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Citizens’ Food Habit Behavior and Food Waste Consequences during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain

Author

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  • Berta Vidal-Mones

    (Center for Agro-Food Economy and Development (CREDA-UPC-IRTA), Castelldefels, 08860 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Héctor Barco

    (Enraíza Derechos, 20012 San Sebastian, Spain)

  • Raquel Diaz-Ruiz

    (Fundación Espigoladors, 08810 Barcelona, Spain)

  • Maria-Angeles Fernandez-Zamudio

    (Centro para el Desarrollo de la Agricultura Sostenible, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias, Moncada, 46113 Valencia, Spain)

Abstract

During the first COVID-19 wave in Spain, confining the population at home was seen as an effective way to prevent the disease from spreading. This limited mobility affected citizens’ routines at homes because it influenced their life habits, including food management. The main objective of this paper was to understand citizens’ food waste (FW) behavior during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Spain by understanding related food practices that could have influenced FW generation. An online survey was conducted from 14 May to 11 June, 2020; 6293 valid responses were collected and analyzed, and 95% of the participants declared not wasting more food than usual. On average, they reported wasting 234 g per household per week, which equals 88 g per capita. We found significant differences in the reported FW generation between participants regarding their age, gender, household composition, and employment status due to COVID-19. In addition, food-related behaviors such as buying more food than usual due to fear or anxiety, storing more food than before the lockdown, and improvising when buying groceries seemed to affect the FW reported by the participants. The paper ends by comparing the conclusions drawn by different works conducted in other countries for a similar purpose.

Suggested Citation

  • Berta Vidal-Mones & Héctor Barco & Raquel Diaz-Ruiz & Maria-Angeles Fernandez-Zamudio, 2021. "Citizens’ Food Habit Behavior and Food Waste Consequences during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:6:p:3381-:d:519986
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Claudia Giordano & Fabrizio Alboni & Luca Falasconi, 2019. "Quantities, Determinants, and Awareness of Households’ Food Waste in Italy: A Comparison between Diary and Questionnaires Quantities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-15, June.
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    3. Tarek Ben Hassen & Hamid El Bilali & Mohammad S. Allahyari, 2020. "Impact of COVID-19 on Food Behavior and Consumption in Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-18, August.
    4. Kun Qian & Firouzeh Javadi & Michikazu Hiramatsu, 2020. "Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Household Food Waste Behavior in Japan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-15, November.
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    Cited by:

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    4. Zheng, Qiujie & Gao, Zhifeng & Berry, Kevin, 2023. "Factors affecting household food waste behavior during COVID-19: Shopping behavior, cooking behavior, food security, and household characteristics," 2023 Annual Meeting, July 23-25, Washington D.C. 335672, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    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. Anna Sylwia Tarczyńska & Ewa Malinowska & Andrzej Urbanowicz, 2023. "Attitudes and Behaviours of Young Consumers towards Wasting Food: Case Study Based on Polish Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Chen Liu & Pongsun Bunditsakulchai & Qiannan Zhuo, 2021. "Impact of COVID-19 on Food and Plastic Waste Generated by Consumers in Bangkok," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-21, August.
    8. Mirza Marvel Cequea & Jessika Milagros Vásquez Neyra & Valentina Gomes Haensel Schmitt & Marcos Ferasso, 2021. "Household Food Consumption and Wastage during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: A Comparison between Peru and Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    9. Andrea Maugeri & Martina Barchitta & Vanessa Perticone & Antonella Agodi, 2023. "How COVID-19 Pandemic Has Influenced Public Interest in Foods: A Google Trends Analysis of Italian Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.

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