A national strategy to reduce food waste at the consumer level / Barbara O. Schneeman, Maria Oria, editors, Committee on a Systems Approach to Reducing Consumer Food Waste ; Board on Environmental Change and Society ; Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education ; Food and Nutrition Board ; Health and Medicine Board ; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Medicine.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Oria, Maria, editor.

Schneeman, Barbara, editor.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.)

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Committee on a Systems Approach to Reducing Consumer Food Waste, issuing body.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Board on Environmental Change and Society.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Food and Nutrition Board.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Health and Medicine Division.

Series:

Consensus study report.

Consensus study report

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Food waste--United States--Prevention.

Food waste.

Consumers--Food--United States.

Consumers.

Food conservation--United States.

Food conservation.

Food industry and trade--United States.

Food industry and trade.

Food Supply--economics.

Waste Products--economics.

Consumer Behavior--economics.

Waste Management.

Conservation of Natural Resources.

Public Policy.

United States.

Medical Subjects:

Food Supply--economics.

Waste Products--economics.

Consumer Behavior--economics.

Waste Management.

Conservation of Natural Resources.

Public Policy.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xix, 302 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : The National Academies Press, [2020]

Summary:

Approximately 30 percent of the edible food produced in the United States is wasted and a significant portion of this waste occurs at the consumer level. Despite food's essential role as a source of nutrients and energy and its emotional and cultural importance, U.S. consumers waste an estimated average of 1 pound of food per person per day at home and in places where they buy and consume food away from home. Many factors contribute to this waste--consumers behaviors are shaped not only by individual and interpersonal factors but also by influences within the food system, such as policies, food marketing and the media. Some food waste is unavoidable, and there is substantial variation in how food waste and its impacts are defined and measured. But there is no doubt that the consequences of food waste are severe: the wasting of food is costly to consumers, depletes natural resources, and degrades the environment. In addition, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has severely strained the U.S. economy and sharply increased food insecurity, it is predicted that food waste will worsen in the short term because of both supply chain disruptions and the closures of food businesses that affect the way people eat and the types of food they can afford. A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level identifies strategies for changing consumer behavior, considering interactions and feedbacks within the food system. It explores the reasons food is wasted in the United States, including the characteristics of the complex systems through which food is produced, marketed, and sold, as well as the many other interconnected influences on consumers' conscious and unconscious choices about purchasing, preparing, consuming, storing, and discarding food. This report presents a strategy for addressing the challenge of reducing food waste at the consumer level from a holistic, systems perspective.

Contents:

Intro

FrontMatter

Reviewers

Preface

Contents

List of Boxes, Figures, and Tables

Summary

1 Introduction

2 Understanding Food Waste, Consumers, and the U.S. Food Environment

3 Drivers of Food Waste at the Consumer Level and Implications for Intervention Design

4 Interventions to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level

5 Strategy for Reducing Food Waste at the Consumer Level

6 A Research Agenda for Improving Interventions to Reduce Food Waste and Their Implementation

Appendix A: Public Session Agendas

Appendix B: Literature Search Approach

Appendix C: Additional Information on Food Waste

Appendix D: Interventions to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level: Examples from the Literature

Appendix E: Research on Behavioral Change from Other Domains

Appendix F: Committee Member Biographical Sketches

Appendix G: Glossary

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on April 30, 2021)

ISBN:

0-309-68076-X

0-309-68074-3

OCLC:

1202475638