Abstract
Household food waste is one of the main drivers of carbon emissions and therefore a key obstacle to tackling climate change. Reducing food waste, however, requires a comprehensive understanding of its psychological determinants. While some research has focused on better understanding the effects of food management behaviours on household food waste, other research has examined behavioural intentions and similar constructs that accompany the Theory of Planned Behaviour (Ajzen, 1991). We, however, argue that such approaches are too simplistic. Instead of focusing on each of those factors in isolation, we see the need to incorporate all these, as well as additional factors such as personal values and goals into a more comprehensive framework to better understand the determinants of household food waste behaviour. To examine our framework, we applied a two-wave survey design, with a UK representative sample (N = 1,498 participants) and used Structural Equation Modelling to analyse the data. Our results show that individual values predicted attitudes and norms related to food waste which, in turn, predicted the intention to reduce food waste. These behavioural intentions predicted self-reported household food waste. Additionally, however, individual values predicted individual goals while such goals affected self-reported engagement in food management behaviours which, ultimately, predicted self-reported household food waste. Our findings suggest that household food waste is the result of a complex interplay among different factors; and focusing on each of those factors in isolation ignores such complexities. We discuss the implications of our findings for future research and practice.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Household food waste, Food waste behaviour, Values, Goals
