Motivations and Actions to Prevent Food Waste among Young Italian Consumers

Abstract

Food waste is a relevant global problem due to its consequences on food security, economy, and environmental sustainability. This study focuses, in detail, on finding the main motivation for food waste among the young and the principal actions to prevent it. The paper focuses on Italian reality, since Western countries are partly accountable for wasting large amounts of food. What is more, the focus has been shifted specifically on to the youths and young adults, as they are the portion of the population that are most inclined to waste food. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey performed on a sample of n = 904 Italian consumers. In line with previous research, the results of this study confirm that avoidable food waste comes from three main behavioural antecedents: over preparation, excessive purchase, and inappropriate conservation. The research shows that food waste cannot be reduced by just one-way from the consumers; rather, it goes both ways, between consumers and retailers. Therefore, only holding the consumers accountable and expecting them to solve it will not solve the problem of food waste; marketing and retailers should also consider ethics when it comes to food distribution.