Food loss reduction from an environmental, socio-economic and consumer perspective - The case of the Swiss potato market.

Autor: Willersinn C; Agroscope, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Research Group Socio-Economics, Tänikon 1, CH8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland; ETH Zurich, Institute for Environmental Decisions, Research Group Consumer Behavior, Universitätsstrasse 16, CH8092 Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: christian.willersinn@agroscope.admin.ch., Mouron P; Agroscope, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Research Group Life Cycle Assessment, Reckenholzstrasse 191, CH8046 Zurich, Switzerland., Mack G; Agroscope, Institute for Sustainability Sciences, Research Group Socio-Economics, Tänikon 1, CH8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland., Siegrist M; ETH Zurich, Institute for Environmental Decisions, Research Group Consumer Behavior, Universitätsstrasse 16, CH8092 Zurich, Switzerland.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Waste management (New York, N.Y.) [Waste Manag] 2017 Jan; Vol. 59, pp. 451-464. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Oct 15.
DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2016.10.007
Abstrakt: Potatoes are one of the commodities with the highest loss shares along the entire supply chain. In the present study, we analyzed six potential loss reduction scenarios concerning their environmental-socio-economic sustainability compared with the current situation by using the "SustainOS" methodology. For this purpose, life cycle assessments, full-cost calculations and an online consumer survey were conducted. Environmental improvements through loss reduction were rather small and did not cross limits of significance, but the socio-economic performance of the entire supply chain can be improved considerably. Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses were used to predict the influence of specific subjective items like the intention to avoid food loss, knowledge related to food loss and consumers' price sensitivity on the assigned preference. Results show that perceived risks, perceived inconvenience and the general acceptance of loss-reducing instruments influence consumers' preferences. Altogether, only three out of six tested scenarios seem realistic: selling unwashed potatoes in a lightproof box, selling unpacked potatoes, and improved quality sorting at farms. For two of the other scenarios, consumers significantly indicated their refusal even if losses decreased considerably, whereas the sixth scenario was unfavorable from a socio-economic perspective.
(Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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