A review of the effects of COVID-19 on food waste

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant vulnerabilities in systems of production and consumption. In particular, the economic and social implications of the pandemic highlighted the urgent need for more sustainable and less impactful practices of food production and consumption. Through a systematic literature review, this paper seeks to assess how the pandemic affected the phenomenon of food waste, with the aim of assessing whether the pandemic stimulated changes amongst food system actors, especially consumers. The findings indicate that consumers generally reported behavioural changes during the pandemic and claimed to have adopted sustainable practices that could contribute to reducing food waste. The results also reflect the rapid diffusion of practices such as food delivery during the pandemic, which requires further investigation in terms of its effects on the environment. Simultaneously, supply–demand shocks and disruptions were reported in the areas of production, processing, and retailing, suggesting the occurence of ripple effects. A call is made for greater resilience in the food system, through the adoption of sustainable and less impactful practices, supported by policy.

Do Living Arrangements and Eating Habits Influence University Students’ Food Waste Perception in Italy and Poland?

“…The nexus of food waste management and price sensitivity, soon after supply demand shocks and disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the Russia-Ukraine conflict, represents an important aspect for reaching food waste minimization and environmental sustainability [56]. In the current research, although a negative impact on food waste perception among university students was expected, due to panic buying and stockpiling [58], climate-economy-social crises had a positive effect on food waste awareness and perception. Possible solutions for tackling food insecurity, uncertainty and panic buying are linked to increased and efficient shopping planning [59,60], which can be either carried out among students living with families, preparing food at home or buying take-away foods.…”

“…Possible solutions for tackling food insecurity, uncertainty and panic buying are linked to increased and efficient shopping planning [59,60], which can be either carried out among students living with families, preparing food at home or buying take-away foods. In addition, the price increases in food commodities resulted in a more cautious food consumption behavior and in a reduction in food waste generation, confirming that economic factors have a strong potential for minimizing food waste [58,61]. ).…”

“…Possible solutions for tackling food insecurity, uncertainty and panic buying are linked to increased and efficient shopping planning [59,60], which can be either carried out among students living with families, preparing food at home or buying take-away foods. In addition, the price increases in food commodities resulted in a more cautious food consumption behavior and in a reduction in food waste generation, confirming that economic factors have a strong potential for minimizing food waste [58,61] Living arrangements influence food consumption behavior, specifically in the university students, since they have to adopt new habits due to environmental stressors, determinants and pressure [62]. The investigation into the interrelation between living arrangements (i.e., with or without family) and dietary practices (i.e., eating in canteens, preparing food for lunch at home, buying take-away food, going back home to have lunch) amongst university students in Italy and Poland yielded insightful revelations on their perception of food waste.…”

A Review of Household Food Waste Generation during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In addition, underestimation may lead to landfill capacity and planning issues, and impact the achievement of emission reduction targets. Further research is needed to adequately determine the impact of the pandemic on household food waste generation [68,69], as the findings summarized in this review vary substantially and statistically significant results are limited. Scholars looking to contribute to this growing body of literature should use direct measurement methodologies to accurately and reliably determine if there have been changes in the quantity and/or composition of household food waste generation since the onset of the pandemic.…”

Influence of scarcity and environmental consciousness on food waste behaviour

“…The scholarly articles in this area consist of a number of qualitative and quantitative studies exploring different dimensions like emotions (Han et al, 2019; Septianto et al, 2020), moral norms (Neubig et al, 2020), sustainable orientation (Lagorio et al, 2018), convenience (Aschemann‐Witzel et al, 2018), authenticity (Van Giesen & de Hooge, 2019), environmental concern (Goggins, 2018), social influence (Comber & Thieme, 2013), food shopping practices (Farr‐Wharton et al, 2014), etc. However, as argued to various scholars, there is a need to gain theoretical insights on the role of contextual factors like restriction in movements due to the pandemic, availability of easy online mode of food delivery, and adoption of a sustainable lifestyle that has resulted in significant behavioural changes among consumers with regard to their food consumption (e.g., Borghesi & Morone, 2023; Hebrok & Heidenstrøm, 2019). For these reasons, we believe that more can be done in this field, especially with regard to the non‐cognitive dimensions.…”