IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jcopol/v45y2022i3d10.1007_s10603-022-09519-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Fighting Food Waste by Law: Making Sense of the Chinese Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Y. Feng

    (Nanjing University)

  • C. Marek

    (Heidelberg University)

  • J. Tosun

    (Heidelberg University)

Abstract

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the Anti-food Waste Law of the People’s Republic of China in April 2021 to guarantee grain security, conserve resources, and protect the environment. We pursue three research questions: Why has China implemented a law with sanctions to reduce food waste, and why now? Why does the law target the catering industry? To answer these questions, we collected primary data through semi-structured interviews with government officials, as well as secondary data through recorded interviews available online with officials of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPCSC) and food waste activists, as well as NPCSC conference reports. We find a legal approach with sanctions was necessary since cultural aspects, specifically conventional Chinese dining habits and pop culture, are difficult to regulate through instruments without sanctions. In addition, we find the Chinese law focuses on the catering industry for a few reasons: (1) More waste is generated by the catering industry than households, (2) waste from the catering industry is easier to monitor than household waste, and (3) this was a response to citizen requests collected during the Anti-food Waste Law public consultation process.

Suggested Citation

  • Y. Feng & C. Marek & J. Tosun, 2022. "Fighting Food Waste by Law: Making Sense of the Chinese Approach," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 457-479, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jcopol:v:45:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10603-022-09519-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s10603-022-09519-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10603-022-09519-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10603-022-09519-2?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dorothy Blair & Jeffery Sobal, 2006. "Luxus Consumption: Wasting Food Resources Through Overeating," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 23(1), pages 63-74, March.
    2. Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2021. "Does dietary knowledge affect household food waste in the developing economy of China?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Ronja Herzberg & Thomas G. Schmidt & Felicitas Schneider, 2020. "Characteristics and Determinants of Domestic Food Waste: A Representative Diary Study across Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-17, June.
    4. Pinpart, Ponjan & Asioli, Daniele & Balcombe, Kelvin, 2019. "Investigating Consumer Food Waste Decisions: A Cross-country Comparison between Thailand and the United Kingdom," 2019 Annual Meeting, July 21-23, Atlanta, Georgia 290760, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    5. Jidong Chen & Jennifer Pan & Yiqing Xu, 2016. "Sources of Authoritarian Responsiveness: A Field Experiment in China," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 60(2), pages 383-400, April.
    6. Xu, Zhigang & Zhang, Zongli & Liu, Haiyan & Zhong, Funing & Bai, Junfei & Cheng, Shengkui, 2020. "Food-away-from-home plate waste in China: Preference for variety and quantity," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    7. Michael Howlett & Ishani Mukherjee, 2014. "Policy Design and Non-Design: Towards a Spectrum of Policy Formulation Types," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 2(2), pages 57-71.
    8. Lopez Barrera, Emiliano & Hertel, Thomas, 2021. "Global food waste across the income spectrum: Implications for food prices, production and resource use," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Panpan Zhang & Dan Zhang & Shengkui Cheng, 2020. "The Effect of Consumer Perception on Food Waste Behavior of Urban Households in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-14, July.
    10. Peter Richardson, 1982. "Chinese Mine Labour in the Transvaal," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-1-349-04889-2.
    11. Yasuda,John K., 2018. "On Feeding the Masses," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107199644, January.
    12. Chen Liu & Trung Thang Nguyen, 2020. "Evaluation of Household Food Waste Generation in Hanoi and Policy Implications towards SDGs Target 12.3," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Filippo Oncini, 2021. "Food support provision in COVID-19 times: a mixed method study based in Greater Manchester," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(4), pages 1201-1213, December.
    14. Yao Liu & Shengkui Cheng & Xiaojie Liu & Xiaochang Cao & Li Xue & Gang Liu, 2016. "Plate Waste in School Lunch Programs in Beijing, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Gyula Kasza & Annamária Dorkó & Atilla Kunszabó & Dávid Szakos, 2020. "Quantification of Household Food Waste in Hungary: A Replication Study Using the FUSIONS Methodology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-14, April.
    16. Teea Kortetmäki & Markku Oksanen, 2021. "Is there a convincing case for climate veganism?," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(3), pages 729-740, September.
    17. Xiao Tang & Weiwei Chen & Tian Wu, 2018. "Do Authoritarian Governments Respond to Public Opinion on the Environment? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.
    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. Chang Liu & Jie Shang & Chen Liu & Hui Wang & Shuya Wang, 2023. "Policy Recommendations for Reducing Food Waste: An Analysis Based on a Survey of Urban and Rural Household Food Waste in Harbin, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-31, July.
    2. Tamíris Pacheco da Costa & James Gillespie & Xavier Cama-Moncunill & Shane Ward & Joan Condell & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan & Fionnuala Murphy, 2022. "A Systematic Review of Real-Time Monitoring Technologies and Its Potential Application to Reduce Food Loss and Waste: Key Elements of Food Supply Chains and IoT Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Kiangsoon Heng & Kyeteng Tan & Adeline Chan & Charles C. C. Lee, 2024. "Food Waste Valorization: Leveraging Singapore’s Zero Waste Master Plan and 30-by-30 Goal," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-19, August.

    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. Panpan Zhang & Shaopeng Fu & Xiaojie Liu, 2022. "The Effect of Plate and Decoration Color on Consumer Food Waste in Restaurants: A Case of Four Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Long Qian & Feng Li & Xia Zhao & Hongbo Liu & Xiaojie Liu, 2022. "The Association between Religious Beliefs and Food Waste: Evidence from Chinese Rural Households," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-15, July.
    3. Panpan Zhang & Dan Zhang & Shengkui Cheng, 2020. "The Effect of Consumer Perception on Food Waste Behavior of Urban Households in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-14, July.
    4. Li Jia & Guanghua Qiao, 2022. "Quantification, Environmental Impact, and Behavior Management: A Bibliometric Analysis and Review of Global Food Waste Research Based on CiteSpace," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-24, September.
    5. Ding, Yawen & Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2022. "Memory of famine: The persistent impact of famine experience on food waste behavior," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    6. Yi Luo & Dong Huang & Fangfang Cao, 2022. "The Impact of Family Members Serving as Village Cadres on Rural Household Food Waste: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-14, February.
    7. 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.
    8. 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).
    9. Chih-Ching Teng & Chueh Chih & Yao-Chin Wang, 2020. "Decisional Factors Driving Household Food Waste Prevention: Evidence from Taiwanese Families," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Robert Nicewicz & Beata Bilska, 2022. "The Impact of the Nutritional Knowledge of Polish Students Living Outside the Family Home on Consumer Behavior and Food Waste," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-17, October.
    11. Marzena Lemanowicz & Anna Jasiulewicz, 2021. "Attitudes and Behaviour of Polish Consumers Regarding Food Waste in the Food Chain," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(2), pages 636-648.
    12. Qingming Cui & Guanzhu Lin & Shuhua Qiu & Tao Duan, 2023. "Identifying the Drivers of Food Waste in University Canteens in China: A Qualitative Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(3), pages 21582440231, September.
    13. Jian Li & Wuyang Hu & Ping Qing & Jean‐Paul Chavas, 2024. "On household food stock and waste under risk," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 72(1), pages 23-44, March.
    14. Jing Li & Wei Li & Lei Wang & Baihui Jin, 2021. "Environmental and Cost Impacts of Food Waste in University Canteen from a Life Cycle Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-16, September.
    15. Valentina Gomes Haensel Schmitt & Mirza Marvel Cequea & Jessika Milagros Vásquez Neyra & Marcos Ferasso, 2021. "Consumption Behavior and Residential Food Waste during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak in Brazil," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Fang, Feifan & Zhao, Yinyu & Xi, Zemiao & Han, Xinru & Zhu, Yuchun, 2023. "The impact of famine experience on middle-aged and elderly individuals’ food consumption: Evidence from China," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 26(C).
    17. Francesco La Barbera & Mario Amato & Roberta Riverso & Fabio Verneau, 2022. "Social Emotions and Good Provider Norms in Tackling Household Food Waste: An Extension of the Theory of Planned Behavior," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-12, August.
    18. Xiao Tang & Weiwei Chen & Tian Wu, 2018. "Do Authoritarian Governments Respond to Public Opinion on the Environment? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, February.
    19. 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.
    20. Zhang, Guoxing & Deng, Nana & Mou, Haizhen & Zhang, Zhe George & Chen, Xiaofeng, 2019. "The impact of the policy and behavior of public participation on environmental governance performance: Empirical analysis based on provincial panel data in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 1347-1354.

    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:kap:jcopol:v:45:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s10603-022-09519-2. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.