Consumer food waste behaviour in universities: Sharing as a means of prevention

In order to tackle food waste at the prevention stage of the waste hierarchy, an understanding of behaviour that leads to wastage is required. This article examines consumer food waste behaviour in a university setting and the implications for encouraging sharing as a means of mitigating food waste. The embodied and embedded nature of consumption and wasteful behaviours are contended giving explanation to the transition of food into waste. By undertaking a mixed method study and a social media based intervention, behaviour that causes food to be wasted within a campus environment is discussed, furthering the current domestic focus of research. The paper argues that consumer food waste behaviour can be better understood by focusing on the practices, routines and habits of consumers given the hidden nature of the food waste issue. A number of barriers are also presented regarding the sharing of food as a means of food waste prevention.
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Lazell, J 2016, 'Consumer food waste behaviour in universities: Sharing as a means of prevention' Journal of Consumer Behaviour, vol 15, no. 5, pp. 430-439. DOI: 10.1002/cb.1581 which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/cb.1581 . This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.