Background
There are critical issues with food waste that we must deal with as a society, but rarely find it discussed in length in most mainstream media. According to the WWF’s “Living Planet Report,” nearly one-third of all food in the world is wasted, and this waste occurs in all sectors of the food supply line, including food processing, transportation, and storage. In the United States specifically, the FDA states that between 30% to 40% of the food supply that is wasted, 31% is lost in consumer and retail sectors. The study by Ishangulyyey, Kim, and Lee (2019) found other that developed and industrialized nations, such as Europe, Japan, and China, were producing 56% of the worlds food waste, with 40% of that waste being in the consumer sectors. Because of the massively different needs that must be addressed in an attempt to solve the food waste issue, this report will focus on food waste at the civilian level.
When it comes to the food waste of citizens, it is important to understand the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had. With the pandemic forcing people indoors for several months, there was a large trend in the beginning of the pandemic toward panic purchases and bulk buying. Because of this trend, several studies about COVID-19’s impact on food waste have been performed. Many store-made restrictions were put into place that limited the amount of a single good an individual may buy due to supply chain disruption from the pandemic. For example, a person may have only been able to buy two bags of flour and 3 cartons of eggs. According to work done by Brizi and Biraglia (2021), these restrictions caused such a mental strain on some consumers that they began buying even more of these products than they would need in the first place. Some participants in their survey claimed that they had entered the store multiple times to buy such products, only for them to then be wasted when they were never used.
While Brizi and Biraglia’s report implies that food waste had increased during COVID-19, a conflicting report by Pappalardo et al. (2020) claims that food waste has actually declined. Focusing their study on the households of Italy, they assert that roughly sixteen percent of the surveyed individuals reported a decrease in their overall food waste, while only one percent of the surveyed individuals reported an overall increase. A proposed reason for the decrease in food waste is because of the daily lives forced upon us due to the pandemic. Because many were forced to stay inside all day long, there was a greater emphasis on using leftovers from previous meals as well as experimenting with left over foods to create unique meals. There was a larger portion of surveyed individuals who reported a decrease in food waste. Within the group of those who reported an increase in food waste, around seventy-four percent claim that a large factor in the increase was due to the panic buying of bulk products and extra perishables. Furthermore, around sixty-two percent of those individuals reported that the increased food waste was due to the amount of food that they had cooked. These individuals who had increased their food waste most likely only had done so because of the panic and stress caused by the pandemic.
Moving away from the household and toward the restaurant industry, a study by Eckert et al. (2020) compares the food wastes accumulated from different dining styles: buffets, canteens, and fixed price tables. There is a relatively equal amount of unavoidable food waste (bones, peels, fat) that is present in all three styles. However, the amount of avoidable food waste is drastically different between the restaurant styles. The lowest amount of food waste observed (an average of only 23.9 grams per plate) occurred in the variable priced buffets, where the price is determined by the weight of the plate. This is most likely due to the closer connection between food choice and cost. When a consumer has the ability to actively choose the amount of food on their plate relative to the cost, they are much more likely to consciously make the choice of taking less on their plate to avoid paying for wasted food. The second lowest amount food waste was observed in the fixed price buffets and canteen styles (45.8 grams per plate). With just a small change in the style, there was a ninety-two percent increase in food waste compared to the variable price buffets. According to managers interviewed for the study, this is likely due to the fact that the consumer knows exactly how much they are paying regardless of how much food they receive. As a result, the consumer is more likely to waste food as they know they do not have to recuperate the cost of the lost food to the same degree. Finally, the largest amount of food waste observed occurred in the fixed price table service styles. Food waste averaged out to roughly 69.8 grams per plate, a staggering one-hundred and ninety-two percent increase compared to the variable price buffet plates. This restaurant style provides the least amount of choice in relation to portions and price, which likely results in the increased amount of food waste observed.
Overall, food waste has a diverse effect on the environment and human health. For example, a study by Conrad et al. (2018) found that roughly 4.2 trillion gallons of water used in irrigation was wasted because of the loss of the fruits and vegetables it was used to grow. Another study found a correlation between food waste and obesity that is now being further researched. According to the report done by Toti et al. (2019), there was a strong link between food waste and obesity, seen within Europe and North America, where food waste is highest. The suspected primary reason for this correlation is the continually increasing food portions in these regions of the world. The increased portions cause individuals to consume more and gain more weight as a result, but also lead to an increase in food waste by those that are incapable of eating the entire portion.
Figure 1. A classic example of food waste, a product spoiled from being forgotten in the fridge.
Study Design / Research Methodology
When it comes to studies focused on food waste, the studies frequently use either surveys or direct measurements to obtain their data. Because the amount of time, manpower, and access to food waste sources required for direct measurements far exceeds my capabilities as an individual, I decided to focus on the survey aspect of research. My goal for this project was for the survey to cover a broad area of food waste that focused on individuals. While my goal was not to target a specific demographic, I believed that it was likely that a majority of the people I was able to survey would be college students attending Indiana University. I asked 52 questions broken into several different groups, focused on demographics, consumption habits, purchasing habits, mitigation importance during food preparation, disposal habits, rough estimates of food waste, and final mitigation importance questions. These questions were answered through a combination of single choice responses and multi-choice responses when appropriate, as well as an optional free response at the end. The question asked were covering an average week, a length of time chosen because it allows a participant to answer relatively accurately without having to dig too deeply through their memory for their responses and it provides more information than a constrained time period such as one day.
There are a few limitations associated with surveys as a method of data collection. There is potential for questions to be interpreted differently by participants and when questions are covering long periods of time there is potential of forgetfulness or misremembering to affect results. A report by van Herpen et al. (2019) compares two different methods of surveying. In their survey Household Food Waste Questionnaire, they used several methods to mitigate the risk of faulty memory among their participants. These methods included an announcement prior to the survey that served as a reminder to the participants to remain conscious of the food waste they produce, as well as focus the time scale of their questions so that participants only had to recall food waste from the last week. A study done by Dusoruth and Peterson (2020) used in-depth surveys at a state fair to assess the participants behaviors and routines when it comes to the purchasing of food, as well as their reasoning for throwing away foods. This particular survey seems useful for what I am looking for in research. Aside from general demographic questions, it asks multiple questions that attempt to quantify the food purchasing behaviors by questioning their shopping lists, meal plans, and tendencies to stick to their lists or spontaneously buy products in the store. These questions go deeper into the issue of food waste by asking why someone throws away food rather than remaining at the surface level and questioning only how much food waste they produce.
A study by Grainger et al. (2018) asked several similar questions to the Dusoruth and Peterson (2020) study but were done through in-person interviews rather than through a survey. Once more, the planning and pre-purchasing aspects were variables in the study, with questions asking about making shopping lists as well as including a question about shopping online, something that has only become more topical in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Grainger et al. (2018) study also goes into more detailed questions surrounding leftovers than the previously mentioned study did, as well as covered more detailed questions about throwing away foods that had passed their expiration date. It is likely that this study was more in-depth question wise because it was able to ask questions in a face-to-face interview in homes, while the last study was done at a fair where people would likely be willing to spend less time covering such a large number of specific details.
A United Kingdoms based survey done by Mallinson et al. (2016) used a massive 250 question survey to evaluate many of the same areas that the previously discussed surveys have. They were able to survey nine hundred and twenty-eight individuals, and the questionnaire was used to break these individuals down into different groupings based on their food waste patterns. One of the most interesting findings of this study are focused on epicures, individuals who are particularly interested in fine foods, and what they considered “kitchen evaders”, or people who prefer to eat primarily convenience foods. The study found that the epicures, the group that had the most emphasis on cooking and using fresh foods, produced the least amount of food waste. Interestingly, the “kitchen evaders”, who were the least likely to consume fresh or organic foods and were more likely to rely upon convenience foods (essentially the exact opposite of the epicures), were only the second most wasteful of the groups. It was actually the group called “casual consumers” that produced the most food waste overall, this group being characteristic of people who not particular with their foods or with shopping, but also not opposed to convenience or carry-out foods. These two groups (kitchen evaders and casual consumers) are particularly important to note for my study because either group could be applicable to the standard college student.
Finally, a study by Romani et al. (2018) uses a combination of interviews and surveys to collect their data. The kind of wide scale data they received, while useful, is only possible due to the large number of interviewers and participants they had access to. This particular study does, however, reveal the effectiveness of an interview over a survey when it comes to specifics, as targeted questions asked by an interviewer can lead to much more in-depth responses by the participants that include examples of specific scenarios in which they have thrown out food.
Each of these past studies were useful in helping the formation of the 52-question survey I sent out. Despite being unable to interview a substantial number of participants, questions within the Grainger et al. (2018) study helped in the creation of the planning and pre-purchasing block of questions on my survey.
Figure 2. Restaurant food waste
Results
I had a total of 119 participants take my survey, for ease of understanding the data will be laid out in a table for each question.
| 1. What gender do you identify as? | Responses |
| Female | 64 |
| Male | 52 |
| Prefer not to say | 3 |
| 2. What is your age? | |
| 15 to 25 years old. | 61 |
| 45+ years old. | 43 |
| 25 to 35 years old. | 8 |
| 35 to 45 years old. | 6 |
| Prefer not to answer. | 1 |
| 3. Are you currently enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington? | |
| No, I am not enrolled at any university. | 57 |
| Yes, I’m enrolled at Indiana University Bloomington. | 44 |
| No, but I am enrolled at a different university. | 18 |
| 4. What is your current living situation? | |
| I live in a house or apartment where I have access to a kitchen. | 100 |
| I live in a dorm at my enrolled university. | 17 |
| I live in a house or apartment where I do not have access to a kitchen. | 1 |
| Question left blank | 1 |
| 5. How many people do you cook for in a typical week? | |
| 2 people (including self) | 38 |
| I typically cook only for myself. | 30 |
| I typically don’t cook. I typically eat at university dining areas. | 19 |
| 3 people (including self) | 17 |
| 4 people (including self) | 6 |
| 5 or more people (including self) | 5 |
| I don’t cook or eat from university dining areas. | 4 |
| 6. How many times in the last week have you eaten breakfast (not including leftovers)? | |
| 6-7 times | 41 |
| 2-3 times | 33 |
| 0-1 times | 25 |
| 4-5 times | 19 |
| 8+ times | 1 |
| 7. How many times in the last week have you eaten lunch (not including leftovers)? | |
| 6-7 times | 51 |
| 4-5 times | 37 |
| 2-3 times | 18 |
| 0-1 times | 12 |
| 8+ times | 1 |
| 8. How many times in the last week have you eaten dinner (not including leftovers)? | |
| 6-7 times | 78 |
| 4-5 times | 31 |
| 2-3 times | 7 |
| 0-1 times | 2 |
| 8+ times | 1 |
| 9. How many times in the last week have you eaten leftovers for any meal? | |
| 2-3 times | 57 |
| 0-1 times | 26 |
| 4-5 times | 24 |
| I throw away all leftovers and never consume them. | 4 |
| I don’t have the ability to keep leftovers (ex. no access to a refrigerator). | 3 |
| 8+ times | 3 |
| 6-7 times | 2 |
| 10. How many times in the last week have you eaten food from a restaurant (either within the restaurant or carry-out)? | |
| 2-3 times | 59 |
| 0-1 times | 37 |
| 4-5 times | 16 |
| 6-7 times | 6 |
| 8+ times | 1 |
| 11. How many times in the last week did you eat a meal where meat was the main focus of the dish (excludes eggs)? | |
| 6-7 times | 32 |
| 4-5 times | 30 |
| 2-3 times | 24 |
| 8+ times | 23 |
| 0-1 times | 6 |
| I don’t consume meat. | 4 |
| 12. How many snacks (desserts, chips, fruits, etc. but NOT leftovers) do you typically eat PER DAY? | |
| 2 snacks | 56 |
| 1 snack | 35 |
| 3 snacks | 14 |
| 0 snacks | 6 |
| 4 snacks | 5 |
| 5+ snacks | 3 |
| 13. How would you describe your planning habits for grocery shopping? | |
| I make a general list of goods I need, but the majority of decisions are made in the store. | 51 |
| I make a detailed list of goods I need and don’t typically deviate from the list. | 45 |
| I don’t make a list of any kind; I make all decisions within the store. | 11 |
| Not applicable (I don’t grocery shop) | 11 |
| Question left blank | 1 |
| 14. Purchase non-perishable products in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 48 |
| Likely | 46 |
| Very Likely | 15 |
| Very Unlikely | 6 |
| Not Applicable | 4 |
| 15. Purchase frozen foods or pre-made meals in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 67 |
| Likely | 22 |
| Very Unlikely | 18 |
| Very Likely | 5 |
| Not Applicable | 6 |
| Question left blank | 1 |
| 16. Purchase fresh vegetables in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 65 |
| Likely | 26 |
| Very Unlikely | 18 |
| Very Likely | 8 |
| Not Applicable | 2 |
| 17. Purchase fresh fruits in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 62 |
| Likely | 32 |
| Very Unlikely | 16 |
| Very Likely | 7 |
| Not Applicable | 2 |
| 18. Purchase non-meat animal products (milks, cheeses, eggs, etc.) in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 57 |
| Likely | 28 |
| Very Unlikely | 17 |
| Very Likely | 12 |
| Not Applicable | 5 |
| 19. Purchase animal-based meats (beef, pork, chicken, etc.) in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 49 |
| Likely | 38 |
| Very Unlikely | 14 |
| Very Likely | 12 |
| Not Applicable | 6 |
| 20. Purchase grain products (pastas, breads, etc.) in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 56 |
| Likely | 42 |
| Very Likely | 10 |
| Very Unlikely | 7 |
| Not Applicable | 4 |
| 21. Purchase other perishable goods previously undescribed (refrigerated goods such as hummus, dressings, spreads, etc.) in bulk? | |
| Unlikely | 91 |
| Likely | 11 |
| Very Unlikely | 7 |
| Very Likely | 4 |
| Not Applicable | 6 |
| 22. Mitigating food waste when preparing vegetables? | |
| Somewhat Important | 66 |
| Very Important | 27 |
| Neutral | 16 |
| Somewhat Unimportant | 9 |
| Very Unimportant | 1 |
| 23. Mitigating food waste when preparing meats? | |
| Very Important | 49 |
| Somewhat Important | 42 |
| Neutral | 18 |
| Somewhat Unimportant | 7 |
| Very Unimportant | 3 |
| 24. Mitigating food waste when preparing fruits? | |
| Somewhat Important | 58 |
| Very Important | 27 |
| Neutral | 19 |
| Somewhat Unimportant | 13 |
| Very Unimportant | 2 |
| 25. Mitigating food waste when preparing non-meat animal products? | |
| Somewhat Important | 64 |
| Neutral | 23 |
| Very Important | 21 |
| Somewhat Unimportant | 8 |
| Very Unimportant | 3 |
| 26. Not preparing more food than I (and those I cook for) will consume in one meal? | |
| Somewhat Unimportant | 39 |
| Somewhat Important | 26 |
| Very Important | 23 |
| Very Unimportant | 18 |
| Neutral | 13 |
| 27. Intentionally preparing enough food to have leftovers? | |
| Somewhat Important | 46 |
| Very Important | 30 |
| Neutral | 25 |
| Somewhat Unimportant | 13 |
| Very Unimportant | 5 |
| 28. Vegetables (Disposal Habits) | |
| Likely | 44 |
| Unlikely | 40 |
| Very Likely | 22 |
| Very Unlikely | 7 |
| Not Applicable | 6 |
| 29. Fruits (Disposal Habits) | |
| Likely | 47 |
| Unlikely | 33 |
| Very Likely | 28 |
| Very Unlikely | 7 |
| Not Applicable | 3 |
| Question left blank | 1 |
| 30. Milks, Heavy Creams, and other liquid dairy (Disposal Habits) | |
| Very Likely | 55 |
| Likely | 39 |
| Unlikely | 19 |
| Not Applicable | 4 |
| Very Unlikely | 2 |
| 31. Cheeses (Disposal Habits) | |
| Likely | 50 |
| Unlikely | 30 |
| Very Likely | 23 |
| Very Unlikely | 11 |
| Not Applicable | 4 |
| 32. Poultry (Disposal Habits) | |
| Very Likely | 53 |
| Likely | 40 |
| Unlikely | 18 |
| Not Applicable | 6 |
| Very Unlikely | 2 |
| 33. Beef and Pork (Disposal Habits) | |
| Very Likely | 45 |
| Likely | 40 |
| Unlikely | 26 |
| Not Applicable | 7 |
| Very Unlikely | 1 |
| 34. Fish and other Seafood (Disposal Habits) | |
| Very Likely | 59 |
| Likely | 29 |
| Not Applicable | 20 |
| Unlikely | 10 |
| Very Unlikely | 1 |
| 35. Pastas and other Grain products (breads, rolls, etc.) (Disposal Habits) | |
| Unlikely | 56 |
| Likely | 31 |
| Very Unlikely | 21 |
| Very Likely | 7 |
| Not Applicable | 4 |
| 36. Canned Goods (Disposal Habits) | |
| Unlikely | 53 |
| Very Unlikely | 40 |
| Likely | 12 |
| Very Likely | 8 |
| Not Applicable | 6 |
| 37. Beverages (such as sodas, teas, and coffees) (Disposal Habits) | |
| Unlikely | 55 |
| Very Unlikely | 34 |
| Likely | 13 |
| Not Applicable | 10 |
| Very Likely | 7 |
| 38. Spreads, Dressings, and Condiments (Disposal Habits) | |
| Unlikely | 48 |
| Likely | 41 |
| Very Likely | 13 |
| Very Unlikely | 8 |
| Not Applicable | 7 |
| Question left blank | 2 |
| 39. Vegetables (Waste) | |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 45 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 35 |
| None | 19 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 18 |
| A large amount (3+ servings to entire products) | 2 |
| 40. Fruits (Waste) | |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 48 |
| None | 35 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 23 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 12 |
| A large amount (3+ servings to entire products) | 1 |
| 41. Milks, Heavy Cream, and other liquid dairy (Waste) | |
| None | 60 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 24 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 23 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 10 |
| A large amount (3+ servings to entire products) | 2 |
| 42. Cheeses (Waste) | |
| None | 75 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 24 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 15 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 3 |
| A large amount (3+ servings to entire products) | 1 |
| Question left blank | 1 |
| 43. Poultry (Waste) | |
| None | 67 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 32 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 13 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 6 |
| Question left blank | 1 |
| 44. Beef and Pork (Waste) | |
| None | 75 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 28 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 9 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 7 |
| 45. Fish and other Seafood (Waste) | |
| None | 95 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 17 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 6 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 1 |
| 46. Pastas and other Grain products (Waste) | |
| None | 70 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 20 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 19 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 10 |
| 47. Beverages (including sodas, teas, and coffees) (Waste) | |
| None | 80 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 24 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 10 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 4 |
| A large amount (3+ servings to entire products) | 1 |
| 48. Spreads, Dressings, and Condiments (Waste) | |
| None | 78 |
| Only the unavoidable waste | 20 |
| A small amount (less than a serving) | 14 |
| A medium amount (about 1-2 servings) | 6 |
| A large amount (3+ servings to entire products) | 1 |
| 51. Do you find food waste to be an important issue that needs a strong, long term solution? | |
| Maybe, mitigating food waste is important but not the most important thing we need to work on right now. | 63 |
| Yes, mitigating food waste is important to the future of our survival. | 53 |
| No, mitigating food waste isn’t important. | 2 |
| Not at a personal level but very important at a community level | 1 |
Figure 2 and 3. Examples of unavoidable food waste from apples and chicken
Discussion
When reviewing the results of the survey, there were several aspects that fell in line with my expectations and several that surprised me. Of the 119 participants, 96 stated that they make some form of shopping list before they go to the store and typically 50% or more of the participants stated that they were either unlikely or very unlikely to bulk purchase any of the products in question. According to a study by Janssens et al. (2019), an individuals behavior when it comes to food purchasing has one of the most significant impacts on the amount of food waste created by said individual. Because the participants of my survey had relatively good food purchasing habits, with most creating lists and not bulk buying, there may be a strong correlation with the low amounts of reported food waste.
Of the participants of the survey, 26 stated that they composted everything possible and 22 had said that they give all possible foods to animals, and interestingly 1 participant had used the fill in the blank response to say that they throw food waste in the woods for animals to eat. By the nature of the question, there can be overlap with the answers, so it is possible that someone responded with composting and giving food waste to animals. The study “Environmental and health impacts of using food waste as animal feed: a comparative analysis of food waste management options” by Salemdeeb et al. (2017) compared the impact of composting and feeding food waste to animals (pig food specifically for the study). While either method is better for the environment than putting the food waste into a landfill, they found that large scale composting had a much heavier impact on the environment than converting food waste into animal feed. While it is likely that the participants of my survey were not converting food waste on an industrial scale this difference is much less impactful, but still useful. When food waste is consumed by an animal, the calories of the food are thereby not wasted, whereas during composting the calories are still wasted (albeit in better way than decomposing in a landfill).
Fruits and vegetables were the most wasted foods according to the participants. A large majority of this waste was marked as “unavoidable food waste only,” which was also true for the other categories. These results are similar to a study by von Massow et al. (2019), in which the highest amounts of avoidable food waste were found within the fruits and vegetables categories, followed by breads and cereals then meat and fish. In my survey however, I found that there was more loss in the “Milk and other liquid dairy” category, not breads and cereals. Instead of saying breads and cereals, I had used the term “Pastas and other Grain products,” which may have altered the results in relation to the von Massow study. Because pastas are typically dry and have a lengthy shelf life over breads, participants of my survey may have been thinking more of dry pasta shelf goods over unstable grains like bread. There is also a massive limitation to this section of my survey, while I had a “none” option, I didn’t include an option for people who did not actually use any of product in question. Because of this, a category like “Fish and other Seafood” has the lowest amount of listed waste, but it is likely that this is because there were few people eating seafood, and not because they were using all of the product.
The final question of the survey was an optional free response where participants could voice their full opinions about food waste, and 37 responses were received. Of the responses that weren’t commenting on the survey itself, there was a surprising number of responses that discussed corporate level food waste. Often, the response stated a belief that while it may be important to mitigate food waste on an individual level, it is more important to mitigate it on a corporate level (I believe that when the participants were discussing “corporations” they are referring to all aspects other than the consumer, including farmers, transportation, processors, and grocers). For example, one participant said “Corporate food waste is a huge issue and one of the largest contributors to climate change and starvation. We produce enough food to feed the planet’s human population and then some, but corporations choose to dispose of perfectly good food just because it’s not profitable to disperse it to the needy or starving.” While this is somewhat true, the participant fails to recognize that unintentional food waste occurs for several reasons. An excellent study by Cattaneo et al. (2021) looks at many of these factors. Several of their examples include inadequate storage, on-farm losses due to weather and agricultural practices, and logistical issues in the transport chains. As with climate change as a whole, despite the fact that large corporations are major contributors to the issue, we as individuals have a responsibility to do whatever we can.
There is great difficulty in the struggle of mitigating food waste. As discussed previously, despite the steps an individual can take to mitigate food waste, a large portion of waste occurs outside the consumer sectors. As discussed in the background section, as research in food waste continues to grow, a correlation between high food waste and obesity continues to be found. One of the most effective things we can begin doing to mitigate food waste is further the education of nutrition in our youth. According to the CDC, there has been a drastic drop in nutrition education in schools, with most students in the United States receiving less than 8 hours of nutrition education for the entire school year. While this is undoubtedly affected by hundreds of factors, including location, school funding, and staff availability, this education needs to be improved. Of my participants, fruits and vegetables were the most wasted foods. This could be due to multiple factors such as bulk purchasing or mistakes in cooking, but it is still indicative of a general trend in the population to neglect the healthiest foods. It is likely not a coincidence that meats were among the food groups with the lowest reported waste, as the general culture in the United States (in particular the more rural areas that cover most of Indiana) is to eat a meat heavy diet, which can be seen in question 11 of the survey.
Multiple studies have looked at the efficacy of different processes designed to deal with food waste. One such study, by Garcia-Garcia et al. (2017) looked at multiple options for dealing with food waste, including repurposing the waste for human consumption, converting it into animal feed, and composting. Multiple opportunities are available if time were put into any of these options. Naturally, repurposing food for human consumption is one of the most important options that needs to be discussed. The food waste in question during this discussion is not foods that have already been partially eaten or used, but foods that are still edible and near the end of their shelf life, which typically causes them to be thrown out by corporations despite their edibility. Many large-scale manufacturers and grocery stores dispose of any products that may be past their expiration date, rather than donate the products to food shelters. Unfortunately, government intervention would likely be required to force these large businesses to give to charity, making it a difficult prospect. Repurposing food for human consumption also includes upcycling foods, a process where a food byproduct is transformed into a product for human consumption, such as the left-over barley from the brewing process being transformed into flour. This prospect is particularly intriguing and deserves more attention, any way in which we can retain the wasted calories will be infinitely useful for the future.
Even if food waste can’t be repurposed for human use, there are still other options available that may allow us to extract all the value from it. A study by Agarwal and Sharma (2020) discusses the efficacy of various biofuels that can be created from food processing waste. For example, using a biofuel created from animal or plant oils can be an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels if the technology were available. This sort of oil usage is already being seen small scale, with some individual consumers purchasing fry oil from fast food restaurants to power their vehicle. With more investments, this could be a useful alternative for individuals within urban centers with large sources of this oil. A different study by Osorio et al. (2021) looked at the potential different food wastes have in other industries. For example, they discuss the usage of adding fruit peels to flours, food colorings, and cosmetics. While this process is definitely useful in terms of large-scale productions over individuals, it still represents another way in which we can be more efficient with our food waste.
Conclusion
While I am happy with the results of my survey, there are many areas that could have been improved, and areas that could be added to for future usage. As mentioned previously, an option such as “I didn’t eat this kind of food” should be added to the approximate food waste categories in order to separate the individuals who ate the food and didn’t waste any of it and those who never ate it to begin with. The demographics section could be expanded as well, including questions about the access to stores, the economic quality of the surrounding area, ethnicity, etc. While these particular questions were beyond the scope of my project, in the future they would be useful for the extra analysis they bring. It may also be useful to provide photo examples and a more thorough definition of unavoidable food waste for participants who may not understand what it is. It would also be useful to specify a difference between different cereals (fresh breads and cooked pastas compared to dry pastas) so that participants aren’t split when trying to decide what to answer.
Appendix
Figure 1: food waste due to negligence (moldy cheese)
Figure 2: another example of food waste due to negligence (cooked rice that dried out)
Figure 3: Unavoidable food waste (skin and fat from chicken)
Figure 4: Unavoidable food waste (the cores from two apples)
Figure 5: Food waste from a restaurant visit
Citations
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