Food waste: Exploring consumers' attitudes towards household food waste.

Madspild: En undersøgelse af forbrugernes holdninger til husholdnings madspild.

Mikkelsen, Marie

10. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization. English

2012

76

Dette speciale bidrager til viden om holdninger til madspild i hjemmet. Det bygger på 22 dybdegående interviews og én fokusgruppe med fem personer (23–59 år) med en overvægt af unge voksne og forældre med udflyttede børn. Desuden indgår fire eksplorative interviews med skraldere (personer, der tager spiseligt mad fra containere) for at belyse mere alternative tilgange. Da madspild er komplekst, trækker studiet på flere forskningsfelter. Undersøgelsen viser, at madspild i hjemmet ikke altid er tilsigtet. Deltagerne brød sig ikke om at smide mad ud, men fordi madspild er flettet ind i hverdagsrutiner, havde de ofte svært ved at undgå det. Nogle udskød at kassere maden, til den tydeligt var blevet dårlig, hvilket lettede samvittigheden. Madens lave pris og lette tilgængelighed svækkede behovet for planlægning, og dårlig planlægning førte til mere spild. Når der blev planlagt, blev det ofte nedprioriteret i forhold til andre gøremål. Friskhed og variation blev prioriteret højt, og dyre varer blev oftere prioriteret over billige. Deltagerne vurderede forskelligt, hvornår mad blev til affald. Nogle fulgte "bedst før"-datoen på emballagen, mens andre brugte sanserne (lugte, smage, se). Enkelte kasserede mad før datoen på grund af faldende æstetisk kvalitet eller af jagt på friskhed og variation. Hvis maden så ud under den enkelte persons acceptgrænse, blev bevidst madspild mere acceptabelt. Også omgang med rester varierede: nogle brugte altid rester for at undgå spild, andre mest for at spare tid eller penge, og nogle spiste slet ikke rester. Specialet anvender begreberne "for-scene" og "bag-scene": synlige aktiviteter som at spise ude og den delvist synlige indkøbstur foregår på for-scenen, mens madspild typisk sker bag-scenen, ude af syne i hjemmet. Jo mere opmærksomhed der går til for-sceneaktiviteter, desto mere arbejde hober sig op bag-scenen, hvilket kan give flere rester, som ofte ender som spild. Et andet tema er afstand til selve madens produktion, som kan gøre os mindre følelsesmæssigt forbundne med maden. Når mennesker investerer indsats, tid og opmærksomhed—kaldet "psykisk energi"—og har viden og kontrol i køkkenet, oplever de maden som en del af sig selv og spilder mindre. Mere viden og flere færdigheder i madlavning hang sammen med mindre spild. Da det er urealistisk at kende tilberedning af alle produkter i dag, spilder husholdninger, der holder sig til det velkendte, mindre, mens "lejlighedsvise gourmeter" kan spilde mere. Endelig beskriver studiet en altruisme–hedonisme-deling i holdninger. Altruistiske husholdninger sorterede affald generelt, købte overvejende økologisk, hadede madspild og brugte sanserne til at vurdere spiselighed. Hedonistiske husholdninger spiste efter lyst, købte ikke økologisk, forsøgte ikke at undgå spild og fulgte dato-mærkninger strengt eller kasserede mad endnu tidligere i jagten på variation og friskhed.

This master’s thesis examines attitudes toward household food waste through 22 in-depth interviews and one focus group with five people (ages 23–59), skewed toward young adults and parents whose children have left home. Four exploratory interviews with dumpster divers (people who collect edible food from bins) were included to understand more alternative approaches. Because food waste is complex, the study draws on insights from several research areas. The study finds that household food waste is not always intentional. Participants disliked wasting food, but because waste is intertwined with everyday routines, they often struggled to avoid it. Some postponed throwing things out until the food had clearly gone off, which eased their conscience. The low price and easy availability of food reduced the perceived need to plan, and poor planning led to more waste. When planning did occur, it was often deprioritized compared with other chores. Freshness and variety were highly valued, and expensive items tended to be prioritized over cheaper ones. People differed in how they decided when food had become rubbish. Some relied on the "best before" date on the package, while others used their senses (smell, taste, look). A few discarded items before the date because of declining appearance or in pursuit of freshness and variety. If a food looked below someone’s personal threshold of acceptability, intentionally throwing it away could feel acceptable. Leftover habits also varied: some routinely used leftovers to avoid waste, others mainly to save time or money, and some did not eat leftovers at all. The thesis uses the idea of "front stage" and "backstage" practices: visible activities such as eating out and the partially visible act of grocery shopping happen on the front stage, while household food waste tends to occur backstage, out of sight at home. As attention and effort are directed to front-stage activities, more work accumulates backstage, which can generate more leftovers that often end up wasted. Another theme is a growing distance from food production, which can leave people feeling disconnected from food. When people invest effort, time, and attention—described as "psychic energy"—and feel knowledge and control over cooking, they experience food as part of the self and tend to waste less. Greater cooking knowledge and skills were associated with less waste. Since it is unrealistic to know how to prepare every product available today, households that stick to familiar foods waste less, whereas being "occasional gourmets" may lead to more waste. Finally, the study describes an altruism–hedonism split in attitudes. Altruistic households tended to recycle, bought mostly organic, disliked food waste, and used their senses to judge edibility. Hedonistic households ate what they felt like, did not buy organic, did not try to avoid waste, and followed date labels strictly or discarded food even earlier in a search for variety and freshness.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

madspild ; forbrugere

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