Mallinson, L.J., Russell, J.M. and Barker, M.E. (2016) Attitudes and behaviour towards convenience food and food waste in the United Kingdom. Appetite. ISSN 0195-6663
Abstract
Households in the UK discard much food. A reduction in such waste to mitigate environmental impact is part of UK government policy. This study investigated whether household food waste is linked to a lifestyle reliant on convenience food in younger consumers. A survey of 928 UK residents aged 18-40 years and responsible for the household food shopping (male n = 278; female n = 650) completed an online questionnaire designed to measure attitudes to convenience food and to quantify household food waste. Cluster analysis of 24 food-related lifestyle factors identified 5 consumer groups. General linear modelling techniques were used to test relationships between the purchase frequency of convenience food and household food waste. From the cluster analysis, five distinct convenience profiles emerged comprising: ‘epicures’ (n = 135), ‘traditional consumers’ (n = 255), ‘casual consumers’ (n = 246), ‘food detached consumers’ (n = 151) and ‘kitchen evaders’ (n = 141). Casual consumers and kitchen evaders were the most reliant on convenience food and notably were the most wasteful. The demographic profile of kitchen evaders matched the population groups currently targeted by UK food waste policy. Casual consumers represent a new and distinct group characterised by “buy a lot and waste a lot” behaviour. Household size, packaging format, price-awareness and marketing all appear to influence levels of food waste. However, it seems that subtle behavioural and sociocultural factors also have impact. Further research is needed to elucidate the factors that mediate the positive association between the purchase of convenience food and reported food waste in order to inform food waste policy and initiatives.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Elsevier. This is an author produced version of a paper subsequently published in Appetite. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) |
Keywords: | food Waste; Convenience Food; Consumers; Lifestyle |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > The Medical School (Sheffield) > Division of Genomic Medicine (Sheffield) > Department of Oncology and Metabolism (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Sheffield Teaching Hospitals |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 07 Apr 2016 10:31 |
Last Modified: | 14 Apr 2017 03:14 |
Published Version: | https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.03.017 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.appet.2016.03.017 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:96960 |