Abstract
Sustainable Food Consumption centers on consuming foods necessary for survival, while minimizing the use of resources. Currently, 1/3 of food produced for human consumption goes to waste, contributing to global warming and food insecurity. While food waste is often thought to be a developed world problem it is not. Household food waste has been increasing across middle- and lower-income countries. We answer the call to understand the household food waste problem beyond the industrialized world to conduct studies that encompass a wide range of countries and factors influencing food waste. In this paper, we contribute to the understanding of the global food waste problem in three key areas: 1) How does food waste figure into environmental concerns for citizens of different countries? 2) Who do citizens of different countries feel is responsible for food waste? 3) What are their current practices to reduce food waste in their own lives? The most striking finding shows that regardless of country, age, gender, or spiritual tendencies all participants reported that they wasted relatively little food, their community slightly more, and their country more. To address the problem of food waste, we must teach people about their contribution and empower them to act.
Presenters
Johnine Mc CartneyAssistant Professor of Marketing and Global Environment, Marketing, Western Connecticut State University, Connecticut, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Food policy, Food practices, Cross-cultural, Sustainable Consumption, Food Insecurity
