A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level (2020) / Chapter Skim
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3 Drivers of Food Waste at the Consumer Level and Implications for Intervention Design
3 Drivers of Food Waste at the Consumer Level and Implications for Intervention Design
Pages 63-96
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, the committee first sought evidence about the drivers of consumer behavior from research in six related fields: energy conservation, recycling, water conservation, waste prevention, diet change, and weight management. Conclusions from this work allowed us 63
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UNDERSTANDING DRIVERS OF BEHAVIOR IN OTHER DOMAINS The committee conducted literature searches across the six related domains, focusing on systematic reviews and meta-analyses. These searches, conducted in ProQuest Research Library, PubMed, and Scopus, yielded a total of 406 reviews; the search process and method for analyzing the results are described in Appendix B
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. Although there are trends in how sociodemographic variables may be associated with behaviors, many studies indicate that these variables contribute little to understanding of proenvironmental behavior and that psychological factors are more successful in predicting behavior and behavior change (Li et al., 2019)
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Some Motivational Factors Are More Effective Drivers of Behavior than Others It is tempting to think that simply having enough information about a given behavior or its impacts will change individuals' choices. However, research in the six related domains shows that knowledge or information alone is insufficient as a predictor of people's ability (i.e., knowledge for action)
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at the food acquisition, consumption, storage, and disposal stages are similarly likely to affect food waste-related behaviors, independent of motivation or ability. Based on the number of and wide variation in contextual factors included among the summative drivers identified by the committee (see below)
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, so each specific habit needs to be examined individually. Nevertheless, there are valuable lessons with respect to habits for efforts to reduce food waste.
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The research focused on food waste is limited and emerging, and as discussed at the close of this chapter, the existing evidence did not support the development of so precise a list. However, the available literature does offer some important insights to guide further exploration of drivers of consumers' food waste behavior from a systems perspective, as well as an approach to guide the design of interventions to reduce food waste at the consumer level and the additional research needed to build on these ideas.
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The drivers of food waste behavior interact with each other, and it is these more complex interrelationships that will result in an increase or decrease in food waste. For example, while meal planning may reduce food waste for some households, for others it might have the opposite effect, depending on resource availability, such as access to shopping opportunities created by the built environment (summative driver J)
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influencing food waste behavior. As in the research from related fields, the food waste literature suggests that it is important to consider underlying contextual factors to gain an understanding of the influence of various drivers on consumers' food waste behavior.
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, as some people are more risk averse or sensitive with respect to food relative to others. Perception of the risk or desirability of food is also related to psychosocial norms (summative driver I)
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For example, psychological licensing allows individuals to feel justified or even good about discarding food if they engage in such desirable behaviors as composting TABLE 3-2 Examples of Drivers Related to Capacity to Assess Risks Stage Motivation Opportunity Ability Acquisition Perceptions about Knowledge of foods/ which foods/food formats that will be formats (frozen, safest for the longest canned, fresh) will be time safest for the longest time Consumption/ Sensory cue Understanding of Storage interpretation and sensory cues sensitivity Understanding of the Interpretation of date meaning of date labels labels Previous negative experiences and concerns about food safety Disposal 4 Good provider identity refers to the need to feel like a "good" provider and minimize any feelings of guilt experienced if individuals fail to meet personal or cultural expectations (e.g., Graham-Rowe et al., 2014)
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For example, if an action to reduce food waste activates a positive identity (e.g., makes one see oneself as a "smart consumer" or "food steward") , that self-consistency may be more powerful than the licensing effect, making behavior to reduce food waste more likely (Oyserman, 2015)
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"Healthy" choices in acquisition may license underconsumption of perishable foods Desire to lose weight, which leads to leaving food on one's plate Disposal Composting satisfies environmental and waste reduction goals, licensing food waste "Virtue" goals are satisfied by guilt about not eating, licensing disposal Discarding or "cleaning out" seen as a healthy, clean, or efficient action
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Examples of specific drivers are in Table 3-4. TABLE 3-4 Examples of Drivers Related to Individuals' Recognition and Monitoring of Their Food Waste Stage Motivation Opportunity Ability Acquisition Lack of acquisition proximal, salient reminders of the economic and opportunity costs of personal past food waste Belief that one's own food waste is less than that of others Consumption/ Immediate removal of Storage wasted food from the consumption area, which results in lack of feedback Disposal Removal/processing of Use of food by a third party, waste which results in lack of monitoring feedback tools Belief that another type of waste (e.g., packaging)
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. Moreover, urbanization and the changing structure of the food supply chain have generally resulted in physical distance between where people live and sites of food production (e.g., farms)
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. Therefore, these attitudes offer a leverage point for interventions to motivate consumers to reduce food waste.
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Further, household members' skill in household production can alter the trade-off and eventual decisions made with respect to allocating scarce time across market and home activities. The time available for food acquisition and preparation and the skills of household members therefore determines the motivation, opportunity, and ability to decrease food waste.
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H Marketing Practices and Tactics that Shape Consumers' Food Behaviors Consumer choice is significantly influenced by product branding, pricing, promotions, and other actions of retailers, restaurant operators, and other away-from-home food providers (examples of specific drivers are in Table 3-8)
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Similar tactics can be used to reduce waste if developed wisely. For example, marketing researchers have shown that granular, modular packaging, which allows consumers to eat smaller portions of a food without
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I Psychosocial and Identity-Related Norms Relevant to Food Consumption and Waste Consumers' motivation to reduce food waste is shaped by social norms, identity, and habit (examples of drivers related to norms are in Table 3-9)
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DRIVERS OF FOOD WASTE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERVENTION 83 TABLE 3-8 Examples of Drivers Related to Marketing Practices and Tactics Stage Motivation Opportunity Ability Acquisition High promotional anchors (e.g., purchase limit 10, 10 for $10) and price promotions Novelty promotions promoting purchase of atypical/unfamiliar foods Messaging that emphasizes freshness, abundance, attractive presentation, minimal packaging, or organic products without regard to effects on waste Packaging and product offerings that result in acquiring more than desired Retail standards that promote only aesthetically appealing food Consumption/ No packaging Storage information provided related to preparation, storage, or usage Packaging not optimized for storage Disposal
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J Factors in the Built Environment and the Food Supply Chain The built environment7 and the food supply chain play a key role in food waste through factors ranging from the household or community level (e.g., layout of home kitchen, refrigerator capacity, access to retail food sources)
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DRIVERS OF FOOD WASTE AND IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERVENTION 85 TABLE 3-9 Examples of Drivers Related to Psychosocial and Identity-Related Norms Stage Motivation Opportunity Ability Acquisition Social and gender norms related to abundance, special occasions, and the good provider identity Individual aversion to scarcity (i.e., acquiring too much as "insurance") Acquisition as a marker of status/consumerism Lack of acceptance of imperfect or suboptimal foods Consumption/ Norms related to the Storage good provider identity, abundance, and "good" food Acceptance of imperfect or suboptimal foods Acceptance of food sharing Eating leftovers perceived by some as sacrifice or thrift Desire to impress eating companions (e.g., taking leftovers instead of leaving them)
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Thus, it is important that the entire food system be considered when factors in the built environment and the food supply chain are used to address food waste.
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These policies focus on what happens to food once it has been wasted by the consumer, but they can influence choices made along the entire supply chain. Commonly suggested waste management policies include imposing higher costs for landfill disposal (e.g., through a tipping fee)
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As discussed in Chapter 1, this framework posits that behavioral changes occur as a result of the interplay of these three influences. In the context of consumer behavior related to wasting food, the MOA framework suggests that if consumers are to reduce food waste, they need to have the opportunity and ability to do so, and also be motivated to do so.
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The existing research does not cover all potential drivers of consumer behavior across settings. While this chapter has attempted to suggest possible drivers of food waste behavior that may operate in away-from-home consumption, little empirical research has focused on these drivers explicitly or systematically.
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Researchers in the six related domains have found that sociodemographic variables by themselves are often inadequate or poor predictors of environment-related behaviors, and the same appears to be true for food waste behaviors (see Chapter 2)
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In this way, the most promising intervention for this context would not only change the psychological distance from food through motivational cues, but also address drivers related to opportunity and ability that might be promoting food waste. On the other hand, consider a hypothetical case in which food waste is likely to be driven predominantly by automatic processes.
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behavior can best be understood as affecting consumers' motivation, ability, and opportunity to reduce food waste, through both reflective and automatic processes. CONCLUSION 3-2: The incomplete and limited research on drivers of food waste at the consumer level does not support prioritization of particular drivers of consumers' food waste behaviors over others, but understanding of how the 11 summative drivers identified in Box 3-1 combine to influence those behaviors can reveal promising targets for interventions to reduce food waste at the consumer level.
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Consumer characteristics influencing food waste behaviour in the context of an emerg ing country and the impact on future sustainability of the global food sector. Global Environmental Change 49:85-94.
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2017. A note on modelling household food waste behaviour.
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2010. Food waste within food supply chains: Quantification and potential for change to 2050.
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2018. Food waste matters: A systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications.
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