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This publication is also available online in a web-accessible version at https://pub.norden.org/nord2022-020/
Food waste represents a multifaceted challenge that entails financial cost, severe environmental impact, risks to food security, and deepening social inequality. Throughout the region, young people are concerned about these challenges but at the same time waste a significant amount of food in their home. This shows an important attitude-behaviour gap influenced not only by young people, but also by the food system around them.
To address this, the Nordic Council of Ministers office in Lithuania and the Kaunas University of Technology Food Institute partnered with Anthropos, Copenhagen Business School, and Natural Resources Institute Finland to implement the Let’s Not Waste Food project.
The aim of the project was to team up with young people (aged 18-26) and identify situations and areas where food waste is generated, and to find ways for all stakeholders to help young households waste less food. In 2021-2022, a literature review on youth food waste habits and behaviour change was carried out. It included both scholarly articles on topics such as behavioural or food safety science as well as existing recommendations, such as ones published by the EU, national institutions or by NGOs. The review was soon followed by nine focus group interviews with young people who live on their own across three Nordic and Baltic countries (Denmark, Finland, Lithuania). This allowed to analyse situations where young people waste food, crystalize priorities and highlight specific recommendations that young people would see as most helpful.
The following guidelines are the summarised results of the analysis and can be seen as a guide for young people who want to reduce food waste. The structure follows the challenges presented by the young people and includes suggestions for action or further research for all stakeholders, including the retail sector, policymakers, NGOs, educational institutions and others. The opinions of the research participants are presented as direct and unedited citations that were collected during the focus group meetings. The solutions were developed by identifying the young people’s needs, and by taking their opinions and suggestions into account. In cases where the young people did not suggest a solution and only discussed a problem, the information was supplemented by suggestions from academics and other stakeholders (food system actors, governmental and non-governmental organisations). At the end of each section, there is a range of best practice examples for young people and the involved stakeholders who want to take an extra step toward reducing food waste.
While our project partners are continuing their academic work and hope to present more in-depth findings to the stakeholders and the scientific community soon, more work is needed by all the stakeholders to address the current challenges. This paper is an invitation from the project team and from young people to act more urgently to address the problem of food waste.
One way to change young people’s attitudes and behaviour is to show them how much and what kind of food waste is generated in their households. As one of the possible solutions, ways to measure food waste (such as apps) could help young people evaluate the amount of food being wasted and how much it costs, which in turn would encourage them to find ways to reduce food waste and save money. When measuring food waste, young people should also be able to compare their own food waste (amount, components and monetary value) to that of other households.
– Finnish participant
– Lithuanian participant
NGOs:
Many food products do not come in small sizes, which means that single people often have to buy more than they need. This can increase food wastage at the household level. Discounts also tend to focus on larger package sizes or buying more items at once, when the reduced price acts as visual stimulus that catches the buyer’s attention at the store. It is more important to calculate how much of the purchased product will be used and how much will be turned into waste. A wider variety of package sizes would enable young people to purchase the optimal amount of food.
– Finnish participant
– Danish participant
– Lithuanian participant
NGOs AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS:
The decision to throw food away depends on several factors, such as any health issues the person may have, the price of the product, quality, and so on. Young people have different criteria for determining food quality and whether it is still edible, including labels, sensory perception, and the price of the product. In addition to the expiration date, some young people also rely on their sensory perceptions to decide if a certain food is still edible. However, there is often uncertainty about whether eating food after the expiration date is safe or not. Better knowledge of how to tell if food is edible, along with better buying, storing and cooking skills, could help reduce the amount of food that is still safe to eat but is discarded nonetheless.
– Danish participant
– Lithuanian participant
“...in the case of best before date products, I smell and taste them before them throwing away...”
– Finnish participant
Young people often have hectic work, study and life schedules with a lot of unplanned events, which makes menu planning difficult. During the focus group discussions, some participants suggested that eating together or sharing food with others may reduce food waste in unforeseen situations. Food sharing spaces – live or virtual – could be an excellent solution for creating broad networks of people with similar attitudes toward food. Many sectors could play an important role in ensuring such spaces and practices. A food sharing network should involve as many participants as possible to ensure that someone will use the food surplus offered by other participants.
– Finnish participant
“…it made me join several food clubs … these social things where people eat together...”
– Danish participant
“…I think that sometimes the problem is that when I only cook for myself, some of the food and products are left unused, so it seems to me that a good solution [would be] to share it with others...”
– Lithuanian participant
PRIVATE SECTOR:
Eating out is a special occasion, where young people tend to generate food waste because there is more food served than they can eat. The young people suggested two solutions – either they should eat everything or, if that is impossible, they should take the leftovers home. Some criticism was addressed toward the responsibility of catering services regarding food waste during the focus group discussion. The young people recommended encouraging a “doggy bag culture”, as well as defining the responsibilities of the catering sector with regard to food waste. It was mentioned that doggy bags will only work if the amount of food that is left over is worth taking home. The research participants also had qualms about taking leftovers home because of the price and environmental impact of the packaging. Thus, more sustainability regarding the packaging is necessary as well.
– Lithuanian participant
“… they [restaurants] could easily just give it away… they [supermarkets] throw out a lot – and the same goes for restaurants…”
– Lithuanian participant
“…it’s just not worth getting a doggy bag, because the packaging itself costs money…”
– Lithuanian participant
Food planning is one of the most commonly suggested solutions when it comes to food waste. Planning meals is important, but so is thinking about what you can do with leftovers. Education and practical advice on how to use leftovers and ensure a variety of dishes could be very helpful. Young people have many different goals related to food, including enjoying their food and eating different meals every day. The focus group discussions revealed that young people find it hard to not waste food and not get bored by eating the same meal several days in row.
Diversifying the existing information in the media on how to avoid food waste based on young people’s lifestyles.
Preparing shopping lists for two, three or seven days with recipes for how to use the food and its leftovers, and for eating a variety of interesting and healthy dishes.
In some countries, there is a stigma related to consuming food that is close to or past its expiration date. Therefore, young people need to be persuaded that it is okay to buy and consume products that are close to their expiration date. This will result in saving money (since these products are often discounted), as well as an understanding about how these products will be used, and that may contribute to reducing food waste. Best practice from other countries includes social movements, marketing campaigns, or even attractive labelling for products that are close to their expiration date. Research has revealed significant differences between countries; this particular stigma was only mentioned by Lithuanian participants.
Food waste represents a multifaceted challenge that entails financial cost, severe environmental impact, risks to food security, and deepening social inequality. Throughout the region, young people are concerned about these challenges but at the same time waste a significant amount of food in their home. This shows an important attitude-behaviour gap influenced not only by young people, but also by the food system around them. These guidelines were written with the input by young people aged 18-26 from Nordic-Baltic region to identify situations when food is wasted and to find ways to help young households waste less food. Preparation of the guidelines allowed to crystalize priorities, identify best practice examples, and highlight specific recommendations for all stakeholders that young people would see as most helpful on their journey to reducing household food waste.
Nord 2022:020
ISBN 978-92-893-7407-1 PDF
ISBN 978-92-893-7408-8 ONLINE
http://dx.doi.org/10.6027/nord2022-020
© Nordic Council of Ministers 2022
Published: September 2022
Layout: Mette Agger Tang
Cover photo: iStock
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