Food waste (mis)takes: The role of (mis)perception and (mis)estimation

Food waste awareness among Italian university students: results of an online survey

Introduction

Food waste (FW) represents a significant social and environmental problem, with 1.3 billion tons of food wasted yearly worldwide. Even if consumers are increasingly aware of the phenomenon, it remains relevant, and understanding the behaviors of specific target audience segments appears instrumental to the planning of effective interventions. To this end, we designed an observational study to investigate, throughout an online questionnaire, FW-related habits of university students in a Southern Italian region.

Methods

A representative sample of 431 students from the University of Catanzaro Magna Graecia completed an online survey aimed at investigate FW related behaviors. A descriptive analysis was performed on the whole cohort, and a formal statistical analysis was carried out after excluding responders who had not correctly followed the survey instructions (n = 85). Differences were assessed by chi square (χ 2) tests. A food wasting score was generated, and differences in the score values were analyzed by Student T-test. Linear and multiple regression analyses were performed to identify factors contributing to the score.

Results

Overall, the results of our survey show a high prevalence of virtuous behaviors in the food purchasing phase; while, at home, less than 50% of respondents apply easy-to-implement waste prevention rules. The statistical analysis showed that the major determinants of FW were: no direct involvement in grocery shopping and male gender. Indeed, even if we observed several significant differences comparing subgroups based on established or putative determinants of FW behaviors, none survived matching for group size, gender and relevant food managing (shopping, storing, cooking) habits. The only exception was the more appropriate handling of "use by" products by respondents who received structured nutrition teaching, as opposed to students whose academic courses do not include this subject (adjusted p = 0.008).

Conclusion

Our data suggest that young adults are trying to implement strategies to reduce FW, even if there is room for improvement, particularly in the storage phase. Extending nutrition education to all university programs may be helpful in reaching this goal.

Why understanding food choice is crucial to transform food systems for human and planetary health

What, how and why people eat has long been understood to be important for human health, but until recently, has not been recognised as an essential facet of climate change and its effects on planetary health. The global climate change and diet-related health crises occurring are connected to food systems, food environments and consumer food choices. Calls to transform food systems for human and planetary health highlight the importance of understanding individual food choice. Understanding what, how and why people eat the way they do is crucial to successful food systems transformations that achieve both human and planetary health goals. Little is known about how food choice relates to climate. To clarify potential paths for action, we propose that individual food choice relates to climate change through three key mechanisms. First, the sum of individual food choices influences the supply and demand of foods produced and sold in the marketplace. Second, individual food decisions affect type and quantity of food waste at the retail and household level. Third, individual food choices serve as a symbolic expression of concern for human and planetary health, which can individually and collectively stimulate social movements and behaviour change. To meet the dietary needs of the 2050 global population projection of 10 billion, food systems must transform. Understanding what, how and why people eat the way they do, as well as the mechanisms by which these choices affect climate change, is essential for designing actions conducive to the protection of both human and planetary health.

What about Responsible Consumption? A Survey Focused on Food Waste and Consumer Habits

The article analyses the problems of food waste and responsible consumption that include taking into account environmental-social-health and economic impacts of products and services. The study raises the research question related to whether people consume food responsibly. Analysis of research literature sources, systematization, synthesis, generalization, quantitative research and data processing methods were used in the article. The questionnaire was arranged on the pollimill.com website, and the link was shared with selected possible respondents. The survey was carried out in Lithuania and in European countries. The survey sample is equal to 1080 respondents (566 respondents from Lithuania and 514 from Italy, Poland, Latvia, Germany and France). A simple random sample was used in this research. The survey highlighted that the majority of respondents in the survey state that food is not often wasted. In addition, findings show that the population of Lithuania emits slightly less food than the population of the European countries participating in the survey. These findings could be crucial for the future green directions from the side of policymakers.