Food waste behavior in an urban population

doi:10.1016/S0022-3182(75)80062-8

Journal of Nutrition Education

Volume 7, Issue 1, January–March 1975, Pages 13-16

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3182(75)80062-8 Get rights and content

Summary

For two years, The Garbage Project of the University of Arizona has been collecting data on household refuse in Tucson, Ariz. The study of household refuse offers several advantages as a supplement to traditional methods of collecting data on patterns of food utilization at the community level: a) it is a nonreactive measure of behavior; b) it is relatively inexpensive and demands no time or cooperation on the part of the subjects; and c) it offers the possibility of quantitatively estimating food waste at the household level. In a sample of about 300 households studied over periods of several months in 1973 and 1974, the average household wasted between $80 and $100 worth of food per year (exclusive of food waste which was poured down the drain, ground up in garbage disposals, fed to household pets, composted, or disposed of other than in the garbage can). Changes in food utilization and waste patterns from 1973 to 1974 are noted.

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¹: THE AUTHORS are, respectively, Nutritionist, Director, and Field Director for The Garbage Project, Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721.

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Food waste behavior in an urban population

Summary

J. Am. Dietet. Assn.

Food production and the energy crisis

Science

Energy use in the U.S. food system

Science

The world protein shortage: prevention and cure

World Rev. Nutr. & Dietet.

The Nutrition Factor: Its Role

Discard of edible food in households

J. Home Econ.

The Garbage Project: A new way of looking at the problems of archaeology

Archaeology