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A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level (2020)

Chapter: Appendix B: Literature Search Approach

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
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Appendix B

Literature Search Approach

Two sets of literature searches were conducted (in 2019) to inform the committee’s work. The first was conducted to identify implementation strategies to reduce food waste at the consumer level. The second was done to identify reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses of drivers and strategies to intervene for consumer or household behaviors related to energy saving, recycling, water conservation, waste prevention, and diet change.

In order to obtain a more rounded set of results that accounted for differences in indexing practices and use of vocabulary in titles and abstracts, the first set was split into two groups. The first iteration explicitly included behavior-related terms and avoided prevention-related terms. The second iteration left out behavior-related terms and targeted prevention-related terms. Searches were conducted in six online databases: Agricola, Embase, Medline, ProQuest Research Library, PubMed, and Scopus. Articles were included if they were published within the last 15 years, available in English, peer-reviewed, and conducted in Europe or English-speaking countries. The search terms for both iterations are shown in Table B-1. The searches yielded 548 unduplicated articles from the first group and 234 unduplicated articles from the second group.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
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TABLE B-1 Search Terms Used to Identify Relevant Literature on Food Waste

Topic Search Terms
Food Waste Domestic food waste
Food
Food discard
Food loss
Food scraps
Food shrink
Food wastage
Food waste
Household food waste
Leftovers
Meals
Plate waste
Restaurant food waste
School food waste
Surplus food
Wasted food
Consumer Behavior Consumer
Customer
Diner
End user
Final consumer
Food purchaser
Household
Shopper
Attitude
Behavioral change
Behavioral modification
Intervention
Food Waste Reduction Avoid
Avoidance
Compost
Control
Decrease
Doggy bag
Lower
Minimization
Minimize
Prevent
Prevention
Reduce
Reduction
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×

The second set of searches, which targeted other efforts to change consumer or household behaviors, was also conducted in two parts. The first focused on strategies to promote energy saving and recycling behaviors. The second was directed at strategies to promote energy saving, recycling, water use conservation, waste prevention behaviors, and diet change, but it was limited to systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Both sets of searches were conducted in ProQuest Research Library, PubMed, and Scopus. The first search on energy-saving behaviors included papers that were published within the last 15 years, and it was limited to reviews, including, but not limited to, systematic reviews from Europe and English-speaking countries. The second search used the same terms, but it was restricted to systematic reviews and meta-analyses that had been published in English since 2000. Search terms are presented in Table B-2. The first search yielded 380 unduplicated studies; the second search yielded 406 unduplicated studies.

TABLE B-2 Search Terms Used to Identify Relevant Literature on Energy-Saving and Recycling Behaviors

Topic Search Terms
Energy-Saving Behaviors Attitudes
Behavior modification
Behavioral change
Behavioral modification
Choice behavior
Consumer
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Customer
Decision making
Demand side management
Domestic
Efficient energy use
End user
Energy conservation
Energy efficiency
Energy saving
Final consumer
Food purchaser
Home
Household
Imitative behavior
Intention
Shopper
User behavior
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Topic Search Terms
Recycling Behaviors Attitude
Behavior modification
Behavioral change
Behavioral modification
Choice behavior
Consumer
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Customer
Decision making
Domestic
Efficient energy use
End users
Energy conservation
Energy efficiency
Energy saving
Final consumer
Food purchaser
Home
Home recycling
Household
Household recycling
Imitative behavior
Intention
Recycling
Shopper
User behavior
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Topic Search Terms
Water Consumption and Water Use Conservation Behaviors Attitudes
Behavior modification
Behavioral change
Behavioral modification
Choice behavior
Consumer
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Customers
Decision making
Domestic
End users
Final consumer
Food purchaser
Home
Household
Imitative behavior
Intention
Residential water conservation
Residential water use
Shopper
User behavior
Wasting water
Water conservation
Water consumption
Water use conservation
Water wasting
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Topic Search Terms
Waste Prevention Behaviors Attitude
Behavior modification
Behavioral change
Behavioral modification
Choice behavior
Consumer
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Customer
Decision making
Domestic
End users
Final consumer
Food purchaser
Home
Households
Imitative behavior
Intention
Preventing waste
Reduce waste
Reducing waste
Shopper
User behavior
Waste minimization
Waste prevention
Waste reduction
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Topic Search Terms
Diet Change Behaviors Attitude
Behavior modification
Behavioral change
Behavioral modification
Changing diet
Choice behavior
Consumer
Consumer attitudes
Consumer behavior
Customer
Decision making
Diet change
Diet habits
Dietary habits
Domestic
Eating behavior
Eating habits
End user
Final consumer
Food habits
Food policy
Food purchaser
Home
Household
Imitative behavior
Intention
Nutrition policy
Shopper
User behavior
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 173
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 174
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 175
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 176
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 177
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 178
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 179
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Literature Search Approach." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25876.
×
Page 180
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Approximately 30 percent of the edible food produced in the United States is wasted and a significant portion of this waste occurs at the consumer level. Despite food's essential role as a source of nutrients and energy and its emotional and cultural importance, U.S. consumers waste an estimated average of 1 pound of food per person per day at home and in places where they buy and consume food away from home. Many factors contribute to this waste—consumers behaviors are shaped not only by individual and interpersonal factors but also by influences within the food system, such as policies, food marketing and the media. Some food waste is unavoidable, and there is substantial variation in how food waste and its impacts are defined and measured. But there is no doubt that the consequences of food waste are severe: the wasting of food is costly to consumers, depletes natural resources, and degrades the environment. In addition, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has severely strained the U.S. economy and sharply increased food insecurity, it is predicted that food waste will worsen in the short term because of both supply chain disruptions and the closures of food businesses that affect the way people eat and the types of food they can afford.

A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level identifies strategies for changing consumer behavior, considering interactions and feedbacks within the food system. It explores the reasons food is wasted in the United States, including the characteristics of the complex systems through which food is produced, marketed, and sold, as well as the many other interconnected influences on consumers' conscious and unconscious choices about purchasing, preparing, consuming, storing, and discarding food. This report presents a strategy for addressing the challenge of reducing food waste at the consumer level from a holistic, systems perspective.

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