Towards a cohesive circular food economy: A motivation opportunity ability (MOA) approach to understanding an emerging group of practitioners in Metro Vancouver

Nearly half of the food produced in Canada is lost or wasted, leading to negative environmental impacts and contributing to rising levels of food insecurity. The circular food economy (CFE) has been proposed by stakeholders and policymakers as a potential framework for solving the food waste problem through a variety of business and non­profit food-related waste reduction and prevention initiatives, creating a community-based circular food system. This research asks: How do indivi­duals working in the food sector mobilize CFE practices in their work? What are the motivations, opportunities, and abilities influencing those working in the emerging CFE sector in Metro Vancouver? To answer these questions, this research ana­lyzed interview data from food sector stakeholders (n = 22) contributing to the Metro Vancouver CFE. This study applies the motivation opportu­nity ability (MOA) framework to guide data anal­ysis. The findings indicate that there are conflicting priorities to CFE approaches in Metro Vancouver, leading to a lack of cohesion among initiatives and to barriers to a more equitable CFE. Stakeholders contributing to the CFE notice competing visions in best practices to reduce waste leading to a para­dox of managing waste instead of prevention.