FOOD WASTE GENERATION DRIVERS AMONG CONSUMERS AT RESTAURANTS: THE CASE OF LEBANON

Abstract

Food waste is a global challenge with adverse effects on food security, the environment, and public health. Globally, 1.3 billion tons of food, equivalent to one-third of the food production worldwide, is lost or wasted annually. Food wastage is manifested in every stage of the food supply chain. This is attributed to mishandling or lack of coordination between various activities such as harvest, packing/packaging, transportation, manufacturing, storage, and distribution. On the other hand, a significant amount of food waste is primarily associated with consumers’ values, attitudes and behaviors. In an attempt to explain and better understand the determinants of food waste generated while dining out, this research will assess the quantities of food loss produced, understand the consumers’ behavior and relate the role of religiosity to food waste generation. A purposive sample of 496 participants aged between 18 and 65 years were surveyed while dining in restaurants serving Mediterranean-Lebanese cuisine located in Greater Beirut, Lebanon, which were selected using random sampling. For each participant, the ordered meal was examined after consumption to estimate the quantity of plate food waste. Censored regression model, also known as Tobit analysis, was used to estimate the effect of various drivers and determinants on the consumers’ food waste generation while dining out. Finally, expected values were calculated using margins, Tobit post estimation. The results show that young adults aged between 18 and 34 waste more food when compared to older adults (p= 0.03). People on a diet showed a reduced wasteful behavior as compared to those who were not following a restrictive diet plan (p<0.001). Behaviors such as over-ordering food, smoking and drinking alcohol while eating were significantly associated with increased plate food waste generation by 41g/person/meal (p<0.001), 45g/person/meal (p= 0.02) and 46g/person/meal (p= 0.04); respectively. Furthermore, reporting an interest in “knowing the serving sizes before ordering food” (p= 0.04) and claiming to “always eat everything you have ordered” (p<0.001) highlighted a reduced wasteful behavior among the surveyed consumers. One’s religion was not statistically significantly related to food waste but one’s religiosity showed a negative association with the amount of food being wasted. “Highly religious” people vi wasted less food (55g/person/meal) when compared to “not religious” (108g/person/meal) and “religious” people (103g/person/meal). Understanding drivers and determinants of food waste generation among restaurant patrons is essential for developing and implementing strategies aimed at reducing plate food waste. This study is the first to investigate the challenges of food waste generation and associated determinants while dining out not only in Lebanon but globally as well.