IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i4p3668-d1070983.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis of Attitudes towards Food Waste in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Using Fuzzy Logic

Author

Listed:
  • Areej Malibari

    (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia)

  • Ghada Alsawah

    (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia)

  • Wafaa Saleh

    (Transport Research Institute, School Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh EH10 5D, UK)

  • Maha M. A. Lashin

    (Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

Attitudes and feelings towards food waste and positions on management policies have been vastly increased over the past few decades. Most of the available research on the analysis of attitudes towards food waste have been carried out using conventional statistical methods. This paper aims to assess and analyse attitudes and preferences of young Saudi females towards a number of policies and plans that are designed to meeting sustainable targets, using fuzzy logic analysis. This is a very important aim, especially since Vision 2030 in Saudi Arabia puts a major emphasis on sustainability, setting many resources to tackle environmental problems and achieving better social standards. The Methodology includes designing and collecting data from 199 participants using a questionnaire that includes 23 questions. Data were obtained from students at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNU). The analysis includes utilising artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. Fuzzy logic analysis has been widely used in many fields, but has not seen many applications on food waste analysis and attitudes. Fuzzy logic analysis has the advantage of producing efficient results from smaller sample sizes and, in particular, with qualitative characteristics of the used indicators. The participants expressed positive preferences and attitudes towards the programs and policies that are designed to achieve sustainability and manage food waste. The results show that over 25% of them prefer the option of “storage for reuse” of food waste, over 35% prefer the option of distribute it to needed families and over 30% opted to the option of recycling to fertilisers. The study also reveals a very good level of awareness and appreciation of food waste and plans associated with it. The implications from this study suggest that despite the positive attitudes, there still is more research needed to obtain full understanding of attitudes towards food waste from the whole range of the population in order to gain knowledge and build specific programs to reduce food waste and achieve sustainability in the country.

Suggested Citation

  • Areej Malibari & Ghada Alsawah & Wafaa Saleh & Maha M. A. Lashin, 2023. "Analysis of Attitudes towards Food Waste in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Using Fuzzy Logic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3668-:d:1070983
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/3668/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/3668/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ibrahim Elshaer & Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Mansour Alyahya & Ahmed Abu Elnasr, 2021. "The Impact of Religiosity and Food Consumption Culture on Food Waste Intention in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Mohamad G. Abiad & Lokman I. Meho, 2018. "Food loss and food waste research in the Arab world: a systematic review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 311-322, April.
    3. Richter, Beate & Bokelmann, Wolfgang, 2015. "Case Study about Food Losses in German Household," 143rd Joint EAAE/AAEA Seminar, March 25-27, 2015, Naples, Italy 202715, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Ching-Hsu Huang & Hsiao-Yi Tseng, 2020. "An Exploratory Study of Consumer Food Waste Attitudes, Social Norms, Behavioral Intentions, and Restaurant Plate Waste Behaviors in Taiwan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-18, November.
    5. Ivana Blešić & Marko D. Petrović & Tamara Gajić & Tatiana N. Tretiakova & Julia A. Syromiatnikova & Milan Radovanović & Jovanka Popov-Raljić & Natalia V. Yakovenko, 2021. "How the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior Can Be Applied in the Research of the Influencing Factors of Food Waste in Restaurants: Learning from Serbian Urban Centers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-14, August.
    6. Ali Chalak & Hussein F. Hassan & Pamela Aoun & Mohamad G. Abiad, 2021. "Drivers and Determinants of Food Waste Generation in Restaurants Serving Mediterranean Mezze-Type Cuisine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-10, June.
    7. Juliane Jörissen & Carmen Priefer & Klaus-Rainer Bräutigam, 2015. "Food Waste Generation at Household Level: Results of a Survey among Employees of Two European Research Centers in Italy and Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-21, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Weihua Zhang & Jie Jian, 2024. "Research Hotspots, Research Frontiers, and Management Significance: A Bibliometric Analysis and Review of Global Food Waste of Students Research Based on CiteSpace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-21, April.
    2. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed E. Abu Elnasr, 2024. "From Your Plate to Our Bin: Tackling Food Waste in Saudi Family Restaurants," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Ghada Alsawah & Wafaa Saleh & Areej Malibari & Maha M. A. Lashin & Tasneem AlGhamdi, 2022. "Food Waste, Attitudes and Preferences of Young Females: A Case Study in Saudi Arabia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-12, February.
    3. Mirza Barjees Baig & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Khodran Alzahrani & David Pearson & Ghedeir M. Alshammari & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah, 2022. "Food Waste in Saudi Arabia: Causes, Consequences, and Combating Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    4. Shahin Ghaziani & Delaram Ghodsi & Gholamreza Dehbozorgi & Shiva Faghih & Yeganeh Rajabpour Ranjbar & Reiner Doluschitz, 2021. "Comparing Lab-Measured and Surveyed Bread Waste Data: A Possible Hybrid Approach to Correct the Underestimation of Household Food Waste Self-Assessment Surveys," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Dalal Aassouli & Ayodele Akande & Ray Jureidini, 2023. "Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Food Governance and the Alignment of Food Security Policies to Sustainable Development: A Case Study of OIC Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-27, November.
    6. Kamel Mouloudj & Anuli Njoku & Dachel Martínez Asanza & Ahmed Chemseddine Bouarar & Marian A. Evans & Smail Mouloudj & Achouak Bouarar, 2023. "Modeling Predictors of Medication Waste Reduction Intention in Algeria: Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(16), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Thyberg, Krista L. & Tonjes, David J., 2016. "Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 110-123.
    8. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed E. Abu Elnasr, 2024. "From Your Plate to Our Bin: Tackling Food Waste in Saudi Family Restaurants," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.
    9. Jingjing Wang & Mingyue Li & Sinan Li & Kai Chen, 2022. "Understanding Consumers’ Food Waste Reduction Behavior—A Study Based on Extended Norm Activation Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-15, April.
    10. Massimiliano Cerciello, 2021. "Spatial patterns in food waste at the local level. A preliminary analysis for Italian data," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(1), pages 83-101, February.
    11. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed Sh. Abdelaziz, 2022. "The Impact of Nutrition Labelling on Customer Buying Intention and Behaviours in Fast Food Operations: Some Implications for Public Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-15, June.
    12. Elżbieta Goryńska-Goldmann & Michał Gazdecki & Krystyna Rejman & Joanna Kobus-Cisowska & Sylwia Łaba & Robert Łaba, 2020. "How to Prevent Bread Losses in the Baking and Confectionery Industry?—Measurement, Causes, Management and Prevention," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-24, December.
    13. Ali Chalak & Chaza Abou-Daher & Mohamad G. Abiad, 2018. "Generation of food waste in the hospitality and food retail and wholesale sectors: lessons from developed economies," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(5), pages 1279-1290, October.
    14. Jiang, J.-Q. & Yu, T. & Wang, Z.-H. & Qi, D.-M & Huang, W.-Z, 2018. "Analyzing the Size and Affecting Factors of Household Food Waste in China," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277551, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    15. Eulalia Skawińska & Romuald I. Zalewski & Joanna Wyrwa, 2023. "Students’ Food Consumption Behavior during COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-28, June.
    16. Vera Amicarelli & Christian Bux, 2021. "Food waste in Italian households during the Covid-19 pandemic: a self-reporting approach," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 25-37, February.
    17. Principato, Ludovica & Secondi, Luca & Cicatiello, Clara & Mattia, Giovanni, 2022. "Caring more about food: The unexpected positive effect of the Covid-19 lockdown on household food management and waste," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    18. Aleksandra Minajeva & Algirdas Jasinskas & Rolandas Domeika & Edvardas Vaiciukevičius & Egidijus Lemanas & Stanisław Bielski, 2021. "The Study of the Faba Bean Waste and Potato Peels Recycling for Pellet Production and Usage for Energy Conversion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    19. Theodoridis, Prokopis K. & Zacharatos, Theofanis V., 2022. "Food waste during Covid- 19 lockdown period and consumer behaviour – The case of Greece," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    20. Vera Amicarelli & Caterina Tricase & Alessia Spada & Christian Bux, 2021. "Households’ Food Waste Behavior at Local Scale: A Cluster Analysis after the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-14, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3668-:d:1070983. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.