Publication
To reduce or to recycle? Urban residents’ views on food waste and food-related packaging practices in The Hague, Netherlands
The global food system is acknowledged as increasingly unequal and threatening people's health. Food waste ranks as the third largest greenhouse gas emission contributor. This study focused on how households' food consumption and waste were adapted to lifestyles during COVID-19.
- Author
- Ann Trevenen-Jones, Min J. Cho, Jyothi Thrivikraman, Daniela Vicherat Mattar
- Date
- 02 June 2024
- Links
- Read the full article here
Food production-consumption and household waste is undergoing transformation within public policy, municipal management and homes, in the Netherlands. This is partly informed by sustainability commitments, such as those detailed in the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 addresses responsible consumption and production, and includes a target to reduce food waste by half. According to the authors, cities, like The Hague, with its diversity of people and food systems provide an opportunity to gain insight into urban lifestyles and HFW (household food waste).
Furthermore, the authors argue that there is a need to resonate with different ‘audiences’ with varying social positions, particularly by age cohort, culture/language, socioeconomic profile, and rootedness in places where they live. Additionally, their observation that environmental values and identities did not consistently predict waste management behaviours, does not imply that environmental values and identities are unimportant.