Food Waste in Australian Households - Why Does It Occur - Research Paper Example

LITERATURE REVIEW: FOOD WASTE IN AUSTRALIAN HOUSEHOLDS- WHY DOES IT OCCUR? Institution Course Name Consumer and Food Wastage Surname ABSTRACT The article, “Food Waste in Australian Households: Why does it occur?” by David Pearson, Michelle Minehan and Rachael Wakefield-Rann from the University of Canberra, Australia, explores the topic of food wastage and consumer behavior in Australian households. Food wastage has become a significant issue that adds onto economic impoverishment, environmental degradation and social tensions globally. The aim of the article was to review and elaborate on the literature on food wastage at the household level that is already existent. After a review of the knowledge on the relevant demographic characteristics as well as broad range of behavioral drivers, the findings of the study have become useful for the examination of the potential causes of as well as the solutions to food waste in Australia. The research suggested that there are numerous ways through which food wastage occurs at different levels of interaction ranging from the shopping, planning, storage, preparation and consumption of food. The literature emphasizes on significant factors to the problem that include behavioral drivers like inadequate purchase planning, lack of economic impact, lack of awareness, high quality standards, over cooking and purchasing, inadequate kitchen skills, changing meal plans and high food safety sensitivity. Although the findings that have been represented in the literature were rather general and drawn from a wide mix of economic and cultural contexts, they are valuable as they give an indication of the common factors that promote food wastage at the household level. The article is effective as it gives a foundational basis for much more context specific studies and interventions that can aid in the prevention of food wastage in the household. Table of Contents ABSTRACT 2 1.0 CHAPTER ONE 3 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Research Objectives 6 1.3 Research Questions 6 1.4 Study Limitations 6 2.0 CHAPTER TWO 7 2.1 Study Methodology 7 3.0 CHAPTER THREE 9 3.1 Literature Review 9 3.2 Results and Discussions 9 3.2.1 Why Food Waste occurs in Households 9 3.2.2 Who Wastes Food? 17 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR 19 4.1 Conclusions, Solutions and Recommendations 19 4.1.1 Solutions and Recommendations 19 4.1.2 Conclusion and Implications for Practitioners 21 REFERENCES 23 1.0 CHAPTER ONE 1.1 Introduction The reduction of unsustainable food practices is of great essence especially as a measure of promoting the realization of future food requirements goals. One of the most common pervasive unsustainable food consumption practice is food wastage which is avoidable. Food wastes are organic wastes that are produced during both the post-harvest and consumption of food and is generated at almost all the food production stages from the farm, transportation to the final consumption (Mason et al., 2011). Of great concern is the issue of avoidable food waste which this particular article aimed at exploring. Avoidable wastes are those that could be eaten but were however discarded. Avoidable wastes have great repercussions for the well-being and health of millions globally. It has been estimate that globally, approximately 30-50% of food that is produced for consumption by humans is often wasted (Gustavsson et al., 2012; Smil, 2004). In accordance to the increasing levels of resource scarcity and the increasing global population growth, the issue of food waste has high likelihoods of having grave implications on the availability of food in the future. To feed the projected world population of 9.3 billion by 2050, the United Nations has estimated that food production will have to increase by almost 70% (DAFF, 2013). Failure to meet this target will probably lead to increased malnutrition cases as well as the deterioration of human health conditions (Booth and Smith, 2001). In addition to its effects on human ell being and food availability, food wastage has different other adverse impacts on the ecology for example. When food is invariably wasted, it signifies that the different resources used for food production are unnecessarily lost and that the landfill decompositions and greenhouse gas emissions are generated for no just cause. Therefore, food wastage is a representation of the massive waste of energy inputs, land and water leading to avoidable greenhouse gas emissions that are produced during the food transport, processing as well as refrigeration (Baker et al., 2009). The food system in Australian has been estimated to generate approximately 23% of the total greenhouse gases emissions and hence making it become the second largest after power stations in terms of emissions generations (Garnaut, 2008). Although a substantial amount of food waste is produced across all food supply stages, in industrialized countries, a larger percentage of the wastes are produced at the household level (Kantor, 1997; Baker et al., 2009; Quested et al., 2011). This often include perishable foods like vegetables and fresh fruits, bread and dairy products together with other food products not yet eaten but cooked in the kitchen (Baker et al., 2009). The different causes of food wastes ranges from a variety of supply points and are a factor of specific socio economic contexts. It is hence important that the different causes of avoidable food wastes are examined at each of the food production and consumption stages in a systematic way that accounts for the unique geographic, political, cultural and economic influential forces. This article reviewed both Australian and international literature that investigate the drivers, extent and solutions to food waste at the household level in Australia. This is especially significant considering the recent research findings stating that post purchases surmount to the greatest amount of avoidable food wastes in most of the affluent economies (Parfitt et al., 2010). 1.2 Research Objectives The aim of the literature was to explore the issue of food wastage in Australia with keen focus on household waste production along the production and supply chains while assessing the measures being take to control wastage. It also aims at analyzing the issue on both the local and international levels. 1.3 Research Questions The literature was examined to provide an answer for the following research questions: What is the extent of avoidable household food waste? Why do household produce a large amount of food wastes? Who is responsible for food wastage? How can food wastage be prevented? 1.4 Study Limitations As a measure of the limited extent of data acquisition on all the different facets and factors of food waste in Australia, the study drew on international researches in the same socio-economic contexts that have been carried out on food wastes. This was therefore a limiting factor from the recognition that the results of the findings may not be able to be directly transferred to the Australian situation as a measure of locational variances. Despite this however, the results acquired are still viable as they give a provision of insight into some of the common trends and drivers that are broadly applicable and informative. 2.0 CHAPTER TWO 2.1 Study Methodology The study constituted of a literature review of different articles exploring the topic of household food waste. A total of 6 databases were used which included SAGE, PUBMED, EBSCOHost, CINAHL, SCOPUS Online journals together with Google Scholar. The results had limits set on English human studies that had been published from January 1980 and onwards. Some of the key search items were; ‘food discard’, household’, ‘food waste’, ‘consumer’ and post-consumer’. Both grey government and industry journals as well as published academic articles were used in the study. The literature review results had only three publications that had been able to provide data that is Australian specific. Yet another information source used is the online research on a total of 1063 grocery buyers in different parts of Australia that was carried out by Baker et al. (2009) as they attempted to seek answers to some significant questions like ‘who wastes food?’ as well as ‘who are the drivers of the behavior’. Their survey found out that there was a direct relationship existent between food wastes, household occupants and household income. With an increase in the number of household occupants, food waste reduces but increases with the increase in household income. The study suggested that to improve the reduction in house food waste production some of the most effective ways can be achieved through better planning by shoppers as well as government policies aimed at the improvement of public awareness and understanding. They however noted that a limiting factor to this realization can also be the role that retailers play because they base their profits on the amount that is sold. There advertisements are therefore often aimed at encouraging shoppers to buy more which results in impulse buying an act that eventually promotes the amount of food that is wasted. Mason et al. (2011) developed a report that based its findings on a collation and review of the different studies carried out on food wastage in Australia. These ranged from both national to regional documentary reports on food waste management in the country. The findings from the report explained that data on food wastage in Australia is rather scarce, fragmented and disintegrated. Using estimate data from the different studies that were examined however, the researchers were to conclude that household consumer food waste is considerably large and that the food waste management practices by post consumers are ineffective and hence contributing to the greenhouse burden being experienced in Australia. Yet another literature that was used in the study, was a survey carried out by Sustainability Victoria in 2010. This was an online survey on approximately 1200 primary food buyers from Victorian households. The primary objective of the survey was to understand, “people’s perception, knowledge, behaviors and attitudes about food waste and why so much is wasted”. Although there have been number of limitations cited on consumer self-reporting research methods. This particular research was consistent with most of the studies on consumer food wastage. Results indicated that in a list of different factors buying and cooking too much food, inappropriate storage methods and not finishing meals were some of the main drivers to consumer food wastage. These findings were consistent with two other studies specifically carried out in Australia that have been presented above as well as other international findings that will be sited throughout the paper. All these research findings were succinctly represented in the paper together with an augmentation of relevant data to the cultural specificity of the Australian scenario in terms of both academic articles and reports. 3.0 CHAPTER THREE 3.1 Literature Review There is currently inadequate data on the causes and extent of food waste internationally, nationally as well as in the city level and household levels (Leberorger & Schneider, 2011). The small amount of data that is available however indicates that unavoidable food waste among Australian households is significant. A survey carried out by the Australian Institute in 2009 on Australians found out that an approximate value of food worth AU $5billion is annually wasted. This when calculated equates to about AU $250 per person every year and as much as 5% spent on food expenses (Baker et al., 2009). In accordance to more estimates however, this amount may even be higher when the annual estimates of food waste per person is at an approximate value of AU $400 in NSW (NSW Government, 2011). Sustainability Victoria on the other hand places the value at AU$800 (Sustainability Victoria, 2011). 3.2 Results and Discussions 3.2.1 Why Food Waste occurs in Households In accordance to different research findings, food wastes are the resultant effect of the interaction of a number of behavioral drivers from food planning, shopping, storage and preparation as well as consumption (Quested et al., 2011). Furthermore, it has been discovered that food behaviors at the household levels are linked to the habitual behaviors that relate to the domestic environment and the other general daily practices (Evans, 2012). These behavioral tendencies are based on a total of nine behavioral drivers as highlighted below that are related to individual consumers. 3.2.1.1 Do not care or Unaware Literature reports point to the fact that most consumers are either unware or not quite care about food wastage. In the Food Waste Avoidance Benchmark by the Government of NSW it was observed that despite the high prevalence of household food waste, the level of concern of citizens over food wastage was noted to be low (NSW, 2011). Food waste concerns was in essence rated to be lower that the concerns for interests paid on credit cards and even electricity wastage. Only 47% were noted to have indicated at least a little concern about food wastage. The literature additionally indicated that there was a general lack of awareness on the level of food waste generation at home. Reports highlighted that in Victorian households, a total of AU $2000 is spent each year on food which is eventually wasted. From the survey, only 9% of the participants thought they were disposing off more food than they should (Sustainability Victoria, 2011). The other survey carried out by the NSW Government had findings citing that the average NSW household spends approximately AU $1000 annually on food that is wasted and only 14% of all the participants felt they were throwing away food that should be eaten (NSW Government, 2011). These large estimate differences on the average annual expenditure on food wasted per household further help to emphasize on the earlier observation of the limited, inadequate knowledge in the area. 3.2.1.2 Can afford to Waste The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization noted that most consumers in the developed nations have a general careless attitude towards their food consumption behaviors. Most of them waste large amounts of food as they can generally afford to waste food. This is a significant contributor to food wastage even in Australia (Gustavsson et al., 2012). This is indicative of a significant driver of consumer related waste generation in most wealthy countries where a large percentage of the population can afford to waste food. Evidence from studies carried out in Australia further on help to solidify this discovery of the link between larger amounts of food wastage and higher household incomes together. In Australian households that earn more than $80,000 each year, it has been observed that they waste almost 60% more than housed olds earning less than AU $40,000 each year (Baker et al., 2009). 3.2.1.3 High Quality Standards People with high quality standards have been noted to be a contributing factor to large amounts of food waste. In a study that was carried out in a number of American households, most younger households especially identified bad and poor food quality as some of the very important reasons why they discard most of their food (Van Garde and Woodburn, 1987). Most of the participants stated that they would very much likely discard food that they thought was no longer good enough to be eaten. In a similar way, Evan (2011) identified that the imperative to ‘eat well’ and high standards of nutrition were some of the reasons why most household in the UK wasted much of their food. Food standards for instance dictate that fresh fruits and vegetables are better than those frozen. These reduces the storage time of foods and hence meaning that they are more likely to be wasted in the long run. Additionally, in this age where there is an unlimited array of food options available 24/7, there is a general minimal incentive to use food past its prime time. 3.2.1.4 Inadequate Purchase Planning Ill preparation in purchase planning as also been cited as being a contributory cause to food wastage. Gustavsson et al. (2012) this is critical of the consumer shopping behavior in medium and high income countries where considerable amounts of foods are often bought with little consideration to how exactly they are going to be used. This is in stark contrast to developing countries where most of consumers often purchase smaller amounts of foods which are often planned and are just enough to meet their daily needs on the days they make the purchases. This obviously results in very minimal food wastage. In a survey that was carried out in the New South Wales (NSW), it was found out that almost 66% of all the respondents ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ check the house before going for shopping to know the kinds of food they have and lack in order to adequately plan for their meals in advance. Thirty-five percent reported that they ‘always’ or ‘mostly’ plan the meals they will eat in advance. In the same study, the younger participants were reported to be less likely to plan their meals and write lists prior to shopping (NSW Government, 2011). 3.2.1.5 Too much Purchases Research also points to the fact that over buying of food is also a viable contributor to food wastage. A survey that was carried out in NSW found out that almost 17% of all households buy too much food which is often eventually wasted. Some of the reasons that were cited for the purchases of too much food included, overestimations on how much food is required exactly (61%), neglect to check the fridge or cupboards before leaving home to go for shopping (35%), temptations from supermarkets offers and specials like ‘buy one get one free’ and ‘2 for 1’ (44%) as well as extra-large food portions and sizes (35%) (NSW Government, 2011). A similar survey by Sustainability Victoria (2011) had similar results with little deviation from the approximate values provided. 3.2.1.6. Too Much Cooking Cooking too much food was also noted to be a significant contributor to massive amounts of food wastage. Most Victorian households mentioned that they find it hard to give an estimation of the exact amount food that a single person can consume and therefore choose to cook a lot of food that is enough rather than little that may fail to be enough (Sustainability Victoria, 2011). It was therefore observed that the reasons are both intentional and non-intentional. Of the total respondents 25% were estimated to cook too much food. Some of the reasons they had was that it was preferable to serve too much rather than not enough food (48%), it is hard to know the right portions of food to cook (28%) and it is hard to know the exact food to cook for each person (32%) (NSW 2011). 3.2.1.7 Inadequate Skills in the Kitchen Yet another contributor of food wastage has been observed to be the lack of food management skills (Foley et al., 2011; Begley and Gallegos, 2010). Research points to the fact that most people may not be comfortable in different areas of food management ranging from pre-planning, discipline when making purchases, checking on food labelling, meal planning together with cooking skills and the recombination of leftovers to make new meals. Nineteen percent of the NSW respondents mentioned that they had little knowledge on how to use left overs and hence the large amounts of food they waste, others mentioned that they were unsure on the use of ingredients on left overs (NSW 2011). 3.2.1.8 High sensitivity to food safety There is also a general insufficient knowledge on food safety especially because of myths, misconceptions and a general ignorance. These are also responsible for food wastage. The research studies found out that that most households do not have accurate and confident estimations on food safety measures and practices. A key conclusion from the findings was that there is need for awareness and education programs to promote an enlightenment of how food should be handled for maximum conservation. Twenty percent of all the respondents in the NSW survey had the notion that cooked leftovers that have been in the fridge for more than a single day are not safe to eat (NSW 2011). In the same way there is little knowledge among consumers on the potential food safety issues that are associated with ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates other placed on food, this results in more food being thrown out. 3.2.1.9 Change of Plans The alterations made on meal plans as a measure of changes in peoples’ schedules are also some of the other reasons why large amounts of food are wasted. Food usually purchased for a reason as consumption is anticipated. However, in instances where circumstances are beyond the control of respondents, some food items are often left uneaten. In the time related dynamics of each and every day food can get wasted and displaced when there is a mismatch between the food that has been planned to be eaten and the food that is eventually consumed within for instance a 7-10-day period (Evans, 2011). When such uneaten food gets spoiled before they are eaten, they are no longer loved and hence thrown away (WRAP, 2007a). 3.2.2 Who Wastes Food? In accordance to the current available research, food is generally wasted across all demographics. There are however some correlations that can be made depending on socio-economic characteristics. 3.2.2.1 Age Consistent data suggest that young people essentially waste more food when compared to older individuals (Hamilton et al., 2005; Sustainability Victoria, 2011). Surveys carried out in the UK indicate that older people are able to effectively manage their food purchases and consumption patterns like carefully shopping, buying recipes for the ingredients they have, knowledge of the exact amount of food that should be cooked as well as better food management skills (WRAP, 2007b). It is however not known whether younger people will waste less depending on their lifestyle changes and knowledge or if wastage tendencies do not change in line with their food management skills knowledge. 3.2.2.2 Income Food waste is evident across the different levels of household incomes. Data from Australian studies however suggest that high income households generally waste much more food when compared to the lower income households (Baker et al., 2009). The same results have also been reported by (Sustainability Victoria, 2011). Food wastes in both of these studies was quantified by the amount of money that is spent by these households. This is due to the fact that it is possible that high income households discard smaller amounts of food that are more expensive. 3.2.2.3 Size of Household Although on a per capita basis, larger household generally waste more food as compared to smaller household, the most consistent observation is that singe person household generally waste more food. Studies that were carried out by the Australian Institute found out that single person households waste a lot of food when estimations are made on a per person basis (Baker et al., 2009). In accordance to the report, an exploratory discussion was made on the fact that most single person households have higher percentages of being younger and having lifestyles that are irregular with unstable eating patterns at home and consumption of foods that are not packaged for single person households. 3.2.2.4 Type of Household From research findings, there is also the general indication that the make-up of a household is just as influential as the size of a household in determining food wastage patterns. The highest food wasters have been identified as households with young children, single households as well as share households (Hamilton et al.2005; Baker et al., 2009; Sustainability Victoria, 2011). Share households among the Australian population was for one identified as being even more wasters than single households especially due to the fact that they often have separate cooking habits. Some of the other reasons for this include factors like fussy eaters, more sensitivity to food hygiene measures and more ‘pester power’ (WRAP, 2007b). 4.0 CHAPTER FOUR 4.1 Conclusions, Solutions and Recommendations 4.1.1 Solutions and Recommendations This literature gave a consistent discussion on the challenges that are present in understanding food consumption behaviors and hence the rise on food wastages. There is however limited approaches that have been made to address the concern. Experts have therefore called for the need to provide extra knowledge on the issue on especially the causes of food wastes across different cultures (Kantor, 1997; Sonesson et al., 2005; Owen et al., 2007; Quested et al., 2011; Gustavsson et al., 2012). There has however been general argument that education and awareness measures will continue to be crucial measures that can indeed help to promote the reduction of food wastage. When individuals are made aware of the massive scale of food wastage, they are most likely to respond positively and learn how they can effectively minimize it (Sustainability Victoria, 2011). Although there are different circumstances that promote high levels of food wastage are many, appropriate measures can be put in place like the proposal of specific interventions to the different highlighted contexts as well as the use of pervasive educational messages. 4.1.1.1 Cost of Food Waste Consumers can also be informed about the financial cost of food waste as it is a relevant strategy at ensuring they are well educated on the amount of money the loose on wasted food. A recent study carried out in Australia cited that almost 85% of respondents mentioned financial savings as being one of the one of the main motivations for them to reduce the amount of food that they waste. Some of the other reasons that can drive individuals to conserve food were the need to protect the environment as well as other humanitarian concerns like the cases of people in regions where children as well as adults barely have enough food in a day (Baker et al,.2007). 4.1.1.2 The Environmental Effect of Food Wastes The global issue of the negative impact that food wastage has on the environment can be used to encourage different consumers to control and minimize food wastage as well as to have an overall change in their food consumption patterns and behaviors. For this driver to be effective, experts have noted that there would be need for consumers to be educated on strong connection that exists between food wastage and environment degradation (WRAP, 2007a). 4.1.1.3 Shopping Patterns and Behaviors To reduce food wastage, the tackling of consumer shopping behaviors has been identified as being a significant strategy. Consumers have to be enlightened on effective food management practices like meal planning, use of shopping lists, disciplined shopping as well as the need to buy suitable portions to respective household size and composition as some of the effective behaviors that can promote the realization of food conservation (Kantor, 1997; NSW Government, 2011). It has been recognized that for this strategy to be effective, there will be the need to work with different key actors along the food production and supply chain like food retailers as well as supermarket chains. This has been observed, will help to align the measures for food waste reduction with the respective profit objectives of these actors. 4.1.1.4 Kitchen Skills It has also been postulated that consumers can benefit from information guiding on how well they can cook certain types of meals and in suitable quantities together with how well these foods can be stores and how they can assess on whether or not foods are safe to be eaten and how leftovers can also be incorporated into the weekly food menu and meal plans (Kantor, 1997). The information that enlightens consumers on a better understanding of the ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ dates together with other food labels that are crucial have been identified to be especially significant (Kantor, 1997; Van Garde and Woodburn, 1987; WRAP, 2007a). 4.1.1.5 Food Retailers There is also the need to form strong partnerships with food retailers as it is a potentially effective way to identify new systems and approaches that can be used to reduce food wastage along the supply chain. A good example of such a partnership is the voluntary Courtauld Commitment in the UK which is now made up of almost 40 major retailers together with suppliers, manufactures and brand owners who have all signed an agreement to ensure an improvement of food efficiency in the food retail sector. Other visible resources of the same include the Waste Resources Action Plan that partners with major supermarket retailers to run significant educational plans like the Sainsbury’s ‘Love Your Leftovers’ as well as the Morrison’s ‘Great Taste Less Waste’ among others. 4.1.2 Conclusion and Implications for Practitioners From this literature review, it has become evident that food wastage is indeed a significant problem, both locally as well as internationally. Programs to reduce avoidable food wastage can hence be effective in ensuring that there is a global food security as well as there are effective plans to reduce the production of greenhouse gases. It will additionally ensure that the environmental and indirect economic impacts of food wastages on the living standards of people are addressed. Although food wastage generally occurs in all the stages of food production, it has been observed that the households in developed nations like Australia are significant contributors of larger amounts of food waste. An even further interesting observation is that families with higher incomes have larger volumes of avoidable foods wastage which is generally foods that could have been consumed but were discarded instead. The sources of these food wastes are a measure of different activities that related to shopping, planning, storage, preparation and consumption of the foods. The nine overlapping and interrelated behavioral drivers that have been identified emerge wen people do not care or are unaware, have high quality standards, can afford to, have insufficient purchase planning, cook too much, buy too much, have inadequate kitchen skills, experience alterations on their previous planned meals as well as when they have high food quality standards. However, as a factor of the different features that people are predisposed to like unique economic, demographic, geographic and cultural conditions, there is definitely need for further research to be conducted on the constraining factors that are location specific. The findings that were projected in the study were significant as they provide a basis for more tailored investigations and innovations as well as interventions that are more location specific. This will help to address the different food wastage scenarios that can potentially be checked on. It can also enable the provision of a more targeted identification of the behavioral factors that can be addressed with more effective policies. REFERENCES Baker, David, & Josh, Denniss. (2009). What a waste: an analysis of household expenditure on food, Canberra: The Australia Institute. DAFF. (2013). National food plan, Canberra: Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Evans, David. (2011). 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