Article

Impact on Plate Waste of Switching from a Tray to a Trayless Delivery System in a University Dining Hall and Employee Response to the Switch

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Abstract

A potential strategy for decreasing food waste in foodservice operations is trayless dining. The objective of this 2010 study was to compare the impact of using a tray vs a trayless system on plate waste and on employees' attitudes. To test the hypothesis that going trayless would reduce waste, liquid and solid plate waste were measured for 1 week with the then-existing tray system and again after a new trayless system was implemented in a buffet-style university dining hall serving roughly1,000 meals a day. Foodservice staff were invited to participate in a focus group about the impact on their jobs. The investigators calculated plate waste per patron under the two systems and used an independent samples t test to examine the significance of the difference. Comments from the focus group were analyzed for themes. A significant decrease in solid waste per patron (0.81 oz; P=0.001) was observed in switching from the tray to the trayless system (4.39±0.24 oz vs 3.58±0.08 oz per patron). A nonsignificant reduction was observed with liquid waste (49.77±2.62 mL vs 46.36±4.51 mL; P=0.18). Most of the employees preferred the trayless system as long as it did reduce waste, but felt that increased breakage of dishware and increased need to wipe down tables were possible concerns resulting from the switch. This study demonstrates that trayless dining can reduce plate waste, and that employees can be supportive of the change.

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... Institutions can implement effective plate-waste-reduction strategies by removing trays [42,43], reducing both dish and portion sizes [29,36,[44][45][46], seasoning foods [23,47,48], and giving patrons choices [15,30,[49][50][51]. ...
... Wasteful behaviors normalize plate waste, particularly in all-you-can-eat settings, where patrons can overload their plates with favorite dishes or experiment with different options [15,52,53] but end up wasting 17% of the entrées they try [52]. One way for institutions to reduce this waste is to remove the option to use trays [43]. Trays allow individuals to overestimate how much food they will eat and to carry multiple dishes, potentially leading to plate waste [15]. ...
... Research has shown that environmental advocacy groups inform consumers to identify greenwashing marketing techniques [27]. Furthermore, these programs provide patrons educational techniques that enable them to combat food waste, reduce environmental degradation, and to promote sustainability practices [22,23,[41][42][43]. Institutions provide the social structure that individuals mimic. ...
Article
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Greenwashing is when organizations deceive consumers by making false claims regarding the environmental advantages their products have over other products. Institutional, greenwashing leads to “individual greenwashing”, which perpetuates the problem of people believing they are environmentally conscious when, in reality, they are not. This is evident in individuals’ behavior regarding food waste; therefore, our study examines the effects of individual greenwashing on food waste. It uses a mixed-methods approach to demonstrate how institutional barriers socialize patrons into routines, making it difficult to implement sustainable practices. We conducted a plate-waste audit at a university over an eight-day period, collecting 1443 pounds (≈654.5 kg) of food waste from 7775 patrons. The audit demonstrated that individuals generated 0.79 ounces (≈22.4 g) less plate waste when they controlled their portions than when the institution controlled their portions. Our surveys revealed that only 15.6% of patrons were aware of composting options; however, 83.3% were willing to compost. The field experiment increased patrons’ awareness of the compost bin, creating a 2.5 percentage point increase in usage, resulting in 13.4 pounds (≈6.1 kg) of waste being diverted from the landfill. Therefore, institutions should recognize their role in socializing individuals to adopt environmentally sound food-waste habits.
... For example, many university dining centers in the U.S. provide patrons with trays to carry food and drink items. With the convenience of using a tray, patrons may take more food than they can consume [7,[12][13][14][15]. Therefore, by taking trays away from patrons (trayless dining), the dining facilities may help to reduce food waste from the source and ultimately reduce the amount of food waste sent to landfills. ...
... Hypothesis 2. University diners' attitudes toward sustainability are positively associated with attitudes toward trayless dining. University dining facilities attempted to reduce food waste by informing college students [7,22], promoting sustainability awareness [12,23,24], utilizing portion plates [25,26], and adopting trayless dining [13][14][15]. More specifically, by using a simple messaging method (e.g., "All Taste No Waste" and "Eat What You Take, Don't Waste Food"), Whitehair et al. [7] found a 15% reduction in the total food waste amount. ...
... Furthermore, trayless dining has become a popular method of improving the sustainability of university dining facilities. A few studies evaluated the effectiveness of trayless dining in reducing food waste [7,[12][13][14][15]. ARAMARK [13] recorded that after taking trays away from patrons, individual plate waste amount was reduced by 1.2-1.8 ...
Article
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To evaluate the impact of trayless dining implementation on food selection, consumption, waste, and customer satisfaction, the authors used the quasi-experimental design to assess the attitudes and behaviors of on-campus diners at a university. Students dined as usual (i.e., with trays) while data were collected for one week and without trays for the second week. Digital photography and plate waste assessment of 329 trays evaluated participants’ food selection, consumption, and waste behaviors. Surveys were used to assess students’ attitudes and satisfaction with trayless dining (n = 73). An independent samples Mann–Whitney U test was utilized to analyze food selection, consumption, and waste differences. The result of the study revealed that the amount of food selected and consumed was reduced during trayless dining implementation. The total calories and fat content were lower during trayless dining implementation, and the participants reported reduced satiety. However, the data did not show significant food waste reduction but showed customer dissatisfaction and reluctance to change due to increased inconvenience. This study contributed to the existing literature by quantifying diners’ food selection, consumption, and waste amounts, revealing the positive impact of trayless dining on food selection and consumption. Additionally, the detailed methodology will allow future researchers to replicate a similar intervention.
... Multiple studies have implemented and evaluated food-waste-reduction strategies on individual university campuses [9,[14][15][16][17][18]. These studies identified several solutions that may be successful, including removing trays from the foodservice area to encourage visitors to take fewer items [15], reducing portion sizes served [9,18], and utilizing messaging campaigns [14,16]. ...
... Multiple studies have implemented and evaluated food-waste-reduction strategies on individual university campuses [9,[14][15][16][17][18]. These studies identified several solutions that may be successful, including removing trays from the foodservice area to encourage visitors to take fewer items [15], reducing portion sizes served [9,18], and utilizing messaging campaigns [14,16]. Another previous study documented trends in food waste across institutions of higher education in 24 different countries [11]. ...
... To reduce food waste on the consumer side, we found that the majority of U.S. universities in our sample reported removing trays from the cafeteria, offering smaller portions, and using communication campaigns. Many of these solutions have been found to be effective in other university settings [9,11,[14][15][16][17][18]. Studies in restaurant settings can provide insights into other ways to incentivize consumers to only take as much food as they will eat, such as instituting a pay-by-weight system and/or providing smaller containers [22]. ...
Article
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Identifying institutional capacity to reduce and reallocate food waste is important to reduce both greenhouse gas emissions and food insecurity. The goal of this study was to examine food waste concern, reduction and repurposing strategies, and perceived barriers to these strategies among U.S. university foodservice representatives. We surveyed 57 U.S. university foodservice representatives about foodservice operations, campus food insecurity, food waste reduction and repurposing activities, and obstacles to composting and donating food waste. Data were collected September 2019-February 2020. Roughly three-quarters of respondents tracked campus food waste, reported that food waste reduction was a high/very high priority, and reported concern about campus food insecurity. The most common food-waste-reduction strategies included forecasting demand to prevent overproduction and preparing smaller batches. The most common repurposing strategies included donation and composting. Top barriers to food donation included liability concerns and lack of labor. Barriers to composting food included lack of infrastructure and knowledge/experience. Addressing perceived barriers to university foodservices' food waste reduction and repurposing efforts could lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and improved food security for millions of Americans.
... In Finland, researchers studying workplace and student canteens found that 25.3% of the total food waste was initially edible, with too larger portions being the primary cause (Silvennoinen et al. 2015). At Indiana University in the United States, there was 606 kg of solid waste when meals were served on trays and 435 kg during the trayless week (Thiagarajah and Getty 2013). At Rhodes University in South Africa, average food waste per meal was found to be 555 ± 107 g per student per day. ...
... Researchers have also found that females tend to have more plate waste than males (Lorenz et al. 2017a). Having fewer options, serving special dishes that are more palatable, having trayless dining facilities, and reducing portion size have all been shown to contribute to a reduction in plate waste (Freedman and Brochado 2010;Thiagarajah and Getty 2013;Mirosa et al. 2016;Lorenz et al. 2017a;Lorenz et al. 2017b). ...
... Even though few universities have a specific policy on food waste, 60% of the analyzed sample declared they pursue efforts in this direction, focusing on separate collection and utilization for biogas or composting. Following previous studies, some of the measures deployed include staff serving reasonable portions during meals, trayless dining or the payment by weight for buffet service aiming at reducing plate waste (Thiagarajah and Getty 2013;Mirosa et al. 2016;Lorenz et al. 2017a;Lorenz et al. 2017b). Just 30% of the universities declared to be really engaged. ...
Article
Food waste is a considerable sustainability challenge, and many universities around the world are engaged in food waste prevention. University canteens offer opportunities for prevention of food waste by steering the amounts of food served in meals at central locations. Nevertheless, there is a paucity of international studies which look into this matter at a greater depth. This paper discusses matters related to university policies and strategies, best practices as well as deficiencies that are seen in preventing food waste. An international study was conducted, including a sample of 52 higher education institutions, in order to provide pieces of evidence of current trends. The study reveals that even though food waste is as an essential issue in many Higher Education Institutions, prevention efforts are not so widely spread as they should be. The majority of universities represented in the sample implemented particular initiatives for food waste reduction, focusing on collection for disposal and composting as well as for external donation. Other examples for implemented efforts include training staff to serve adequate portions, use of trayless dining, and provision of regular information for staff and students. However, 60% of the sample does not have to follow a particular strategy or measure the amount of food waste produced. About 15% of the universities in the sample reported no engagement. ARTICLE HISTORY
... One study of trayless college dining conducted focus groups with dining hall staff, who reported supporting the trayless initiative as a way to reduce food waste. 71 However, concerns of staff members included increased dishware breakage and need for wiping down tables. 71 It is important that potential unintended consequences such as these are understood when campuses look to make shifts in dining practices. ...
... 71 However, concerns of staff members included increased dishware breakage and need for wiping down tables. 71 It is important that potential unintended consequences such as these are understood when campuses look to make shifts in dining practices. Similarly, a 3-year study examining the impact of a peer health education programme reported that first-year students who engaged in 'unhealthy weight management behaviours' (e.g., eating according to a special diet and fasting to control weight) were more likely to have contact with peer health educators (PHEs). ...
... Only one study included in this review directly explored factors related to implementation feasibility. 71 Such research might include qualitative exploration of perceived administrative barriers, cost-benefit analyses and documentation of coalition-building best practices. These studies will aid in identifying campus-wide interventions that not only have a positive impact on student health but are also feasible for campuses to implement and sustain (Table 5). ...
Article
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Research indicates most college students are not meeting dietary and physical activity guidelines, and the average student gains an estimated 1.6‐3.0 kilograms during four years of study. College administrations are well‐positioned to influence student weight‐related health behaviors by ensuring that campus environments/policies promote health. However, to date, campus health interventions have largely addressed individual and interpersonal factors rather than environmental/policy‐level changes. Using an ecological perspective, this narrative review synthesizes the literature on campus environmental/policy‐level factors (e.g., food availability, physical activity requirements) associated with student diet, physical activity and weight, as well as campus interventions to address these factors. Web of Science and PubMed databases were searched between December 2018 and November 2019. Results indicate that campus food environments may contribute to overconsumption and weight gain, and the number of campuses requiring students to participate in physical activity courses is in decline. Eight examples of environmental/policy‐level campus interventions are presented: nutrition labels in dining halls, campus‐wide healthy choice marketing campaigns, restricted payment methods for à la cart dining, trayless dining, health‐themed residence halls, peer health education programs, active classroom spaces, and physical activity course requirements. Implications for research and health promotion programs/policies in the field of college health are discussed.
... A wide range of interventions within canteens can be used to prevent and reduce student plate waste, such as reducing portion size 19,21 , training catering staff 28 , regularly assessing menu composition 29 , improving sensory quality and going trayless 30 (Fig. 4b). Reducing portion size encourages students to avoid taking more food than they need and can be implemented in settings with buffets and salad bars. ...
... In buffet-style university dining halls, a potential strategy for decreasing food waste is trayless dining. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated by several studies through controlled trials, with food waste reduced by 18-54% when trays were unavailable 30,32 . ...
Article
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Food waste reduction is essential for supporting the sustainability of food systems. Wasteful behaviours are difficult to change after they have been formed, highlighting the importance of early interventions. Here we present an assessment of school plate food waste from 29 countries, and examine the environmental implications, causes, and interventions. School plate waste ranged from 4% to 46% per capita per meal and was positively correlated with country income levels. On a global scale, this waste embodies ∼150 Mha of cropland and ∼770 MtCO2e of greenhouse gas emissions; hence, reducing school plate food waste offers potentially large environmental gains. We propose a comprehensive, multistakeholder framework centred around sustainable food education that cultivates food systems knowledge and skills, and an appreciation for nature and food labour to reduce the psychological distance between youth and their food waste. To effectively implement the framework requires the support and engagement of families, communities and the broader society beyond the confines of schools.
... On the other hand, nudging strategies aiming to reduce PW have been proved to be effective in previous studies focused on restoration services such as hotels (e.g. Kallbekken and Saelen, 2013), restaurants (Duursma et al., 2016) and university canteens (Pinto et al., 2018;Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013;Whitehair et al., 2013). For instance, Whitehair et al. (2013) or Pinto et al. (2018) were able to reduce 15% of PW after putting posters with messages at university canteen walls. ...
... Even if those implemented in the present study were designed for young students, it might be easier to understand visual messages and posters, in general, for older students such as those in the university. In the same context, Thiagarajah and Getty (2013) showed a 18.4 % MW prevention rate per student when using a tray-less canteen system compared to the current tray system used, also in an USA university canteen. Results from the present study showed a total daily MW potential prevention rate (41%) in comparison with the previous mentioned studies. ...
Article
Food waste (FW) prevention is an essential measure to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal target 12.3, achieve more sustainable food systems and tackle the climate crisis. This paper aims at evaluating nudging strategies’ impact on FW prevention in school canteens. To do so, it applies a four-stage methodology in 4 school canteens of the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona as case studies. This study has three main contributions. First, it provided real FW data by estimating a daily FW of 46 g per dinner. Secondly, it observed a 41% FW prevention impact when specific nudging strategies were applied. Dessert was the course with bigger reductions, especially when fruits were served. In addition, strategies involving canteen staff seemed to be more effective. Third, it proposed a methodological framework to co-design and evaluate the impact of FW prevention strategies by quantifying plate waste at school canteens. Thus, this study suggests nudging strategies as innovative interventions to improve food systems’ sustainability by preventing FW in school canteens.
... A number of studies have previously been carried out in the education sector, with different objectives. For example, Thiagarajah and Getty (2013) investigated how changing the service system could reduce food waste in the Indiana University (United States) dining hall; Babich and Smith (2010) tried to understand the University of Southern Illinois' dining hall sustainability process (United States); and Jagau and Vyrastekova (2017) proposed implementing an information campaign to increase awareness of the food waste problem in the Radboud University (Netherlands) dining hall. ...
... The substitution of trays for plates was investigated in other studies (Babich & Smith, 2010;Lorenz & Langen, 2018;Marais et al., 2017;Mirosa et al., 2016;Painter et al., 2016;Qi & Roe, 2017;Wansink & Just, 2013). Thiagarajah and Getty (2013), for example, identified a reduction in food waste of 23g/consumer in the Indiana University dining hall. ...
Article
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Studying the causes of food waste and potential interventions for minimizing it is one of the main concerns of those who work with food on all levels. Food in the education sector, which includes dining halls in higher education institutions, is among the sectors that deserve attention, since its consumers generate significant amounts of food waste. There is still a lack of studies, however, addressing the problem of food waste in dining halls. The general objective of this study is to investigate food waste in a Brazilian university dining hall, and consumer perceptions of the meals. By means of a questionnaire, it was possible to investigate the main perceptions of consumers, and what might be behind the waste generated. Spearman’s correlation was performed in order to verify the correlation between consumer food waste and consumer perceptions as to the reasons behind the food waste that is generated. It was found that average waste was 68g/consumer. It was also observed that consumers who placed their food in trays wasted more food than those who chose to eat from a dish. All the collected information was used to propose potential interventions to reduce food waste in university dining halls. KEYWORDS Food waste; university; dining hall; perception; consumers
... Another recommended intervention to reduce waste was the removal of trays. Trayless systems were discussed in nine papers, including as the central objective of some, such as the studies of Kim & Morawski (2012) and Thiagarajah & Getty (2013). In these studies, the authors tried to determine how the use of trays can negatively impact the amount of food wasted in university restaurants. ...
... The authors documented a 32% reduction in waste when trays were not available, suggesting that tray removal is a simple way for universities to reduce their environmental and economic impacts. Similarly, Thiagarajah & Getty (2013) identified a waste reduction of approximately 23g/consumer when comparing a tray system and a trayless system at the Indiana University (U.S.) university restaurant. ...
Article
: About one-third of the world's food production is lost or wasted annually at different stages of food supply chains (FSCs). Food loss usually occurs in the early stages of FSCs, while waste is more prevalent in their final stages. Thus, the main objectives of the present study were to investigate the causes of loss and waste, as well as strategies that can minimize them. Decreasing food waste in collective catering organizations, including university restaurants, is situated in the context of these concerns. In order to contribute to this discussion, the authors investigated the causes of wastage in university restaurants and possible interventions recommended in the literature to reduce it. A search considering the “food waste” and “university restaurant” constructs in five different databases found 352 publications related to the theme, of which 21 supported to answer the two questions that guided this search: Q1: “What are the causes that contribute to food waste in university restaurants?” and Q2: “What are the interventions that can be or are used in university restaurants to reduce food waste?” The literature search identified 13 causes (portion size; quality; price; emotion; palatability; preparation/cooking; menu; time; satiety; storage; service; overbuying; security) and 14 possible interventions (campaigns; trayless systems; waste management; portion size; quality; changing menus; planning; preordering; charity/donations; nutritional information; coercion; changing the dishes; preparation/cooking; storage). From this perspective, the present article provides a holistic view of food waste in university restaurants, in order to guide mitigation interventions and future research on this theme. Keywords: Systematic literature review; Plate waste; Factors; Actions; Causes; Interventions.
... Another recommended intervention to reduce waste was the removal of trays. Trayless systems were discussed in nine papers, including as the central objective of some, such as the studies of Kim & Morawski (2012) and Thiagarajah & Getty (2013). In these studies, the authors tried to determine how the use of trays can negatively impact the amount of food wasted in university restaurants. ...
... The authors documented a 32% reduction in waste when trays were not available, suggesting that tray removal is a simple way for universities to reduce their environmental and economic impacts. Similarly, Thiagarajah & Getty (2013) identified a waste reduction of approximately 23g/consumer when comparing a tray system and a trayless system at the Indiana University (U.S.) university restaurant. ...
Article
Full-text available
About one-third of the world's food production is lost or wasted annually at different stages of food supply chains (FSCs). Food loss usually occurs in the early stages of FSCs, while waste is more prevalent in their final stages. Thus, the main objectives of the present study were to investigate the causes of loss and waste, as well as strategies that can minimize them. Decreasing food waste in collective catering organizations, including university restaurants, is situated in the context of these concerns. In order to contribute to this discussion, the authors investigated the causes of wastage in university restaurants and possible interventions recommended in the literature to reduce it. A search considering the “food waste” and “university restaurant” constructs in five different databases found 352 publications related to the theme, of which 21 supported to answer the two questions that guided this search: Q1: “What are the causes that contribute to food waste in university restaurants?” and Q2: “What are the interventions that can be or are used in university restaurants to reduce food waste?” The literature search identified 13 causes (portion size; quality; price; emotion; palatability; preparation/cooking; menu; time; satiety; storage; service; overbuying; security) and 14 possible interventions (campaigns; trayless systems; waste management; portion size; quality; changing menus; planning; preordering; charity/donations; nutritional information; coercion; changing the dishes; preparation/cooking; storage). From this perspective, the present article provides a holistic view of food waste in university restaurants, in order to guide mitigation interventions and future research on this theme.
... In Chinese universities, food is mainly served in two ways: either as a complete meal, whereby the staple food together with additional foods being served on a single plate, or alternatively, the staple food, with accompanying additional foods being served on separate plates. Some studies have shown that differences in how food is served may impact the generation of plate waste (Reynolds et al., 2019;Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013). Finally, two determinants that could not be ignored were food expenditure and students' evaluation of food taste, both of which have been proved to have robust impacts on individual plate waste generation (Lam et al., 2010;Xu et al., 2020). ...
... Whether differences in how food is served can affect food waste generation remains inconclusive (Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013). In the present study, this variable did not correlate with the probability of generating plate waste. ...
Article
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Based on the questionnaires of 9192 students, we found 74% of them have generated plate waste in university canteens and food waste amounted to 61.03 g per student per meal, of which the largest percentage comprised of wheat (25.78%), rice (20.36%), and vegetables (18.61%). Also, this paper found that the factors that affected university students’ food waste generation are multidimensional, including individual-level and family-level characteristics, catering features, and regional locations. In this study, eight factors impacted both indicators of plate waste. Specifically, females wasted more food than males. Education helps in reducing food waste. Bad daily waste habits could exacerbate food waste. The improvement of family economic conditions encourages food waste. Relative to eating alone, dining together with peers caused more serious food waste. The greater the time pressure, the more serious is the food waste. The higher the satisfaction of food taste, the less is the food waste. Compared with students from the north of China, food waste among students in the south is more serious. To reduce plate waste in university canteens, it is recommended that university decision-makers and canteen managers attach great importance to food waste of Chinese university students, by introducing targeted measures to reduce food waste, such as finding effective ways to reduce staple food and vegetable waste, introducing differentiated policies for university students with different individual-level and family-level characteristics, and reducing plate waste caused by unfavorable catering characteristics.
... In comparison, many studies quantified only edible or avoidable food waste (Whitehair et al., 2013;Thorsen et al., 2015). The items considered edible or avoidable food wastes are meat protein, soy protein, fruits, rice, potatoes, bread, pies, juice, beverages, milk, vegetables and salads (Langley et al., 2010;Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013;Blondin et al., 2017Blondin et al., , 2018Eriksson et al., 2018b). Conversely, the inedible or unavoidable food wastes are fruit or vegetable peels and spines, eggshells, bones and skins, and seeds (Langley et al., 2010;Whitehair et al., 2013;Derqui and Fernandez, 2017). ...
... Pre-consumer level: The barriers to mitigating food waste exist at the pre-consumer level, even though the food service establishment is the one that will benefit financially if waste is reduced. Operational level: The barriers to the implementation of operational strategies to reduce food waste include the following: (a) short lunch breaks and too few kitchen staff to allow the adoption of the batch cooking approach as a waste mitigation strategy (Prescott et al., 2019b); (b) the increased breakage of meal utensils and the need to wipe dining tables more frequently, which made it challenging to use the strategy of going trayless to reduce waste (Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013); (c) parents scolding their children for bringing home leftovers and providing bins at school, which presents an easy way to dispose of unconsumed food through the reuse of leftovers (Boulet et al., 2019); and (d) the timing of recess (Chapman et al., 2017). ...
Article
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Purpose In the recent past, academic researchers have noted the quantity of food wasted in food service establishments in educational institutions. However, more granular inputs are required to counter the challenge posed. The purpose of this study is to undertake a review of the prior literature in the area to provide a platform for future research. Design/methodology/approach Towards this end, the authors used a robust search protocol to identify 88 congruent studies to review and critically synthesize. The research profiling of the selected studies revealed limited studies conducted on food service establishments in universities. The research is also less dispersed geographically, remaining largely focused on the USA. Thereafter, the authors performed content analysis to identify seven themes around which the findings of prior studies were organized. Findings The key themes of the reviewed studies are the drivers of food waste, quantitative assessment of food waste, assessment of the behavioural aspects of food waste, operational strategies for reducing food waste, interventions for inducing behavioural changes to mitigate food waste, food diversion and food waste disposal processes and barriers to the implementation of food waste reduction strategies. Research limitations/implications This study has key theoretical and practical implications. From the perspective of research, the study revealed various gaps in the extant findings and suggested potential areas that can be examined by academic researchers from the perspective of the hospitality sector. From the perspective of practice, the study recommended actionable strategies to help managers mitigate food waste. Originality/value The authors have made a novel contribution to the research on food waste reduction by identifying theme-based research gaps, suggesting potential research questions and proposing a framework based on the open-systems approach to set the future research agenda.
... This is critical as there is only increasing global need for food choices with lower environmental impact due to growing agricultural demands (McKenzie & Williams, 2015). In addition to ingredient sourcing, waste of food by end consumers is also a high concern, particularly in all you can eat dining venues such as university dining halls (Al-Domi et al., 2011;Aschemann-Witzel, De Hooge, Amani, Bech-Larsen, & Oostindjer, 2015;Thiagarajah & Getty, 2013). Worldwide, high proportions of food produced ends up being wasted, with higher income countries wasting a larger proportion at the later stages of the food chain (Gustavsson, Cederberg, Sonesson, Van Otterdijk, & Meybeck, 2011). ...
... There is also no guarantee that subjects will necessarily eat the dessert after the entrée and in fact we observed many students in the free choice follow up taking a dessert before eating an entrée. There is also no information how this intervention would affect food waste outside of a trayless dining setting, as trayless dining results in decrease in food waste and may impact students' food choices and waste (Rajbhandari-Thapa, Ingerson, & Lewis, 2018;Thiagarajah & Getty, 2013). ...
Article
The Dessert Flip is a plant-forward strategy to increase the sustainability and healthfulness of desserts that “flips” the relative proportion of full-calorie desserts like cake with fruit garnishes—simultaneously increasing servings of fruit and reducing added sugar, saturated fat, and calories. In a university dining hall, students (n=86) were served a full-sized entrée followed by a dessert randomized over three weeks: a conventional plated dessert (20% fruit, 80% cake), a flipped dessert (60% fruit, 40% cake), and a subtle “stealth” flipped dessert with peach purée in the cake (45% fruit, 55% cake). The flipped dessert was preferred over the conventional and the stealth versions in ranking and in overall, appearance, color, and flavor liking (p<0.05), and the stealth dessert was not significantly different than the conventional cake. Food waste (%) was significantly lower in the flipped dessert than in the conventional or the stealth flipped desserts and the proportion of cake waste not significantly different between treatments. Subjects rated strawberries as the most suitable fruit for dessert by itself or as part of a dessert, while fruits commonly eaten as snacks such as apples, oranges, and grapes were considered significantly less dessert-like. In a follow-up free choice study with all dining hall users, students took significantly more servings of the flipped dessert than the conventional, although the average food waste was not significantly different. These data suggest that both the Dessert Flip and the stealth Dessert Flip can be successful strategies for plant-forward dietary change.
... In the food industry, studies argue that clearer communication and stronger cooperation amongst the main actors in the food supply are essential for food waste reduction, through waste avoidance and donations of edible fractions to charitable organisations [63,64]. Case studies in universities have explored food waste reduction interventions such as tray-less delivery systems [65], written messages encouraging pro-environmental behaviour [11,66] and a social mediabased food sharing tool [67] with mixed results. ...
... Have restaurant staff stationed by the buffet to serve the food onto the customers' plates and explain the dishes and ingredients. Tray fewer systems have been proven to reduce plate waste especially in canteen settings [65]. ...
Article
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Food waste has formidable detrimental impacts on food security, the environment, and the economy, which makes it a global challenge that requires urgent attention. This study investigates the patterns and causes of food waste generation in the hospitality and food service sector, with the aim of identifying the most promising food waste prevention measures. It presents a comparative analysis of five case studies from the hospitality and food service (HaFS) sector in Malaysia and uses a mixed-methods approach. This paper provides new empirical evidence to highlight the significant opportunity and scope for food waste reduction in the HaFS sector. The findings suggest that the scale of the problem is even bigger than previously thought. Nearly a third of all food was wasted in the case studies presented, and almost half of it was avoidable. Preparation waste was the largest fraction, followed by buffet leftover and then customer plate waste. Food waste represented an economic loss equal to 23% of the value of the food purchased. Causes of food waste generation included the restaurants’ operating procedures and policies, and the social practices related to food consumption. Therefore, food waste prevention strategies should be twofold, tackling both the way the hospitality and food service sector outlets operate and organise themselves, and the customers’ social practices related to food consumption.
... Vizzoto et al. [38] recommend reducing portion sizes if plate leftovers are left by consumers systematically. According to many researchers, the size of the plate on which the food is served also matters [39][40][41] or its shape [42]. ...
Article
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The problem of food waste in food service is recognized in the scientific community. A reduction in this phenomenon is necessary for the sustainable development of the food service industry. However, the issue of the influence of various characteristics of food service establishments (FSEs) on food waste has still not been studied sufficiently. The aim of this research was to assess the impact of the type of FSE, type of customer service, time in business of the FSE, and average daily number of consumers served on measures taken in FSE in relation to ready meals in the context of food waste. Survey research was conducted in 131 FSEs. It was found that the different groups of dishes that were prepared in excess and not served to consumers are most often stored in refrigerated conditions until the following day. The management of unserved dishes was correlated with business time and the type of FSE. Dishes like cold and hot snacks, in particular, were more often made available to employees in establishments with shorter time in business. In restaurants and small food service outlets/cafés, discarding was more often indicated as the management method for these types of dishes. The majority of food service establishments were not able to sell half portions. In conclusion, there is great potential to reduce food waste in food service establishments, but education of both staff and customers is essential.
... For instance, Dolnicar et al. (2020) reduced plate waste in sun-and-beach hotel restaurants with a game-based intervention. Removing trays and reducing plate size have also been shown to reduce plate waste (Kallbekken and Saelen, 2013;Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013;Obersteiner et al., 2021). Some studies suggest that the shape of a plate, specifically transitioning from round to oval, can reduce plate waste (Richardson et al., 2021). ...
Article
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Automated tools for waste quantification hold promise in providing preciser understanding of food waste. This study evaluated a tool to quantify plate waste in primary school canteens. It encompassed data from 421,015 instances of food wastage. The evaluation revealed high accuracy, with the tool's plate waste detection falling within ±10% of manual recordings. However, the tool estimated 40% fewer individual guests compared to manual entry due to not all students wasting food. As a result, the automatically collected data indicated a 35% higher waste-to-guest ratio. The findings showed that a minority of students (20%) accounted for a majority (60%) of plate waste. Halving the waste generated by this group would reduce overall plate waste by 31%, emphasizing the importance of tailored interventions for high-profile wasters rather than applying general measures to all students. Targeting areas with the greatest potential can contribute to a more sustainable food system with reduced waste.
... Daha öce yapılan araştırmalarda da büyük porsiyon boyutlarının daha fazla tabak atığına neden olduğu (Lorenz vd., 2017) ve müşterilere sunulan tabakların boyutlarının büyümesi ile doğru orantılı olarak tabak atığının arttığı belirtilmektedir (Sobal ve Wansink, 2007). Bundan dolayı porsiyon boyutlarının küçültülmesi, daha küçük tabak boyutlarının kullanılması, servis kaşıkları ve servis tepsilerinin boyutlarının küçültülmesi gibi altyapı değişiklikleri self-servis restoran ve kafeteryalarda tabak atığı miktarında önemli değişikliklere neden olmuştur (Dolnicar, 2020;Juvan vd., 2021;Kallbekken ve Saelen, 2013;Thiagarajah ve Getty, 2013). Örneğin, bir otelde gerçekleştirilen çalışmada kahvaltı büfelerinde bulunan tabak boyutlarının 3 cm küçültülmesi başarılı sonuçların elde edilmesini sağlamıştır. ...
Chapter
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Konaklama ve yiyecek içecek işletmeleriyle ilgili akademik kaynakların sınırlı olması, endişe verici bir durumdur ve bu alandaki araştırmaların artırılması gerektiği düşünülmektedir. Bu sebeple, mevcut çalışmaların durumunu hem kapsamlı hem de derinlemesine inceleyerek, gelecekteki araştırmaları geliştirmek için eldeki bulguların bir araya getirilmesi önem taşımaktadır. Ayrıca, konaklama ve yiyecek içecek sektöründe tabak atığıyla ilgili akademik ilginin oldukça kısıtlı olduğu gözlemlenmektedir. Bu bağlamda, tabak atığı konusundaki araştırma boşluklarını doldurmak amacıyla alanyazının incelenmesi gerekmektedir. Bu bölümün hedefi, konaklama ve yiyecek içecek sektöründe tabak atığının miktarı, ölçüm yöntemleri, önemli etki noktaları, demografik faktörlerle ilişkisi, tabak atığının nedenleri ve azaltma stratejileri gibi konuları kapsayan akademik kaynakları özetlemek ve incelemektir.
... However, the literature contains examples of catering units reducing their food waste significantly (e.g. Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013;Kallbekken and Saelen, 2013;Antonschmidt and Lund-Durlacher, 2021;Cozzio et al., 2021), especially if they start at a high initial level of waste generation . Nudging has also been shown to be a successful measure in school canteens, where such strategies have been found to prevent 41 % of plate waste and result in 27.2 g of food waste per portion (Vidal-Mones et al., 2022). ...
Article
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Food waste is an inefficiency problem that needs to be reduced significantly to achieve a sustainable food system. Best practices and knowledge are available on how to reduce waste but large volumes of food are still wasted every year, so policies that support or enforce broader implementation of best practices are needed. One policy that could be used to push implementation and successful use of best practices to reduce food waste is the Swedish Environmental Code, which states that all actors must consider every possibility to reduce the amount of waste generated in any facility, unless this is unreasonably expensive. However, there is no clear definition on the actual waste reduction needed to comply with this requirement, so it is not enforced in practice. This study explored the potential gains of applying the Environmental Code, potential benchmarking thresholds for illegal levels of food waste and best voluntary practices that can achieve low levels of food waste. The Environmental Code is applicable to most operator food handling systems, and was assessed here using the Swedish public catering sector as a case. All 290 Swedish municipalities were asked to provide raw data for the study and some agreed, resulting in a dataset covering 458 public catering units serving care homes, schools and preschools. The data were analysed to identify different permissible levels of food waste, while the best canteens provided information on their best practices to keep food waste low. The results showed that with best voluntary practice for each type of catering unit, overall food waste would be reduced by up to 76 %. Best voluntary practices used by the best-performing canteens were identified as: ‘reusing buffet leftovers’, ‘adjusting recipes based on previous consumption’, ‘advising guests to start with small tasting portions’, ‘setting goals for waste reduction’ and ‘serving smaller volumes in buffet containers and refilling more often’. All these actions can realistically be implemented as standard practices by public catering organisations. The present analysis could not confirm that all these actions have actually been implemented, or to what extent, but practical implementation of identified best voluntary practices meeting stated benchmarks is recommended. The Environmental Code is technology-neutral and goal-oriented and participating food business operators are not forced by law or official regulations to introduce resource-saving measures, but this study shows that some measures can lead to a large reduction in food waste. The study does not show whether harsh, i.e. costly, measures can be enforced on businesses, which can only be determined by case law (court practice). However, in the specific cases in this study, measures that could have been enforced based on the Environmental Code would have led to at least 76 % reduction in food waste. This would be a major step towards a sustainable food system.
... The canteen typically serves three "all-you-can-eat" buffet style meals per day, six days per week (excluding Sundays); however, post-COVID, table service was introduced for all meals. This site was chosen because it represented a typical format for a male-only Indian university canteen [33]. ...
Article
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A food-waste initiative was conducted at two university canteens in the UK and India to examine food-waste attitudes and opportunities for food-waste reduction. Interventions were carried out to reduce food waste in both canteens. In the Indian canteen, postintervention data also included COVID-19-related changes, such as a change from self-service to table service, as well as reduced menu choices and an improved estimation of the number of students requiring meals. Surveys and focus groups were conducted with students to better understand their food-waste-related attitudes, while interviews were carried out with university staff to better understand food-waste management. The study in the UK university canteen found that introducing table cards, posters, and signs led to food-waste reductions of 13%. Meanwhile, the study in the Indian university canteen found that the interventions and COVID-19 impacts led to food-waste reductions of 50%. Concerning food-waste-related differences between the UK and India, culture and food preferences were key reasons for food waste in India, with 40.5% more participants in India stating that they wasted food because the ‘food didn’t taste good’. Students in India were more concerned about social issues and food poverty related to food waste, with around 9% more participants stating that the ‘food could be used by others’. Meanwhile, students in the UK were more bothered by the economic and environmental impacts of food waste, with around 31% more participants stating food waste is ‘a waste of money’, and is ‘bad for the environment’ when compared to India. Key opportunities for both countries included adopting food-sharing initiatives, informed menu choices, and meal planning, as well as student-led engagement projects.
... 52 Another study examined the effect removing trays had on food waste in a university dining hall. 53 Just as a slow elevator door added friction to the habit of taking the elevator, removing trays added friction to patrons' tendency to pile on excess food, reducing food waste by of approximately 18%. ...
... Third, and most broadly, governments and institutions can shift the choice architecture, such as when cafeterias remove trays, diners consume less food(Thiagarajah and Getty 2013), or how municipal governments, by building sidewalks and bike lanes and implementing traffic calming infrastructure (like speed bumps), can draw people from cars to more sustainable modes of transportation(Aldred and Goodman 2020). In order to reduce car traffic and to encourage walking, biking, or public transport use, London introduced the Congestion Charge, which vehicles must pay in order to drive within the charge zone in central London. ...
Book
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This report continues the science-based approach of linking concrete changes in lifestyles to measurable impacts on climate change in order to keep with the 1.5-degree aspirational target of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The 1.5-degree lifestyles approach examines GHG emissions and reduction potentials using consumption-based accounting, which covers both direct emissions in a country and embodied emissions of imported goods while excluding emissions embodied in exported goods. It analyses lifestyle carbon footprints of ten sample countries, representing high-, middle-, and low-income countries, and identifies hotspots, or consumption domains with the highest impact on the environment. The report also fills the knowledge gap arising from most prevailing climate scenarios that underplay the potential contributions of lifestyle changes to climate change mitigation and focus entirely or mainly on developing new technologies and on changes in production. For each country in the report, the footprint gap between current and sustainable target levels are determined for the years 2030, 2040, and 2050. To bridge these gaps, options for reducing footprints in each country are introduced, estimating potential impacts from various adoption rates in each country. Finally, two scenarios are developed for each country, one focused on systems change and another on behaviour change, showing indicative pathways for achieving the 2030 target.
... Some previous studies investigating the effect of single interventions mainly targeting plate waste, such as information campaigns (with written messages such as posters and table talkers), have reported a range of results, from no food waste reduction to a 28% reduction (Visschers, Gundlach, and Beretta, 2020;Whitehair, Shanklin, and Brannon, 2013). Other interventions, including redesigning schedules so that lunch is in relation to recess (Getlinger, Laughlin, Bell, Akre, and Arjmandi, 1996), introducing tasting spoons (Tocco Cardwell, Cummings, Kraft, and Berkenkamp, 2019) and nudging initiatives (Kallbekken and Saelen 2013;Thiagarajah and Getty 2013), have been found to reduce food waste by up to 20%. Forecasting has also been identified as a potential solution to reduce food waste and especially serving waste, in theory by 20-40% (Malefors, Strid, Hansson, and Eriksson, 2021b;Ryu and Sanchez 2003;Yurtsever and Tecim 2020), although few studies have examined how well actually forecasting works in terms of food waste reduction. ...
Article
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Food waste is a problem that needs to be addressed to achieve sustainable development. There is a need for interventions that can reduce food waste, including in organisations already aware of the food waste problem. Swedish school canteens have experience of food waste reduction, but need tools to achieve further reductions. This study tested four interventions (tasting spoons, awareness campaign, a plate waste tracker and a guest forecasting tool) designed to reduce food waste in school canteens. Each intervention was introduced in two school canteens, while seven school canteens acted as a reference group. The interventions were compared with baseline food waste before the intervention and with the reference group. All interventions reduced total food waste (by 6 to 44 g/guest) compared with the baseline, but the reference group also reduced its food waste. The awareness campaign reduced plate waste most, by 13 g per portion, which was 6 g/portion more than the plate waste reduction in the reference group. The forecasting and plate waste tracker interventions reduced serving waste most, by 34 and 38 g/portion, compared with 11 g/portion in the reference group. Some interventions also had an effect on waste fractions they were not designed to target, affecting the total waste by shifting the waste. Interventions should always be seen in a context and be implemented in combinations that increase overall sustainability. Thus forecasting is an effective way to reduce serving waste, plate waste tracker and awareness campaign are effective tools to reduce plate waste in school canteens.
... Current food waste reduction strategies based on a food waste hierarchy include reducing the amount of food waste generated (prevention), redistribution of surplus food, the use of food waste in animal feed and industry, composting, anaerobic digestion, and disposal [22]. Effective strategies to reduce waste at the consumer level include consumer awareness campaigns [23][24][25], nudge interventions, such as reduced portion sizes or the implementation of trayless dining [26][27][28], and retail initiatives, such as the Ugly Fruit Campaign which promotes the sale of imperfect fruit and vegetables to reduce food waste [25,29,30]. Food waste reduction strategies at a household level include meal planning, effective use of leftovers, correct storage of food, and the avoidance of overconsumption and excess purchasing. ...
Article
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Food waste and nutrition are intrinsically linked in terms of environmental health and public health. Despite this, it is unknown whether these topics have been previously synthesized into a review. The aim was to identify the interdisciplinary parameters that exist in public health and nutrition literature in terms of food waste and plastic waste associated with food, and to identify how these parameters currently contribute to food sustainability messaging and interventions. A rapid scoping review was conducted. Data were mapped into concepts and synthesized in a narrative review. Four main concepts were identified: (1) food waste and diet quality, nutrient losses, and environmental health, (2) food waste reduction interventions and diet quality, (3) food banks/pantries and diet/nutritional quality, and (4) food and plastic waste messaging in nutrition or dietary guidelines. Food waste is associated with nutrient wastage, and interventions to reduce food waste can successfully address food sustainability and nutrition quality. Food redistribution systems do not currently address access to sustainably sourced foods that are also nutrient-dense for lower-income communities. Opportunities for future research and practice include aligning food waste, plastic waste, and nutrition priorities together and developing better food redistribution systems to limit wastage of high-quality foods.
... A study reviewed a university that serves nearly a thousand meals a day and explored the effect of different food delivery scenarios on the amount of waste produced at the university dining hall. This study has investigated the shift from the tray-based system of food delivery to a non-tray-based system in which food waste and customers' perspectives are evaluated, thus leading to reduced solid food waste and high customer support at the buffet dining halls (Thiagarajah and Getty 2013). ...
Article
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Food waste planning at universities is often a complex matter due to the large volume of food and variety of services. A major portion of university food waste arises from dining systems including meal booking and distribution. Although dining systems have a significant role in generating food wastes, few studies have designed prediction models that could control such wastes based on reservation data and behavior of students at meal delivery times. To fill this gap, analyzing meal booking systems at universities, the present study proposed a new model based on machine learning to reduce the food waste generated at major universities that provide food subsidies. Students’ reservation and their presence or absence at the dining hall (show/no-show rate) at mealtime were incorporated in data analysis. Given the complexity of the relationship between the attributes and the uncertainty observed in user behavior, a model was designed to analyze definite and random components of demand. An artificial neural network-based model designed for demand prediction provided a two-step prediction approach to dealing with uncertainty in actual demand. In order to estimate the lowest total cost based on the cost of waste and the shortage penalty cost, an uncertainty-based analysis was conducted at the final step of the research. This study formed a framework that could reduce the food waste volume by up to 79% and control the penalty and waste cost in the case study. The model was investigated with cost analysis and the results proved its efficiency in reducing total cost.
... Some limited work examines the temporal and spatial organisational practices that shape university life, including Chatterton's (1999) depiction of students' consumption patterns and use of leisure spaces in the city of London and an analysis of the configuration of sustainable food in dining halls at academic institutions or cafes in the United Kingdom by Jones et al. (2008). Despite some exceptions, however, much of the implied onus for social change still rests with individual students in this literature (Thiagarajah & Getty, 2013;Whitehair et al., 2013), resonating with the aforementioned normative literature on convenience food. ...
Article
This article addresses questions about sustainability outcomes and the convenience‐oriented eating practices that tend to dominate some urban universities and that are largely associated with intensive resource and energy consumption. Instead of considering food consumption on campus as a product of individual behaviours and choices (commonly the normative frame for provisioning of eating sociospatial infrastructures), we use social practice theory to examine how timespace infrastructures shape and are shaped by eating practices on campus. The digital ethnographic methods used to capture these practices include focus groups, food maps, and discussions on a facilitated Facebook group. Our analysis suggests that university eating times and spaces normalise and promote unsustainable forms of convenience eating. For university leadership teams concerned with promoting sustainable practices, the findings highlight the limitations of individualistic solutions that aim to encourage students to make healthier and more sustainable food choices. We show that by rescheduling timetables to provide dedicated mealtimes and by providing more shared eating spaces and associated infrastructure, those leadership teams could work to reimagine and intervene in the timespaces of campus life and steer taken‐for‐granted food practices in more sustainable directions.
... Nudging might be a better option for changing the underlying behaviour of guests throwing away food. As an example Kallbekken and Saelen (2013) found that reducing plate size significantly reduced plate waste, while Thiagarajah and Getty (2013) found that removing the trays from a university dining hall reduced food waste. Kuo and Shih (2016) suggest that gender is the main driver of food waste, and especially plate waste, as they found that female plate waste in universities was significantly higher than male plate waste. ...
Thesis
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An estimated one-third of all food produced is wasted, meaning that much of the negative environmental impact caused by food production is in vain. Global ambitions to reduce food waste include halving the levels by 2030, while the new EU food strategy views reducing food waste as a key issue in achieving a sustainable food system. This thesis presents detailed information on the volumes of food waste, where it occurs, why it occurs and what can be done to reduce it. The information originated from 1189 kitchens operating in establishments such as canteens, care homes, hotels, hospitals, preschools, schools and restaurants throughout Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany. The results indicated that approximately 20% of food served in the catering sector is wasted, although there is large variation, with canteens reporting 50±9.4 g/portion of food waste and restaurants 190±30 g/portion. To identify risk factors and reasons for food waste, a more detailed subset of data on Swedish preschools and schools was analysed. Some of the risk factors identified related to kitchen infrastructure and guest age, which could be difficult or expensive to tackle as a first option. The main risk factor was the amount of food prepared relative to the number of guests attending, an issue that kitchens can tackle by forecasting. This thesis demonstrated the potential of forecasting attendance as a tool in planning catering operations. The current business-as-usual scenario, where food is prepared for all pupils enrolled, results in a mean error of 20-40%, whereas the best forecasting case, using neural network models, resulted in a mean error of 2-3%. However, forecasts can underestimate demand, creating shortages, so some margin must be added in practical use. Providing kitchens with information about roughly how many guests will attend a meal, plus a sufficient margin, and encouraging them to serve food from a backup stock in cases of forecast underestimation would overcome the problems of shortages, reduce food waste and contribute to a sustainable food system.
... Although it is not certain what proportion of food is rescued in universities, an estimated 18,105 tons of food is rescued annually in Australia [39]. Plate waste is also an important component of wasted food, and USA initiatives that have removed trays from cafeterias have seen a 20% food waste reduction [40]. One governance document described employing this strategy but found it to be ineffective, attributing the lack of success to differences in foodservice and lack of buffet-style dining. ...
Article
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Background: Transitioning towards sustainable food systems for the health of the population and planet will require governments and institutions to develop effective governance to support the adoption of sustainable food practices. The aim of the paper is to describe current governance within Australian and New Zealand universities designed to support sustainable food systems. Methods: A systematic search of governance documents to support sustainable food systems within Australian and New Zealand universities was conducted. Data were obtained from 1) targeted websites 2) internet search engines and 3) expert consultations. Inclusion criteria consisted of university governance documents including by-laws, policies, guidelines, frameworks, and procedures that support sustainable food systems. Results: Twenty-nine governance documents across nineteen Australian and New Zealand universities were included for synthesis, including waste management policies (n = 3), fair-trade/procurement policies (n = 6), catering and or event guidelines (n = 7) and catering policies (n = 2), and environmental management plans (n = 11). The main strategies adopted by universities were sustainable waste management and prevention (e.g. reducing landfill, reducing wasted food, (27%)), ethical procurement practices (i.e. fair-trade (27%)) and environmentally sustainable food consumption (e.g. local, seasonal, organic, vegetarian food supply (14.5%)). Only 12.5% of universities addressed all three of the main strategies identified. Conclusions: This study indicates that while sustainable food systems are considered in some university governance documents, efforts are predominantly focused on aspects such as waste management or procurement of fair-trade items which as stand-alone practices are likely to have minimal impact. This review highlights the scope of universities to provide strong leadership in promoting and supporting sustainable food systems through holistic institutional policies and governance mechanisms.
... 51 Another study examined the effect removing trays had on food waste in a university dining hall. 52 Just as a slow elevator door added friction to the habit of taking the elevator, removing trays added friction to patrons' tendency to pile on excess food. The result was a reduction in food waste of approximately 18%. ...
Preprint
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Public awareness and concern about climate and environmental issues have grown dramatically in the United States and around the world. Yet this shift in attitudes has not been accompanied by similar increases in eco-friendly behaviors. We propose that this attitude–behavior gap is partly driven by the difficulty of changing unsustainable habits. Governments and businesses can reduce this gap through interventions that draw on insights from research into the psychology of habits and behavioral economics. First, they can reduce or add friction, making it easier for people to engage in eco-friendly actions and making it harder to continue environmentally damaging practices. Second, they can set up action cues—prompts that trigger pro-environment actions—and deliver these cues where and when they will have the biggest impact. Finally, they can provide psychologically informed incentives and disincentives that steer people toward environmentally beneficial actions. We also describe how even initially unpopular policies can become accepted through habitual repetition. In these ways, habit psychology represents a promising addition to the policymaker’s toolbox.
... However, other authors, such as Wansink and Van Ittersum [27], estimated a PW between 8% and 14% among customers at an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet, and Freedman and Brochado [16] found a 18% PW from French fries in an all-you-can-eat university dining service. Other PW studies performed at university environments [28][29][30] yielded estimates of the volume of waste in the range of 63-124 g per meal. These values are much higher than our results, which may be explained in part by the different PW assessment methodologies applied, as most of these studies focused only on a single meal, usually lunch, while our study data were acquired and recorded overall, daily. ...
Article
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Food waste is a major environmental issue that must be tackled in order to achieve a sustainable food supply chain. Currently, in Spain there are no studies that examine the amounts and sources of plate waste (PW) produced by both household and out-of-home consumption. The present study aims to provide this information from a representative sample from the Spanish population. A total of 2009 individuals aged 9–75 years, from the ANIBES study (“anthropometric data, macronutrients and micronutrients intake, practice of physical activity, socioeconomic data and lifestyles in Spain”), completed a three-day dietary record, collected by a tablet device. Photographs of all foods and beverages consumed both at home and outside were taken before and after meals. Median PW across the total population was 7.3 (0.0–37.3) g/day and was significantly higher in females than males (p < 0.05) and in children vs. adolescents, adults, and elderly (p < 0.01). Regarding meals, PW across all age groups was higher at lunch (40%), dinner (27%), and breakfast (11%). The highest PW was observed for bread (25%) main courses (16%), first and second courses (15%), vegetables and fruits (12%), ready-to-eat meals (10%), cereals and grains (10%), oils and fats (10%), pulses (10%), meat products (8%), sauces and condiments (8%), and starters (8%). Our results reinforce the need for new strategies to focus on reducing plate leftovers, which are crucial from a nutritional, economic, and environmental point of view. Additionally, this evidence is important for relying on more accurate information on actual intakes when using dietary surveys.
... Similarly, multiple studies have shown that removing the tray from canteens (but allowing plate refills) makes it slightly harder to take too much food, significantly reducing food waste by up to 40% (e.g. Thiagarajah & Getty, 2013). ...
Chapter
Conservation Research, Policy and Practice - edited by William J. Sutherland April 2020
... Larger serving sizes were indeed found to result in more PW (Lorenz et al., 2017b). Changes in the infrastructure, such as smaller plates, smaller serving spoons and the removal of serving trays, have been found to reduce PW in self-service restaurants and cafeterias (Kallbekken and Saelen, 2013;Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013). In food services with fixed meals, the introduction of smaller servings proved to reduce PW significantly, although relatively few consumers were in favour of their introduction (Berkowitz et al., 2016;Vermote et al., 2018). ...
Article
Two interventions were systematically evaluated in two university canteens on their effectiveness to reduce visitors' plate waste. The evaluation was theory-based and focused not only at the effects on the amount of plate waste, but also at the psychological predictors underlying plate waste behaviour. In Intervention A, visitors received information about food waste over a period of three weeks. In Intervention B, in addition to information, smaller servings were offered. The actual amount of plate waste and visitors' attitudes, personal norms, beliefs, perceived behavioural control, intentions and plate waste reduction behaviour were measured before and after the interventions. Intervention B reduced the amount of plate waste by 20%, whereas no reduction was found after Intervention A. In both interventions, the provided information resulted in more positive beliefs and stronger personal norms regarding avoiding plate waste. The information also caused attitudes to have a stronger influence on plate waste reduction behaviour, whereas intention to reduce became less important for reducing plate waste. Personal norms regarding food waste were the strongest predictor of plate waste reduction behaviour, before and after the interventions. The provided information was thus insufficient to reduce plate waste, simply offering smaller servings could achieve this. Although our intervention study only included two university canteens and was conducted for a short period, our data seem to imply that a combination of both information and smaller servings reduces plate waste in the food service industry.
... Alternatively, the focus could be on acting on information, rather than just quantifying more intensively. However, some efficiency measures could be implemented without detailed or long quantifications, for example reduced plate size (Kallbekken and Saelen, 2013), going trayless (Thiagarajah and Getty, 2013), better demand forecasting and more effective stock management (Filimonau and Delysia, 2019), and prompting guests to take only as much food as they will eat (Whitehair et al., 2013). A way forward could be to design control measures that incentivize or force catering units to: 1) Conduct a short and simple quantification to raise awareness; 2) ensure that a handful of simple measures (or a checklist) are implemented based on findings during the quantification period; and 3) begin more ambitious quantifications, to form the basis for well-designed food waste reducing actions in a system of continuous improvements. ...
Article
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One innovation developed to tackle food waste in professional catering units is different versions of smart scales and softwares designed to simplify food waste quantification. The intention with this is to managing meal production more efficiently based on previous outcomes. However, quantification can be performed in different ways and having a catering unit quantify its food waste does not necessarily guarantee a reduction. Therefore this study sought to identify factors that could make food waste quantification more efficient in terms of waste reduction, and to determine the waste reduction payoff from more ambitious quantification set-ups. Data on 735 hotels, restaurants, and canteens in Europe, especially Sweden and Norway, that use a spreadsheet, a dedicated scale, or an internet-based service to track food waste were analyzed and parameters describing initial waste, number of guests and length, resolution, and completeness of quantification were determined. These parameters were then compared against the waste reduction achieved, in order to test their influence. It was found that 61% of the catering units studied had reduced their waste and that initial mass of waste per guest was the most influential factor for waste reduction. Catering units using more automated quantification tools recorded more data and reduced their food waste by slightly more, but also had a higher level of initial waste and therefore a greater opportunity for reduction. From this, it can be concluded that prioritizing catering units with the greatest waste volume could be an efficient strategy to reduce overall food waste in the most cost-efficient way.
Article
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Citation: Guimarães, N.S.; Reis, M.G.; Júnior, F.E.d.M.; Fontes, L.d.A.; Raposo, A.; Saraiva, A.; Zandonadi, R.P.; Alturki, H.A.; Albaridi, N.A.; de Carvalho, I.M.M. From Plate to Planet: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Strategies to Reduce Plate Food Waste at Food Services. Sustainability 2024, 16, 9099. https:// Abstract: Annually, over 931 million tons of plate food waste is generated in food services, affecting various aspects of sustainability. Therefore, this review aims to evaluate the most effective strategies or actions to reduce plate food waste. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following a PROSPERO-registered protocol [#CRD42024501971], searching multiple databases and gray literature until August 2024. Studies evaluating strategies and actions against waste in various food services [restaurants, institutional services in hospitals, childcare centers, schools, universities, or businesses] were included, with no language, location, or date restrictions. The risk of bias was assessed using JBI tools. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed in R (version 4.2.1), with subgroup analyses based on intervention type, food service type, meal type, management, and distribution systems. Of the 6070 studies, 18 were included in the narrative synthesis and 6 in the meta-analysis. The most effective strategies or actions targeted clients (vs. employees), meals on plates (vs. trays), school canteens (vs. other services), self-managed establishments (vs. outsourced), and à la carte services (vs. self-service). In this sense, strategies focusing on clients, plate-served meals, school canteens, self-management, and à la carte services are more effective in reducing food waste. Further actions are needed in other areas like customers, trays, different kitchen types, outsourced services, and self-service menus.
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Food waste is considered to be a social, environmental, administrative, and economic problem. Given the large-scale production and distribution of food, food waste in food services has been widely discussed by experts, professors, and scientists in the field. This systematic review aimed to understand which food service has the highest percentage of plate food waste. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted until January 2024 in ten electronic databases: MEDLINE, Embase, IBECS, BINACIS, BDENF, CUMED, BDNPAR, ARGMSAL, Cochrane Library, Sustainable Development Goals, and the gray literature. The protocol was previously registered with PROSPERO under the code CRD42024501971. Studies that have assessed plate food waste in food services were included. There were no restrictions on language, publication location, or date. The risk of bias analysis was carried out using the JBI instrument. A proportion meta-analysis was carried out using R software (version 4.2.1). This systematic review with meta-analysis showed that the type of distribution and the food service are the factors that have the greatest impact on the percentage and per capita of plate food waste. In the face of increased waste, interventions should be targeted by type and distribution system, diners, and meals in order to lessen the impact of these factors.
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The subject of food waste is one in which has been of great concern to many governments and countries in the world. Combatting the issue of food waste has therefore been in focus in recent times. Reduction in food waste would preserve the environment and improve the lives, livelihood and economies of several households across the globe. In order to properly reduce food waste, it is imperative that there should be an understanding of the factors that influence household food waste. This research paper presents data from 120 households sample in Uyo Local Government Area. The result shows that an average of ₦8,110.94 worth of food is wasted monthly among farming households in Uyo Local Government Area. From the results, there was a positive relationship between the value of food waste and household size, household monthly income and access to credit of households. This paper also identified the stages where household food waste was experienced to include storage, during preparation, cooking and also leftovers after eating. It also considered how much waste was generated by households in these stages.
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The book chapter aims to examine the factors that impede green purchase behavior and highlight how marketers and advertisers can cultivate green communities by adopting strategies to rope in both potentially easy and difficult consumers. We provide typography of segments—based on gender, political ideology, personality, cultural identity, moral character, and environmental consciousness. With the help of evidence from academic research and industry examples, we suggest solutions to dismantle psychological hurdles across these segments by providing effective, customized advertising strategies to facilitate green purchase behavior and consequent advancement toward a greener world.
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Food waste is attracting global attention and there are stated ambitions to halve food waste by 2030. This thesis presents detailed information on quantities of food waste in the food service sector, with particular focus on the Swedish public catering sector. It examines where waste occurs, why it occurs, what can be done to reduce it and whether the ambitions to halve food waste by 2030 is achievable. The information collected covered the period 2010-2020 and originated from 3 386 kitchens operating in canteens, care homes, hotels, hospitals, preschools, schools and restaurants throughout Sweden, Norway, Finland and Germany. The results indicate that 18% of food served in the sector is wasted, although there is large variation between catering units. The main risk factor for food waste generation was identified as being amount of food prepared relative to number of guests attending, an issue that kitchens can tackle by improved forecasting. Forecasting as a waste reduction measure was tested in Swedish school canteens, alongside awareness campaigns, introducing tasting spoons and a plate waste tracker providing feedback to guests to nudge their behaviour. All these measures reduced food waste, but only forecasting and the plate waste tracker reduced total food waste more than in a set of reference canteens that had none of these measures in place. The mass of food waste generated in Swedish preschools, primary schools and secondary schools has declined by 25% since 2016. The amount of food waste to be halved by 2030 was estimated to 21 000 t for preschools and schools, which corresponds to 21 g/guest. Systematic work on food waste reduction, with quantification as a core step to evaluate current ambitions, is necessary to achieve a more sustainable food system.
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At virtually all points in the food supply chain, the amount of food loss is substantial, leading to increased attention on policies to address food waste. In this chapter, we develop an economic framework to help explain why food is lost at each point in the supply chain, identify locations in the food distribution system responsible for the largest shares of food waste, and develop policies that may be helpful in mitigating food loss and eliminating food waste. Throughout this chapter, we emphasize the core insight that food loss, which occurs when food becomes unfit for human consumption, and food waste, which occurs when food that is still fit for human consumption is discarded, do not necessarily imply market failure. That said, food loss and food waste at current levels represent a substantial departure from the socially optimal resource allocation, and developing policies that leverage the power of economic incentives may be successful in reducing both food loss and food waste in an otherwise well-functioning food system.
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Objective: To evaluate implementation of nutrition/physical activity-related policies/practices at colleges participating in a healthy campus initiative and campus health leaders' perceptions of policies/practices' support for student health and ease of/barriers to implementation. Participants: Health leaders at colleges participating in the Healthier Campus Initiative (HCI), with completed or ongoing three-year HCI commitments. Methods: Surveys asked which of 41 guidelines were implemented and perceptions around support for student health and ease of/barriers to implementation. Qualitative interviews explored similar domains. Results: Campuses with completed HCI commitments (n = 17) averaged 27.6 guidelines implemented, versus 21.1 on campuses with commitments ongoing (n = 13; p = 0.003). Perceived support for student health and implementation ease varied by guideline. Common implementation barriers included financial costs and time. Interviews largely reinforced these findings. Conclusions: Completion of a campus environmental change initiative may be associated with more health-supporting practices. Campuses may benefit from implementing coordinated policy/practice changes supporting healthy eating and physical activity.
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University dining facilities generate nearly 3.6 million tons of waste annually with 10-20% estimated as food. The study’s purpose was to determine the impact of portion plates on reducing plate waste in a university dining hall. Data were collected in a Midwestern university in two phases. Phase 1 utilized normal service plates, while Phase 2 introduced the choice of a portion plate. Results showed a reduction in edible and aggregate plate waste per person from Phase 1 to Phase 2. Participants who utilized portion plates reported a greater awareness of their food choices and intentionally chose less food while dining.
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We explore production planning in all-you-care-to-eat food service operations, where lack of marginal revenue associated with lost sales constrains the applicability of cost-minimizing strategies. We integrate forecast uncertainty considerations into an operational model of food service production, and derive strategies that minimize food waste subject to target shortfall probabilities. We model this situation using a nonlinear penalty function formulation, utilizing kernel density estimation to characterize deviations from demand forecasts, allowing enumeration of the efficient frontier between conflicting objectives of demand shortfall and food waste, where food waste is measured by either its mass or its embodied CO2-equivalent emissions. When food waste is measured using the weight of wasted food, reducing the substitution threshold (minimum-allowable production level for leftover substitution) for meat-based items at certain meals is preferable. Alternatively, when using CO2-equivalents embodied in wasted food, a variety of strategies, including reducing the substitution threshold at certain meals, increasing the percentage of demands that are satisfied from leftovers at certain meals, and increasing the allowable shortfall probability for beef-based meals, are all attractive. The results provide insight into targeted production level modifications, rather than broad increases or decreases, that can help food service operators manage the tradeoff between these conflicting objectives.
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Emerging economies, particularly China, are likely to play a critical role in determining global food waste. The paper investigates plate waste from a staple food consumption pattern perspective by surveying 9,192 Chinese university students at the on-campus canteens in 29 provinces of mainland China. A significant finding is that diet culture is closely related to food waste. Southerners who consume rice as a staple food are found to waste more food than Northerners who are wheat-based eaters on average. A robust test confirms the finding when matching the student's hometown and university location and setting the "Southerners studying in South China" as the reference group. Taking into account the possible self-selection problem, the robustness test based on the PSM model also confirms the association between staple food consumption patterns and food waste in Chinese university canteens. Comparative analyses based on the components of food consumption and the compositions of wastage further suggest that the differences in staple food consumption patterns determine the food wastage variations. This study provides empirical evidence that differences in consumption patterns bring about the disparity in food wastage within a country.
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Dramatic reductions in carbon emissions must take place immediately. A human-centric method of reducing environmental impacts is to “nudge” employees away from single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) toward more sustainable commuting options. While an abundance of research has focused on external determinants of mode choice, we know much less about the behavioral determinants. The field of behavioral science is overdue for a focus on transportation. This paper is meant to facilitate communication between researchers, practitioners, and policymakers in part by developing a behaviorally-informed framework that can be leveraged by policymakers, government, and companies worldwide. We also describe the founding of our multidisciplinary team and outline lessons learned.
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Background With increasing pressure on the Earth’s finite resources, there is significant demand for environmentally sustainable practices in foodservice. A shift to sustainable foodservice operations can decrease its environmental impact and may align with consumer expectations. Objective This systematic review explored consumer expectations (attitudes pre-intervention) and responses (behaviour, cognitive attitudes and affective attitudes post-intervention) towards environmentally sustainable initiatives of foodservice operations. Methods A systematic search following PRISMA guidelines was conducted across MEDLINE, EMABASE, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases. English and full text research articles published up to November 2019 were identified. Consumers’ expectations and responses to interventions were extracted. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Results Thirty-four studies were included and given the heterogeneity of the studies; results were synthesized narratively. The main outcomes analyzed included changes in behaviour and attitudes (cognitive and affective) including knowledge and satisfaction. Intervention strategies were interpreted and categorized into three groups: food waste reduction, single-use item and packaging waste reduction, and initiatives related to menu, messaging and labelling. Most studies resulted in significant pro-environmental changes towards decreasing food waste, decreasing single use-item and packaging waste, and engaging consumers in sustainable eating. Conclusions There are a range of successful environmentally sustainable strategies that when implemented by foodservices can have a mostly positive impact on consumer attitudes and responses. However, positive consumer attitudes did not always translate to changes in behavior. Foodservices should carefully consider implementing interventions which support changes in consumer behavior.
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Foodservice is estimated to produce 12% of the total food waste in Europe, and it is a major target for policies against food waste. The amount of food lost during foodservice operations has been assessed in the literature as a figure ranging from 10% to 41% of the quantity prepared in the kitchen, either as non-served food or as plate waste. In this paper, a systematization of the current initiatives against food waste in EU school foodservice is provided. This background is used as a base to discuss the results of a direct assessment of food waste conducted in 78 primary schools in Italy, where 28.6% of the food prepared was not consumed by the diners. Part of it was saved for reuse, while the rest was disposed and treated as organic waste or, to a lesser extent, as unsorted waste. The flows of food waste, represented by a Sankey diagram, show that some actions may be implemented in order to save more food from disposal; for example, implementing donation programmes for non-served food or using doggy bags to avoid the disposal of plate waste. A greater effort shall be put on preventive actions, aimed at avoiding the generation of food waste; in this sense regular monitoring at schools may act as a first preventive measure as it can increase the awareness of students, teachers and foodservice staff over the issue of food waste.
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Obesity and food waste are related issues, both exacerbated by an overabundance of food. Efforts to reduce food waste can have varying unintended, obesity-related consequences, which further underscores the need for a systems approach to food waste reduction. Yet, these 2 issues are rarely examined together. It is the authors’ point of view that for nutrition educators and other public health practitioners to develop interventions that simultaneously address food waste and obesity, they need to understand how actions at the consumer-level may impact waste and its related food system consequences earlier in the supply chain.
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Approximately 31% of food is lost or wasted at the retail and consumer levels in the U.S. Among consumers, young adults have been identified as one of the more wasteful segments of the population. In the U.S., many young adults (ages 18–24) attend a post-secondary education institution where they are often provided housing and meals through the college or university. Because of this, university dining facilities make an excellent target for food waste reduction strategies. The purpose of this study is to evaluate one food waste reduction strategy: changing the plate shape and size in university dining facilities. Specifically, this study compares individual food selection, consumption, and waste between round plates (9″ x 9″) and smaller oval platters (9.75″ x 7.75″) in a self-serve, all-you-care-to-eat dining environment. Compared to larger round plates, smaller oval platters significantly reduced average food selection (359.9 g vs. 318.0 g, P<0.001), consumption (302.9 g vs. 280.5 g, P = 0.0012), and waste (57.0 g vs. 37.5 g, P<0.001). Our results suggest changing the plate shape and size can be an effective waste reduction strategy in all-you-care-to-eat dining halls at colleges and universities. Future studies should consider how such changes impact dietary quality and whether waste reduction effects persist over time.
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Many countries strive to reduce food waste, which deprives hungry people of nutrition, depletes resources, and accounts for substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Composting and other food waste recycling technologies that divert food waste from landfills mitigate the environmental damages of food waste disposal and have grown in popularity. We explore whether consumer knowledge that the environmental damage created by their food waste will be mitigated by recycling technologies undermines personal food waste reduction behavior. Subjects in a dining situation are randomly assigned whether or not they receive information about the negative effects of landfilling food waste and whether they are told that uneaten food from the study will be composted or landfilled. We find that providing information about the negative effects of food waste in landfills significantly reduces the total amount of solid food waste created when compared to a control situation that features neither a food waste reduction nor a food waste recycling policy. However, if subjects are also informed that food waste from the study will be composted, the amount of solid food waste generated is significantly greater than if only the food waste reduction policy were implemented. This suggests a crowding out effect or informational rebound effect in which promoting policies that mitigate the environmental damages of food waste may unintentionally undermine policies meant to encourage individual consumer food waste reduction. We discuss key policy implications as well as several limitations of our experimental setting and analysis.
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Cambridge Core - Ecology and Conservation - Conservation Research, Policy and Practice - edited by William J. Sutherland
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The ultimate goal of this research was to understand the process of food service sustainability through a limited “cradle-to-grave” analysis of Southern Illinois University's (SIU) campus dining facilities. The process of researching the dining halls' sustainability was broken into three separate stages: food mileage analysis, food waste analysis, and vermicomposting analysis. The first stage results determined that the dining halls were 15.67% sustainable in its food purchasing process. The goal for the university was to obtain a 20% purchase rate of sustainable products. The total carbon foot print for the university was 1533.5 tons of Co2 for 1,990 items. This carbon output is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from 278.82 passenger vehicles. The total mileage of the food items was 775,394.50 miles.The second stage of the research calculated the average amount of waste that was produced per student. SIU's dining halls utilize a new system of service called trayless, where trays are removed and students have to fill up a plate instead of a tray. The average food waste per student was 1.04 oz a day. Currently, the waste produced is very limited. This demonstrates that trayless dining has proven effective and needs to be continued.The final stage was a vermicomposting analysis in which a pre-composting phase was introduced to expedite the vermicomposting process. The amount of time taken for this pre-composting phase was still longer than anticipated. The longer time frame translated into additional monies to pay for utilities for the building and payroll for the workers. Vermicomposting, although, ecological friendly does not appear cost effective in this setting.This study demonstrates how universities can begin the process of sustainability. By using several methods that have been investigated to increase sustainability (food mileage calculations and tray-less dining), university food services should be able to implement more sustainable practices in order to encourage making our universities green.
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National data indicate that 91 billion pounds of food are lost by consumers and food service annually. With growing concerns about the environment, economy, and food production, it is important to be resourceful about food. The goal of this study was to analyze differences in food and compostable waste with and without the use of trays in an all-you-can-eat university dining facility. The results indicated that the use of trays resulted in significantly more waste (p < .05) than no access to trays, with 5829 pounds of edible waste and 1111 pounds of inedible waste being generated in 1 week.
Food Waste. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. 2003. Encyclopedia website
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Sobal J, Nelson MK. Food Waste. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. 2003. Encyclopedia website. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/ 1G2-3403400261.html. Accessed December 6, 2011.
From the Farm to the Fork, Increasing Sustainability Implications Surrounding Food on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. University of Minnesota, Institute on the Environment website
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Gomez A, Glaubitz C, Hines M, Lawson MM, Zeglen L. From the Farm to the Fork, Increasing Sustainability Implications Surrounding Food on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus. University of Minnesota, Institute on the Environment website. http://sustainabilitystudies.umn. edu/prod/groups/cfans/@pub/@cfans/sustainability/documents/article/ cfans_article_188616.pdf. Accessed December 6, 2011.
Food and non-edible, compostable waste in a university dining facility AUTHOR INFORMATION K. Thiagarajah is a lecturer, Department of Applied Health Science, and V. M. Getty is senior lecturer and director Address correspondence to: Victoria M
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Sarjahani A, Serrano EL, Johnson R. Food and non-edible, compostable waste in a university dining facility. J Hunger Environ Nutr. 2009;4(1): 95-102. AUTHOR INFORMATION K. Thiagarajah is a lecturer, Department of Applied Health Science, and V. M. Getty is senior lecturer and director, Didactic Program in Dietetics, Department of Applied Health Science, both at Indiana University, Bloomington. Address correspondence to: Victoria M. Getty, MEd, RD, Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, HPER Building 116, 1025 East 7th St, Bloomington, IN 47405. E-mail: vgetty@indiana.edu
From the Farm to the Fork, Increasing Sustainability Implications Surrounding Food on the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus.
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