Abstract
In this paper, based on existing research in Japan and abroad, I discuss consumer attitudes and behaviors related to household food waste and the effects of interventions aimed at reducing waste. Consumers pay attention to food waste mainly from the perspective of morality or finances, rather than from concerns about the environment or food security. At the same time, many consumers do feel a responsibility toward the generation of household food waste and believe that they already make efforts to reduce waste. However, food waste generation is influenced by various food practices that take place during the home consumption process ― from the purchase of food to its disposal. In reality, consumers are wasting more food than they estimate.
Although the effects of one-sided informational interventions on food waste are questionable, interventions that employ specific methods such as communication, feedback, prompts, or giving helpful tools that support reducing food waste succeed in actual reduction of food waste. It is unclear which elements among these interventions produced the effect, or whether the effects will continue in the long term or not. How effective interventions can be expanded and practiced in the real world must become the topic of future discussions.
