Protection Motivation and Food Waste Reduction Strategies

Abstract

“Ugly food” refers to agricultural products that are discarded because their appearance is not attractive, even though their nutritional content is unaffected. In this study, protection motivation theory (PMT) was applied to analyze whether an individual’s awareness of food waste problems affects their “ugly food” purchase intention. Hence, the relationships between awareness of food waste problems, threat appraisal (severity and vulnerability), coping appraisal (response efficacy and self-efficacy), and ugly food purchase intention were analyzed. Additionally, a moderating effect analysis was conducted per consumer age. Descriptive statistical analysis, frequency, and SPSS reliability analysis were used, including confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and multi-group analysis of the Amos program. For the final analysis, 361 samples were used. Results showed that awareness of food waste problems positively affected severity and vulnerability, response efficacy, and self-efficacy. Moreover, severity positively affected ugly food purchase intention and vulnerability did not. Response and self-efficacy positively affected ugly food purchase intention. In the moderating effect analysis per consumer age, the difference between severity and ugly food purchase intention and vulnerability and ugly food purchase intention was significant. This study has various academic and practical implications, and presents several strategies to reduce food waste to contribute to a sustainable future environment. It is also the first study linking the food waste problem, PMT, and ugly food purchase behavior.

Exploration of individual factors influencing self‐reported household food waste in Australia

“…Awareness of the food waste problem, moral norm, and selfefficacy to reduce food waste were confirmed as precursors of behavioral intention, as predicted by the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991(Ajzen, , 2015, the Norm Activation Model (De Groot & Steg, 2009;Schwartz, 1977), and Social Learning Theory (Bandura & Walters, 1977). The importance of these constructs in the context of food waste reduction has also been previously reported in the context of household food waste (Aschemann-Witzel et al, 2015a, 2020Jang & Lee, 2022;Kim et al, 2022;Principato et al, 2015;Quested et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2022). In addition, awareness was positively correlated to moral norms.…”

“…Drawing on Jang and Lee (2022) and Kim et al (2022), different aspects of attitudes to food waste—awareness, moral norm, intention to reduce, and self‐efficacy to reduce (Table 2)—were measured using 7‐point Likert scales from 1 = ‘disagree strongly’ to 7 = ‘agree strongly.’ Participants were instructed to read the statements and indicate the extent to which they agreed/disagreed with each. The responses were obtained following the food disposal quantification task.…”

“…T A B L E 2 Statements measuring attitudes to food waste, adapted fromJang and Lee (2022), andKim et al (2022).Statement wording by attitude construct a 1. Awareness of food waste problem (a) I am aware that the food waste problem is serious, and directly connected to our daily lives.…”

Factors Influencing Purchase Intention of Food Surplus through a Food-Sharing Platform

“…Food waste awareness is a strong factor when examining sustainable food consumption issues, and it positively influences purchase intention of suboptimal products [41,42], oddly shaped food [43], and value-added surplus products [44]. Some scholars found that food waste awareness indirectly influences suboptimal food purchase intention [71]. However, some did not prove the association [72].…”

Why do consumers buy paper bags? The Impact of Habit, Consumer Awareness and Sustainability as Drivers of Environmentally Responsible Consumer Behavior

“…This unique situation makes Indonesia an ideal context to investigate the factors that drive consumers to choose paper bags, exploring the role of habit, consumer awareness, and sustainability considerations in shaping these choices. [26], [27]. For example, increased awareness of food waste issues may positively influence purchase intentions for "bad food" [26].…”