Economic hardship, ontological insecurity, and household food waste

Ghafoorifard, Neda; Mesler, Rhiannon MacDonnell; Basil, Michael D.

doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104402

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…While existing research on ontological insecurity has predominantly focused on the resulting negative outcomes (e.g., Ghafoorifard et al, 2022), our findings illustrate that, under certain conditions, ontological insecurity can prompt consumers to use scarce resources to help others. We theorize that this perhaps unexpected outcome might be a form of impure altruism (Andreoni, 1989(Andreoni, , 1990, in which individuals experiencing scarcity and ontological insecurity give to others as a way of alleviating this insecurity while restoring order to the world around them.…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Building from these limitations, there are a number of possible future directions that emerge from this research. The current manuscript is among the first to provide empirical evidence of how ontological insecurity can predict consumer behavior (Ghafoorifard et al, 2022 ). Thus, it may be valuable to develop manipulations of ontological insecurity in order to increase its use in theoretical research.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This research has a number of theoretical and practical implications, in line with the transformative consumer research (TCR) movement. To begin, our work is among the first empirical examinations of the relationship between scarcity and ontological insecurity (Ghafoorifard et al, 2022 ). Given that these constructs are inherently important for TCR, as the experience of either can threaten one's identity and well‐being (Roux et al, 2015 ), we show that they can actually contribute to collective well‐being by encouraging charitable giving under certain conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Effects of perceived scarcity on COVID‐19 consumer stimulus spending: The roles of ontological insecurity and mutability in predicting prosocial outcomes

Leary

Mesler

Simpson

et al. 2022

Journal of Consumer Affairs

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In 2021, the United States government provided a third economic impact payment (EIP) for those designated as experiencing greater need due to the COVID‐19 pandemic. With a particular focus on scarcity and ontological insecurity, we collected time‐separated data prior to, and following, the third EIP to examine how these variables shape consumer allocation of stimulus funds. We find that scarcity is positively associated with feelings of ontological insecurity, which, interestingly, correlates to a greater allocation of stimulus funds toward charitable giving. We further find evidence that mutability moderates the relationship between ontological insecurity and allocations to charitable giving. In other words, it is those who feel most insecure, but perceive that their resource situation is within their control, who allocated more to charity giving. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory, policy‐makers, and the transformative consumer research (TCR) movement.

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Section: Theoretical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Effects of perceived scarcity on COVID‐19 consumer stimulus spending: The roles of ontological insecurity and mutability in predicting prosocial outcomes

Leary

Mesler

Simpson

et al. 2022

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Self Cite

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“…As the discussion of the challenges faced by the interventions examined in this study revealed, food waste is conceived as a risk to health, and it is this risk that waste policies aim to manage leading to barriers to initiatives to promote sustainable food systems. Food is a basic need, and people may purchase food-even more than they need-with the aim to avoid the risk of insufficient food (Ghafoorifard et al, 2022) or even as a status symbol, thus leading to food waste generation. Furthermore, the public administration's concern to prevent potential risks is often manifested by lengthy licensing (and siting) and procurement procedures.…”

Section: Reflections On Theory and Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food waste interventions: Barriers on the way to sustainable food systems

Marouli

2023

Sustainable Development

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Food waste is an important concern of modern societies, and the European Union has committed to significantly reducing it, especially at the consumption level. This comparative case study analysis examines the barriers that actual interventions in the EU have experienced and explores the mechanisms and dynamics behind them using meta‐ethnographic approaches. Barriers relating to culture, politics and policies, administration, the economy, and the spatial and temporal organization of life were identified. It is concluded that food waste reduction is a bundle of interrelated practices, and it is best understood with a sociological approach that focuses on social practices rather than individuals. Concepts that emerged as important include risk and the spatial and temporal organization of everyday life. This study proposes that a focus on the nexus of food waste generation–risk–household dynamics–spatial/temporal organization of urban life, as well as the use of interventions (rather than individuals) as units of analysis are fruitful directions for future research and action.

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“…According to some recent studies, practice of meal planning actually contributes to the minimization food wastage level in the households (Quested et al, 2013;Stefan et al, 2013;Mallinson et al, 2016). Overall, the lifestyle of the members of a household has a considerable impact on food waste generation, especially the lifestyle of the person responsible for shopping and cooking and the amount of time they can afford to plan the family menu (Ghafoorifard et al, 2022). The fast pace of life as generator of food waste is present in many publications following the changes in lifestyle (Ganglbauer et al, 2013;Jörissen et al, 2015;Ferro et al, 2022).…”

Section: Conative Componentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Household Food Waste Research: The Current State of the Art and a Guided Tour for Further Development

Oláh

Kasza

Szabó-Bódi

et al. 2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Decreasing food waste is an important contribution to the practical achievement of Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The last decades witnessed a dynamic expansion of food waste-related publications, parallel with this studies, systematic reviews and bibliometric analyses had been published on this topic. The novelty of the current publication is threefold: 1) it summarizes recent publications, and puts their results into development context; 2) applies the triangulation method by analyzing the food waste-based literature from the aspect of epistemological development, structural composition and scientometric mapping, 3) based on in-depth research of the literature and the determination of the most important ways of its development, the key steps of a modern waste research project as a function of research goals as well as available financial resources are outlined. The bibliometric research based on nearly three thousand resources has shown a considerable geographic disparity in food waste research: these topics are investigated mainly in developed and emerging countries. Bibliometric mapping highlights the importance of the application of qualitative methods for exploring motivational drivers and actual behaviour of households. A general workflow for food waste research is suggested by the authors based on a study carried out in developed countries. This method can be considered as a general, flexible framework, which could serve as a common platform for experts. The framework can be used independently from the of economic development level of the countries but it is especially useful for researchers in the global South because experiences gained by developed countries opens a favourable possibility to conceptualise, plan, realise and publish their food-waste related research.

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Economic hardship, ontological insecurity, and household food waste

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

Effects of perceived scarcity on COVID‐19 consumer stimulus spending: The roles of ontological insecurity and mutability in predicting prosocial outcomes

Effects of perceived scarcity on COVID‐19 consumer stimulus spending: The roles of ontological insecurity and mutability in predicting prosocial outcomes

Food waste interventions: Barriers on the way to sustainable food systems

Household Food Waste Research: The Current State of the Art and a Guided Tour for Further Development

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