IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i23p9942-d452441.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Household Food Waste Behavior in Japan

Author

Listed:
  • Kun Qian

    (Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan
    Research Department, Kyushu Open University, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan)

  • Firouzeh Javadi

    (Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan)

  • Michikazu Hiramatsu

    (Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan
    Research Department, Kyushu Open University, Fukuoka 8190395, Japan)

Abstract

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic had various influences on people’s ordinary lives, including their thoughts and behaviors related to food consumption. Food waste has been cited as a serious issue with environmental, social, and economic consequences. In this study, we investigated how the COVID-19 pandemic altered the social consciousness and behavior related to food waste in Japan. We conducted a nationwide online-based survey and collected a cross-sectional dataset from 1959 adult respondents. The results showed that people in regions highly impacted by the pandemic reported a clearer understanding of the situation of their household food waste, more careful food preparation and purchasing, and were more strongly influenced to change their behaviors due to COVID-19. Further analyses revealed that thoughts and behaviors related to food waste significantly differed by sociodemographic characteristics, such as gender, household size, and employment status. This study also implied that the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged some improvements in peoples’ behaviors and thoughts with regard to food, such as paying attention to food waste, making efforts to reduce food waste, and attempting cooking by themselves at home.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9942-:d:452441
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9942/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9942/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Scott R Baker & Robert A Farrokhnia & Steffen Meyer & Michaela Pagel & Constantine Yannelis & Jeffrey Pontiff, 0. "How Does Household Spending Respond to an Epidemic? Consumption during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic," The Review of Asset Pricing Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 10(4), pages 834-862.
    2. Muhammad Heikal Ismail & Tinia Idaty Mohd. Ghazi & Muhammad Hazwan Hamzah & Latifah Abd Manaf & Ramli Mohd Tahir & Ahadi Mohd Nasir & Ammar Ehsan Omar, 2020. "Impact of Movement Control Order (MCO) due to Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) on Food Waste Generation: A Case Study in Klang Valley, Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-17, October.
    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. Brian E. Roe & Kathryn Bender & Danyi Qi, 2021. "The Impact of COVID‐19 on Consumer Food Waste," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(1), pages 401-411, March.
    5. Sarra Jribi & Hanen Ben Ismail & Darine Doggui & Hajer Debbabi, 2020. "COVID-19 virus outbreak lockdown: What impacts on household food wastage?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(5), pages 3939-3955, June.
    6. Neil Stewart & Jesse Chandler & Gabriele Paolacci, "undated". "Crowdsourcing Samples in Cognitive Science," Mathematica Policy Research Reports c63e922cf7554604a919e1f18, Mathematica Policy Research.
    7. Yoshimasa Majima, 2017. "The Feasibility of a Japanese Crowdsourcing Service for Experimental Research in Psychology," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(1), pages 21582440176, March.
    8. 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. Bright Obuobi & Hong Wang & Faustina Awuah & Emmanuel Nketiah & Gibbson Adu-Gyamfi & Mavis Adjei, 2024. "The aftermath of COVID-19 impacts: examining the impact of COVID-19 on residents' current food waste behavior," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(10), pages 25503-25526, October.
    2. Claudia Giordano & Silvio Franco, 2021. "Household Food Waste from an International Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-9, May.
    3. Giulia Borghesi & Piergiuseppe Morone, 2023. "A review of the effects of COVID-19 on food waste," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 261-280, February.
    4. Na Luo & Tava Lennon Olsen & Yanping Liu, 2021. "A Conceptual Framework to Analyze Food Loss and Waste within Food Supply Chains: An Operations Management Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-21, January.
    5. Emma L. Sharp & Jillian Haszard & Victoria Egli & Rajshri Roy & Lisa Te Morenga & Lauranna Teunissen & Paulien Decorte & Isabelle Cuykx & Charlotte De Backer & Sarah Gerritsen, 2021. "Less Food Wasted? Changes to New Zealanders’ Household Food Waste and Related Behaviours Due to the 2020 COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-17, September.
    6. repec:ags:aaea22:335672 is not listed on IDEAS
    7. 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.
    8. 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).
    9. Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Louise Spiteri & Shannon Farrell & Alysha Griffin, 2021. "Increases in Household Food Waste in Canada as a Result of COVID-19: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    10. 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.
    11. Lea Kubíčková & Lucie Veselá & Marcela Kormaňáková, 2021. "Food Waste Behaviour at the Consumer Level: Pilot Study on Czech Private Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-24, October.
    12. Agnieszka Dudziak & Monika Stoma & Arkadiusz J. Derkacz, 2022. "Circular Economy in the Context of Food Losses and Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    13. Mario Amato & Fabio Verneau & Adele Coppola & Francesco La Barbera, 2021. "Domestic Food Waste and Covid-19 Concern: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-12, July.
    14. Xiangdong Shen & Junbin Wang & Li Wang & Chunlan Jiao, 2023. "Forecasting the different influencing factors of household food waste behavior in China under the COVID‐19 pandemic," Journal of Forecasting, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(8), pages 2322-2340, December.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. Teresa Rubio-Tomás & Maria Skouroliakou & Dimitrios Ntountaniotis, 2022. "Lockdown Due to COVID-19 and Its Consequences on Diet, Physical Activity, Lifestyle, and Other Aspects of Daily Life Worldwide: A Narrative Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-41, June.

    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. Everitt, Haley & van der Werf, Paul & Seabrook, Jamie A. & Wray, Alexander & Gilliland, Jason A., 2022. "The quantity and composition of household food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic: A direct measurement study in Canada," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    3. 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).
    4. 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).
    5. 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.
    6. Claudia Giordano & Silvio Franco, 2021. "Household Food Waste from an International Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-9, May.
    7. Dana AlTarrah & Entisar AlShami & Nawal AlHamad & Fatemah AlBesher & Sriraman Devarajan, 2021. "The Impact of Coronavirus COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Purchasing, Eating Behavior, and Perception of Food Safety in Kuwait," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    8. Mario Amato & Fabio Verneau & Adele Coppola & Francesco La Barbera, 2021. "Domestic Food Waste and Covid-19 Concern: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-12, July.
    9. Deliberador, Lucas Rodrigues & Santos, Alexandre Borges & Carrijo, Pâmella Rodrigues Silva & Batalha, Mário Otávio & César, Aldara da Silva & Ferreira, Luís Miguel D.F., 2023. "How risk perception regarding the COVID-19 pandemic affected household food waste: Evidence from Brazil," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 87(PA).
    10. Giulia Borghesi & Piergiuseppe Morone, 2023. "A review of the effects of COVID-19 on food waste," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 15(1), pages 261-280, February.
    11. Valeria Borsellino & Sina Ahmadi Kaliji & Emanuele Schimmenti, 2020. "COVID-19 Drives Consumer Behaviour and Agro-Food Markets towards Healthier and More Sustainable Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-26, October.
    12. Veknesh Arumugam & Ismail Abdullah & Irwan Syah Md Yusoff & Nor Liza Abdullah & Ramli Mohd Tahir & Ahadi Mohd Nasir & Ammar Ehsan Omar & Muhammad Heikal Ismail, 2021. "The Impact of COVID-19 on Solid Waste Generation in the Perspectives of Socioeconomic and People’s Behavior: A Case Study in Serdang, Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    13. Tarek Ben Hassen & Hamid El Bilali & Mohammad S. Allahyari & Sinisa Berjan & Darjan Karabašević & Adriana Radosavac & Goran Dašić & Ružica Đervida, 2021. "Preparing for the Worst? Household Food Stockpiling during the Second Wave of COVID-19 in Serbia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-19, October.
    14. 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.
    15. Janet Music & Sylvain Charlebois & Louise Spiteri & Shannon Farrell & Alysha Griffin, 2021. "Increases in Household Food Waste in Canada as a Result of COVID-19: An Exploratory Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-11, November.
    16. Amicarelli, Vera & Lagioia, Giovanni & Sampietro, Stefania & Bux, Christian, 2022. "Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed food waste perception and behavior? Evidence from Italian consumers," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    17. 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.
    18. Bogevska, Zvezda & Berjan, Sinisa & El Bilali, Hamid & Sadegh Allahyari, Mohammad & Radosavac, Adriana & Davitkovska, Margarita, 2022. "Exploring food shopping, consumption and waste habits in North Macedonia during the COVID-19 pandemic," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 82(PA).
    19. Kelly Cosgrove & Maricarmen Vizcaino & Christopher Wharton, 2021. "COVID-19-Related Changes in Perceived Household Food Waste in the United States: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-11, January.
    20. 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.

    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:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9942-:d:452441. 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.