In his study, “Throwing It Out: Introducing a Nexus Perspective in Examining Citizen Perceptions of Organization Food Waste in the U.S.,” Dr. Hannibal explores public concern about food waste and what, if anything, they want done about it. An estimated 40% of food in the U.S. is wasted, along with the water and energy required to grow, harvest, treat, and transport the food as well as the resources required to manage the food waste. This research, which adds to the very short list of papers that examine food waste at the national level, places the issue of food waste within the public’s perception of the water-energy-food nexus (WEF).
Using quantitative data from ISTPP’s representative national public opinion survey on the WEF nexus, Hannibal analyzes individuals’ awareness of the food-water (FW) nexus and the food-energy (FE) nexus and the extent to which their awareness influences their concern about food waste and the strength of their support for different types of policies designed to reduce food waste. Analytical results indicated that general environmental concern, FW nexus awareness, FE nexus awareness are significantly correlated with concern about food waste and support for policies to reduce food waste. Standard demographic variables are also included in the analytical models.
Hannibal, Bryce. 2017. “Throwing It Out: Introducing a Nexus Perspective in Examining Citizen Perceptions of Organization Food Waste in the U.S.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Southwestern Social Science Association, Austin, TX, April 12–15.
