Predictors of Reuse and Donation Intentions of Leftover Food items: an Empirical Analysis

Abstract

The recent estimates points that around 30% of food gets wasted globally along the food supply chain, household food wastage accounting to nearly half of it. With the unprecedented growth in population, it is expected that by 2050 there will be a 70% increase in the demand for food (FAO, 2017). Therefore, there is a need to understand factors that may reduce the food wastage among households. The data was gathered from 260 Indian female respondents aged between 18 and 65 years who were responsible for their household chores. Structural equation modelling was applied for the analysis. Findings showed that religiosity significantly affects both moral norms and concern for community. Moral norms, subjective norms, concern of community are significant predictors of attitude towards reduction of food wastage whereas attitude towards reduction of food wastage leads to its reuse and donation. However, environmental literacy does not have any significant impact on attitude towards reduction of food wastage.