What Reduces Household Food Waste in Japan? Nation-Wide and Region-Specific Contributing Factors in Urban and Rural Areas
Kazuki Nakamura, Daizo Kojima, Mitsuyoshi Ando
Abstract
We analyze the contributing factors (i.e., attribute factors and behavioral factors) that lead to household food waste in Japan by region (i.e., large cities, small cities, and villages) using a nationwide sample and an ordered probit model. As a result of the analysis, it was found that “gender”, “age”, “children in the household”, “occupation”, “safety awareness”, and “time” were related to the occurrence of food waste in terms of consumer attributes, which were common throughout Japan. In terms of consumer behavior, “action”, “checking labels”, and “food management” are related. Among these, only “checking labels” had a positive relationship with the occurrence of food waste. By region, “children in the household”, “time”, “safety awareness”, and “food management” were particularly affected in large cities, while they were less affected in small cities and towns. For those who had “agricultural experience”, the occurrence of food waste was significantly lower in towns and villages.