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Since the previous century, environmental concerns have been rising more frequently; they resemble a significant contemporary issue among them is the amount of waste generated by modern society. In this context, food waste draws a lot of interest from global and national policymakers as well as various organizations and scholars it continues to grow despite the looming resource depletion. According to Schanes et al., one-third of all produced for human consumption food, which is approximately 1.3 billion tons per year, is lost or wasted (2). While food waste can occur at any stage of the food production chain, some studies indicate that the main reason behind it might hide in human psychology (Clayton, 10). At the end of the food production chain stand households and individuals who reproduce specific behavioral patterns that eventually contribute to food waste. If there is any place to begin the development of a strategy against it, it should start with the analysis of their behavior and patterns.
Application of the social practice theory can help better understand the social tendencies toward food waste generation that occurs in households. This theory does not consider the issue of food waste as an individuals problem but rather a problem in broader social, economic, and cultural aspects of everyday life. In this context, the daily routine and processes connected to households food provisioning were proved to play a significant role in food waste generation (Schanes et al., 10). Every family has to plan, shop, cook, store, eat, and manage leftovers. At every stage of this process, the food is evaluated for edibility and consequently is either redistributed or wasted.
Planning activities vary for every household and do not always go hand to hand with other processes. Moreover, according to (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 6465), the lack of planning for shopping, food storage, and its preparation might be the most crucial factor contributing to food waste generation. One reason for the lack of planning might be the time constraints and little care about how to cook and store food (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 6466). For example, households with high workloads tend to buy already-cooked food in packages. Another reason resides in the modern culture of consumerism and a generally low price level of nutrition (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 6466). It leads to people buying too much food and paying less attention to the risk of wastage. Notably, consumer price orientation in the form of volume discounts and price gradients, oversized packages, differences in taste, compensation effect, and good provider identity might cause unnecessary purchases.
There is a mutual relationship between cultural norms and the good provider identity. From its perspective, the problem of food storage contributes to food waste in two ways qualitative and quantitative (Schanes et al., 11). To be a good provider implies expressing care and affection to family and guests by providing an abundance of proper food. Generally, proper food is considered to be healthy and nutritious. Although, the bought healthy food is not always consumed fully, leading to the wastage of quickly perishable food. The desire to be a good host worsens the situation because it motivates people to be prepared for the occasional social interactions, where serving not enough or not the right food might be embarrassing.
A curious interaction of lousy planning and social standards occurs in the case of the compensation effect. It resides in the interpretation of the principle of eating properly, which implies healthy nutrition. If people concerned with that principle still consume meals that are treated as unhealthy, they might buy an abundance of healthy food to mitigate the guilt (Schanes et al., 12). In addition, not every household member might support the idea of eating properly; thus, he would ask for more food according to his different tastes. Unfortunately, in both cases, unclaimed food remains unconsumed, perishes quickly, and is consequently wasted.
In many ways, food retailers contribute to unbalanced consuming behavior. In their pursuit of higher sales, they invest a lot into the visual appearance and package size to draw attention (Aschemann-Witzel et al., 6466). It is reinforced by consumers perceptions and habits in the choices they make a tendency to expect high levels of visual perfection and freshness. Thus, not every single product on the market is going to be bought due to the customers preferences. Overall, it can be described as a macro-economic influence of technology and legislation of production, which leads to inefficiency in sales, oversupply, and ultimately wastage.
The issues of cooking, eating, and managing leftovers are closely related. The studies show that households where cooking occurs more frequently or is subjected to some restrictions, such as diet, tend to produce less food waste; the cooked food is adequately measured and leaves no leftovers (Schanes et al., 13). On the other hand, unpredictable eating patterns and capricious preferences of households children result in more significant wastage. Another factor that might influence food loss is eating outside. Curiously enough, people that often eat in restaurants do not necessarily spend less money in grocery shops (Schanes et al., 14). As a consequence, some of their bought food might expire, while people prefer a faster and more convenient way of eating.
In contrast to the households psychology, the analysis of a narrower, individual perspective showed the impact of specific psychological barriers on food waste behavior. In her study, Clayton attempted to answer why people do not act in defense of the environment despite acknowledging associated issues (10). The research led her to discover cognitive, emotional, and social barriers that prevent people from taking action. Cognitive barriers reside in how the human brain perceives different problems and events (Clayton, 13). It is harder to continuously be concerned with issues on a large scale because the focus constantly shifts to short-termed matters. Emotional barriers contribute to their cognitive counterparts, showing themselves in human preferences of what to believe in (Clayton, 14). The waste problems are scary and intimidating, making them not pleasant to think about most people would try to avoid thinking about pollution or, in the worst case, deny it altogether. Social barriers are based on the fundamental principle of socialization people are greatly influenced by their communities and households (Clayton, 15). If a specific community does not share the ideas of environmental protection, this will apply to most individuals in it.
However, these barriers are not unavoidable, and, with practice and particular techniques, an individual can eventually overcome them. It is possible if an individual embraces a motivating behavior toward environmentally protective actions. The first and probably the easiest way to start is to change the peoples physical environment (Clayton, 18). For example, if recycling containers are present in proximity, clearly marked, and easily accessible, people will use them more frequently. The second way is to change the social environment; in the same way that it discourages people, it can also motivate the appropriate behavior (Clayton, 20). If sustainability is socially valued, people will tend to act accordingly. Lastly, it is essential for individuals to look inside themselves and develop individual characteristics and attitudes (Clayton, 21). There should be a sincere environmental concern present, along with strong moral responsibility and the confidence to take action that might deviate from the norms. Altogether, it can invoke small changes that eventually lead to wonders.
A study of households and individuals behavior showcases numerous social and psychological reasons responsible for the food waste generations that have to be addressed. From the social perspective, the most significant contribution to food waste occurs in the households everyday food-provisioning activities, such as planning, shopping, storing, cooking, eating, and redistributing. Mainly, it is the lack of planning, abundant or picky shopping, irresponsible keeping, inexperienced cooking, and consequent food management. From the perspective of an individual, it requires effort and some dedication to surpass specific cognitive, emotional, and social barriers and start to behave with regard to the food waste issue. The changes in the physical environment, shifts of perception in the surrounding social environment, and purposeful personal are the general steps to invoke change. Overall, despite the intimidating variety of reasons for food waste generation, their study and definition map the starting points for the significant shift that society direly needs in the face of environmental degradation.
Works Cited
Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica, et al. Consumer-related food waste: Causes and potential for action. Sustainability, vol. 7, no. 6, 2015, pp. 6457-6477.
Clayton, Susan. Conservation psychology and climate change. Standing up for a Sustainable World, edited by Claude Henry, Johan Rockström, and Nicholas Stern. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020, pp. 10-23.
Schanes, Karin, et al. Food waste matters-A systematic review of household food waste practices and their policy implications. Journal of cleaner production, vol. 182, 2018, pp. 978-991.
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