Food Waste Through the Perception of Responsibility and Social Injustice

Background. The study investigates household food waste behaviours inside the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework. Expanding on this theoretical foundation, it incorporates novel predictors – responsibility, food injustice, pro-environmental self-identity, and institutional trust – focusing and deepening the understanding of this psychological mechanism in the matter of global matters and social injustice. Purpose. Tackle motives and values behind food waste reduction intentions and understand the social and political implications of food waste as a social injustice. Methods. The study includes a qualitative phase of semi-structured interviews (N = 20), which is currently ongoing; data will be analyzed using NVivo. In addition, a correlational online questionnaire (N = 287) was carried out. Data from the quantitative phase are currently being analyzed using Jamovi 2.3.28, RStudio. Participants were invited to participate and compensated (2.25£/hour) through Prolific. The only inclusion criteria for both phases are legal age and Italian. Expected results. From the interviews, we expect to gather experiences, anecdotes and values on food waste, its perception in the context of environmental problems and the perception of responsibility and food injustice. From the quantitative data, we expect to integrate new variables as antecedents in the TPB model predicting intentions to reduce household food waste. Conclusions. Understanding beliefs, values, and motives linked to social injustice that drive wasteful behaviours is crucial for developing effective communication and strategies to tackle the problem from both an individual and a global perspective.