TY - JOUR

T1 - The Food Waste Lab

T2 - Improving food waste reduction behavior through education

AU - Mariam, Nikravech

AU - Nina, Langen

AU - Fabian, Bendisch

AU - Florence, Ziesemer

AU - Abels, Simone

AU - Ulf, Schrader

AU - Daniel, Fischer

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2022

PY - 2022/10/10

Y1 - 2022/10/10

N2 - Research has demonstrated the relevance of addressing food waste (FW) in private households in mitigating climate change. There is, however, little research on the potential of educational interventions in school settings to reduce this household FW. This paper explores the potential of education to positively shape 9th to 11th graders' behavioral determinants regarding FW reduction, and offers insights into the potential to develop FW reduction strategies. The FW-related educational intervention (“Food Waste Lab”) engaged the participants (n = 81) in the development and application of FW reduction strategies at home. There was a significant reduction in FW reported over time. However, this reduction cannot necessarily be attributed to the reduction strategies, but may be a result of decreasing engagement in FW measurement activities. The main contribution of the intervention was increased awareness among participants of FW as a driver of climate change. Participation in the Food Waste Lab increased the likelihood of participants using taste as a judgment criterion of edibility, and eating up leftovers. No significant changes could be identified with regard to food literacy and Theory of Planned Behavior constructs. Unexpectedly, the perceived feasibility of the FW reduction goals decreased over time. This study provides recommendations to correct this shortcoming. Notably, highlighting the ease of reducing FW at home is key to increasing the perceived feasibility of this goal and motivating participants to engage in FW reduction. Focusing on a specific behavior related to the use of leftovers is relevant when designing an intervention targeted to adolescents. Nevertheless, the study's limitations indicate that the future intervention design should consider reactance and fatigue as important constraints in educational interventions involving FW measures. Finally, this study calls for more robust experimental designs to evaluate the impact of various FW reduction interventions.

AB - Research has demonstrated the relevance of addressing food waste (FW) in private households in mitigating climate change. There is, however, little research on the potential of educational interventions in school settings to reduce this household FW. This paper explores the potential of education to positively shape 9th to 11th graders' behavioral determinants regarding FW reduction, and offers insights into the potential to develop FW reduction strategies. The FW-related educational intervention (“Food Waste Lab”) engaged the participants (n = 81) in the development and application of FW reduction strategies at home. There was a significant reduction in FW reported over time. However, this reduction cannot necessarily be attributed to the reduction strategies, but may be a result of decreasing engagement in FW measurement activities. The main contribution of the intervention was increased awareness among participants of FW as a driver of climate change. Participation in the Food Waste Lab increased the likelihood of participants using taste as a judgment criterion of edibility, and eating up leftovers. No significant changes could be identified with regard to food literacy and Theory of Planned Behavior constructs. Unexpectedly, the perceived feasibility of the FW reduction goals decreased over time. This study provides recommendations to correct this shortcoming. Notably, highlighting the ease of reducing FW at home is key to increasing the perceived feasibility of this goal and motivating participants to engage in FW reduction. Focusing on a specific behavior related to the use of leftovers is relevant when designing an intervention targeted to adolescents. Nevertheless, the study's limitations indicate that the future intervention design should consider reactance and fatigue as important constraints in educational interventions involving FW measures. Finally, this study calls for more robust experimental designs to evaluate the impact of various FW reduction interventions.

KW - Climate change

KW - Food waste reduction

KW - Household food waste

KW - Educational intervention

KW - Didactics of sciences education

KW - Sustainability sciences, Communication

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136025767&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133447

DO - 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133447

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 370

JO - Journal of Cleaner Production

JF - Journal of Cleaner Production

SN - 0959-6526

M1 - 133447

ER -