Household food waste and the green consumer

Conference Publication ResearchOnline@JCU
McCarthy, B.;Liu, H.;Schurmann, A.
Abstract

Food waste is a global problem and poses environmental, economic and ethical issues. A survey of 224 respondents showed that consumers were putting a good deal of effort into reducing food waste and the main motivating factors were concern over the cost of food wasted and a move towards a more environmentally-friendly lifestyle. The green consumers showed a high propensity to engage in sustainable food consumption behaviour, such as composting, eating in season, buying locally grown food and growing their own herbs or vegetables. The main reasons for throwing away food were purchase of fresh produce with a short life, spoilage and forgetting about food stored in the fridge. Surprisingly, most consumers were unsure as to whether food waste was harmful to the environment. The priority for social marketers and local government is to address this lack of knowledge and highlight that wasting less food is a climate-friendly choice.

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ANZMAC 2016: Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conference: marketing in a post-disciplinary era

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1

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978-0-473-37660-4

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Pages Count

7

Location

Christchurch, New Zealand

Publisher

University of Canterbury

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Publisher Location

Christchurch, New Zealand

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