Almost two-thirds of grocery shoppers in the US (63 percent) are more concerned with food waste than other issues such as air pollution (59 percent), water shortages (57 percent), climate change (53 percent) and genetically modified foods (52 percent), according to a new Harris poll.
The poll, commissioned by Sealed Air Corporation, evaluated Americans’ food habits,
While food packaging plays a key role in preventing waste, the Sealed Air study also found that American grocery shoppers:
- associate food packaging more with safety than waste;
- see discarded packaging as worse for the environment than food waste and food that has minimal or no packaging being more environmentally friendly; and
- will often behave contrary to their beliefs (in the last six months, 40 percent have removed original packaging on store-bought foods and repackaged it).
“Grocery shoppers have troubling misperceptions about food packaging, and mistakenly view it as a contributor to food waste rather than correctly acknowledging its role as food preserver,” said Ron Cotterman, VP of Sustainability at Sealed Air Cotterman. “We believe that by better understanding where and why food is wasted we can generate increased awareness and identify opportunities to help change consumer behavior and prevent food waste.”
A 2013 study by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) found a similar disconnect in UK consumers' attitudes toward food packaging: While shoppers generally understand that packaging is an important factor in transporting food to the grocery store and keeping it fresh there, only 13 percent believe it plays the same role at home. Thus, the 'Fresher for Longer' campaign aimed to change this.
Meanwhile, FoodLoop, winner of this year's Sustainable Brands Innovation Open, is attempting to help mitigate food waste before it leaves the supermarket. The app promotes discounted "best before date" on-sale deals in real time, directly to users' smartphones, thus incentivizing their purchases and preemptively eliminating unnecessary food waste.
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Founder & Principal Consultant, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering best-in-class strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Jul 17, 2014 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST