Is it godly to waste food? How understanding consumers' religion can help reduce consumer food waste

• Published in: The Journal of consumer affairs 2020-12, Vol.54 (4), p.1246-1269
• Main Authors: Minton, Elizabeth A., Johnson, Kathryn A., Vizcaino, Maricarmen, Wharton, Christopher
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Airports; Consumers; Food consumption; Food waste; Marketing; Policy making; Prevention; Religion; Religiosity; sustainability
• ISSN: 0022-0078; 1745-6606
• DOI: 10.1111/joca.12328

Food waste is a problem worldwide, but solutions have yet to adequately incorporate consumers' core values—values which are often rooted in religion. Study 1 shows that restrictive religious norms (e.g., rules about food consumption, fasting) lead to greater food waste, whereas supportive religious norms (e.g., sharing food) lead to reduced food waste. Study 2 replicates prior findings and rules out competing explanations. Study 3 manipulates marketing messaging to show that consumers with higher (lower) levels of religiosity are more likely to reduce food waste with a prevention (promotion) framed message partnered with environmental reasoning or a promotion (prevention) framed message partnered with people‐based reasoning. Implications for marketers, consumer advocacy groups, and policy makers desiring to reduce food waste are provided.