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Is it godly to waste food? How understanding consumers' religion can help reduce consumer food waste

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth A. Minton
  • Kathryn A. Johnson
  • Maricarmen Vizcaino
  • Christopher Wharton

Abstract

Food waste is a problem worldwide, but solutions have yet to adequately incorporate consumers' core values—values which are often rooted in religion. Study 1 shows that restrictive religious norms (e.g., rules about food consumption, fasting) lead to greater food waste, whereas supportive religious norms (e.g., sharing food) lead to reduced food waste. Study 2 replicates prior findings and rules out competing explanations. Study 3 manipulates marketing messaging to show that consumers with higher (lower) levels of religiosity are more likely to reduce food waste with a prevention (promotion) framed message partnered with environmental reasoning or a promotion (prevention) framed message partnered with people‐based reasoning. Implications for marketers, consumer advocacy groups, and policy makers desiring to reduce food waste are provided.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth A. Minton & Kathryn A. Johnson & Maricarmen Vizcaino & Christopher Wharton, 2020. "Is it godly to waste food? How understanding consumers' religion can help reduce consumer food waste," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 1246-1269, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jconsa:v:54:y:2020:i:4:p:1246-1269
    DOI: 10.1111/joca.12328
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    1. Bialowolski, Piotr & A.Makridis, Christos & Bradshaw, Matt & Bialowolska, Dorota Weziak & Gundersen, Craig & Le Pertel, Noémie & Gibson, Cristina & Jang, Sung Joon & Padgett, R. Noah & Johnson, Byron , 2025. "Analysis of demographic variation and childhood correlates of financial well-being across 22 countries," OSF Preprints 6cnem_v1, Center for Open Science.
    2. Elizabeth A. Minton & Cindy X. Wang & Carissa M. Anthony, 2022. "Prosocial responses to global crises: Key influences of religiosity and perceived control," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 491-511, June.
    3. Piotr Bialowolski & Christos A. Makridis & Matt Bradshaw & Dorota Weziak-Bialowolska & Craig Gundersen & Noémie Pertel & Cristina Gibson & Sung Joon Jang & R. Noah Padgett & Byron R. Johnson & Tyler J, 2025. "Analysis of demographic variation and childhood correlates of financial well-being across 22 countries," Nature Human Behaviour, Nature, vol. 9(5), pages 917-932, May.
    4. Cătălina Chinie & Isabelle Biclesanu & Francesco Bellini, 2021. "The Impact of Awareness Campaigns on Combating the Food Wasting Behavior of Consumers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-17, October.
    5. Lingfei Wang & Yuqin Yang & Guoyan Wang, 2022. "The Clean Your Plate Campaign: Resisting Table Food Waste in an Unstable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    6. Denni Arli & Patrick Esch & Yuanyuan Cui, 2023. "Who Cares More About the Environment, Those with an Intrinsic, an Extrinsic, a Quest, or an Atheistic Religious Orientation?: Investigating the Effect of Religious Ad Appeals on Attitudes Toward the E," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 427-448, June.
    7. Didem Kurt & Ahmet C. Kurt, 2021. "Religion and informational influence: Evidence from individual tax behavior in the U.S," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 55(3), pages 821-846, September.
    8. Gaston-Breton, Charlotte & De Stefano, M. Cristina, 2025. "Mapping consumer well-being: Contextualization, conceptualization, and classification using topic modeling," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).

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