374.

Giordano, C., and Franco, S. (2021). Household food waste from an international perspective. Sustainability, 13(9), 5122.‏

Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., Sonesson, U., 2011. Global food losses and food waste: extent, causes and prevention. Rome Food Agric. Organ. United Nations FAO 37.

Stenmarck, A., Jensen, C., Quested, T., Moates, G., 2016. Estimates of European food waste levels. Report from FUSIONS Project. ISBN 978-91-88319-01-2. IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Stockholm.

Dr. Efrat Elimelech
Prof. Dr. Ofira Ayalon
Dr. Claudia Giordano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • consumer food waste
  • food service
  • hotels
  • household food waste
  • food management
  • food practices
  • behaviour change

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 3008 KiB  
Article
A Qualitative Study on the Consumer Behaviour Related to Food Waste: Romanian Perspectives through Word Cloud and Sentiment Analysis
by Maria-Georgeta Moldovan, Dan-Cristian Dabija, Liana Stanca and Cristina Bianca Pocol
Sustainability 2024, 16(10), 4193; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16104193 - 16 May 2024
Viewed by 424
Abstract
In emerging countries like Romania, research on food loss and waste remains relatively scarce. This is mainly because the phenomenon, along with its repercussions and ramifications, is inadequately understood by all stakeholders within the agri-food chain. Consumer behaviour, with a specific focus on [...] Read more.
In emerging countries like Romania, research on food loss and waste remains relatively scarce. This is mainly because the phenomenon, along with its repercussions and ramifications, is inadequately understood by all stakeholders within the agri-food chain. Consumer behaviour, with a specific focus on sustainability and waste reduction, has undergone a noticeable transformation on a global scale. Researchers have been emphasising the imperative for effective awareness and education strategies in this respect. Diverse studies contribute valuable insights into household food behaviour, identifying possible drivers and suggesting counteractive techniques. This study poses inquiries about consumer feelings regarding the food waste phenomenon and perceptions of the Romanian agri-food chain, as well as the influence of education on their awareness and adoption of sustainable eating habits. The paper delineates the semi-structured interview-based methodology, shows results through word-cloud and sentiment analysis, and engages in discussions on consumer behaviour through four distinct clusters, concluding with limitations, managerial implications and outlining future research directions. The findings underscore the relevance of emotions and sentiments in understanding consumer behaviour, shedding light on the nuanced factors influencing food waste. Notably, the accuracy of interpretation is higher when drawn from interviews rather than online comments or reviews made by unknown individuals. This distinction increases the credibility of the insights gained from the qualitative study. By analysing consumer sentiments, the study aids in implementing strategies to improve customer satisfaction and reduce food waste, fostering a more sustainable and consumer-centric approach in the agri-food sector worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective)
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14 pages, 811 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Organic Food Purchase Intention on Household Food Waste: Insights from Brazil
by Lucas Rodrigues Deliberador, Alexandre Borges Santos, Geandra Alves Queiroz, Aldara da Silva César and Mário Otávio Batalha
Sustainability 2024, 16(9), 3795; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16093795 - 30 Apr 2024
Viewed by 700
Abstract
An emerging trend among consumers is the pursuit of healthier eating habits while minimizing environmental damage, thus increasing the intention for consumption of organic foods. In this context, this study hypothesizes that household food waste is influenced by organic food purchase intention, which, [...] Read more.
An emerging trend among consumers is the pursuit of healthier eating habits while minimizing environmental damage, thus increasing the intention for consumption of organic foods. In this context, this study hypothesizes that household food waste is influenced by organic food purchase intention, which, in turn, is influenced by environmental concern, health consciousness, hedonic shopping, and negatively affected by price. Hence, the objective of this study is to propose and empirically test a theoretical framework with Brazilian consumers. Data from 240 respondents were electronically collected and analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results suggest that environmental concern, price consciousness, and health consciousness significantly influence organic food purchase intention, while hedonic shopping value does not. Furthermore, although organic food purchase intention reduced household food waste, the effect size of this relationship was found to be extremely low, suggesting it to be a poor predictor. This paper contributes to the existing literature on consumer behavior and waste management further by not only examining the relationship between two research streams but also by shedding light on unique aspects of an emerging country. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective)
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14 pages, 1296 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Impact of Visual Perception and Taste Experience on Consumers’ Acceptance of Suboptimal Fresh Produce
by Efrat Elimelech, Eyal Ert, Yael Parag and Guy Hochman
Sustainability 2024, 16(7), 2698; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16072698 - 25 Mar 2024
Viewed by 558
Abstract
Consumers’ tendency to avoid purchasing cosmetically “suboptimal” fruits and vegetables has been widely recognized as a significant contributor to food waste. However, the mechanisms that shape and influence this tendency remain largely unknown. The current study evaluates the impact of visual perception and [...] Read more.
Consumers’ tendency to avoid purchasing cosmetically “suboptimal” fruits and vegetables has been widely recognized as a significant contributor to food waste. However, the mechanisms that shape and influence this tendency remain largely unknown. The current study evaluates the impact of visual perception and taste experience on willingness to purchase and quality perceptions of fresh produce, focusing on two types of suboptimality: small size and abnormal shape. The study employed a 3 × 2 between-subjects factorial design in which participants indicated their perceived quality and willingness to purchase suboptimal tomatoes and sweet peppers in three informational conditions: viewing the vegetable picture (no taste), view then taste (participants tasted a slice after viewing the vegetable picture), and taste then view. The results revealed that, as expected, the abnormally shaped vegetable was judged less favorably than the normal one. The small-sized vegetable was judged more favorably than the regular one, in contrast to the current size regulations applied by retailers. Tasting significantly increased people’s willingness to purchase the abnormally shaped produce, but had no effect on the willingness to purchase the abnormally sized produce, nor did it impact the perceived quality of the abnormal products. This study highlights consumer bias towards aesthetic qualities and suggests that direct taste experiences can alter perceptions towards accepting visually imperfect produce, thereby contributing to sustainability and food-waste reduction efforts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective)
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17 pages, 936 KiB  
Article
A Life Cycle Assessment of Dehydrated Apple Snacks
by Inês Gonçalves and Belmira Neto
Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16304; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316304 - 25 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 892
Abstract
This study identifies and assesses the main contributors to the environmental impact of dehydrated apple snacks produced through the hot air drying method, which is the most common method for dehydrating food. The study aims to fill the gap of Life Cycle Assessment [...] Read more.
This study identifies and assesses the main contributors to the environmental impact of dehydrated apple snacks produced through the hot air drying method, which is the most common method for dehydrating food. The study aims to fill the gap of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies regarding dehydrated apple snacks produced using the hot air drying method. A “cradle to gate” approach of an LCA is performed, including the apple production, storage and calibration, peeling and cutting, dehydration, and packaging stages. The inventory used is mainly primary data collected from a fresh and dehydrated apple snacks producer. The results show that the snack producer’s stages have a larger contribution to the majority of categories when compared to the fresh apple producer’s stages. The electricity consumption within the snack production and the use of liquefied petroleum gas in dehydration are shown to be the largest contributors to the majority of the impacts. However, apple production is also shown to have a relevant contribution to the impact categories due to the use of pesticides, fertilizers, diesel, and electricity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective)
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26 pages, 5535 KiB  
Article
Exploring Food Waste Conversations on Social Media: A Sentiment, Emotion, and Topic Analysis of Twitter Data
by Eva L. Jenkins, Dickson Lukose, Linda Brennan, Annika Molenaar and Tracy A. McCaffrey
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13788; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813788 - 15 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1823
Abstract
Food waste is a complex issue requiring novel approaches to understand and identify areas that could be leveraged for food waste reduction. Data science techniques such as sentiment analysis, emotion analysis, and topic modelling could be used to explore big-picture themes of food [...] Read more.
Food waste is a complex issue requiring novel approaches to understand and identify areas that could be leveraged for food waste reduction. Data science techniques such as sentiment analysis, emotion analysis, and topic modelling could be used to explore big-picture themes of food waste discussions. This paper aimed to examine food waste discussions on Twitter and identify priority areas for future food waste communication campaigns and interventions. Australian tweets containing food-waste-related search terms were extracted from the Twitter Application Programming Interface from 2019–2021 and analysed using sentiment and emotion engines. Topic modelling was conducted using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. Engagement was calculated as the sum of likes, retweets, replies, and quotes. There were 39,449 tweets collected over three years. Tweets were mostly negative in sentiment and angry in emotion. The topic model identified 13 key topics such as eating to save food waste, morals, economics, and packaging. Engagement was higher for tweets with polarising sentiments and negative emotions. Overall, our interdisciplinary analysis highlighted the negative discourse surrounding food waste discussions and identified priority areas for food waste communication. Data science techniques should be used in the future to monitor public perceptions and understand priority areas for food waste reduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thoughts on Food—Consumer Food Waste from an Interdisciplinary Perspective)
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