How the heck do Americans feel about all of this wasted food? Until now, we didn’t really know. Fortunately, researchers at Johns Hopkins’ Bloomberg School of Public Health asked that question (and many more) in the first nationally representative consumer survey focused on wasted food in America.
Today marks the long-anticipated (at least in this neck of the woods) release date for the study, led by Roni Neff, PhD. The survey had some surprising findings, and I’ll have a full write up tomorrow. In the meantime, here are a few highlights:
- Americans don’t think they’re particularly wasteful. 73 percent of respondents felt that they waste less than the average American. I’m no mathematician, but I’m pretty sure that’s not statistically possible.
- Saving money is by far the top motivation for avoiding waste.
- By contrast, the environmental impact of food waste is the least valued motivation.
- Composting can undercut the food waste reduction. 41 percent of respondents who composted said wasting food doesn’t bother them.
- We’re all in this together–attitudes and stated behavior around wasted food remained steady across gender, age, income and education.