TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lorenz-Walther, Bettina A.
A1  - Langen, Nina
A1  - Göbel, Christine
A1  - Engelmann, Tobias
A1  - Bienge, Katrin
A1  - Speck, Melanie
A1  - Teitscheid, Petra
T1  - What makes people leave LESS food? Testing effects of smaller portions and information in a behavioral model.
JF  - Appetite
N2  - To contribute to a better understanding of consumer food leftovers and to facilitate their reduction in out-of-home settings, our study analyzes the effects of two common intervention strategies for reducing leftovers in a holistic behavioral model. Based on a quasi-experimental baseline-intervention design, we analyzed how the display of information posters and the reduction of portion sizes take an effect on personal, social and environmental determinants in a structural equation model. Applying data from online surveys and observations among 880 guests (503 baseline, 377 intervention) during two weeks in a university canteen, the suggested model allows to assign effects from the two interventions on plate leftovers to specific changes in behavioral determinants. Portion size reductions for target dishes are found to relate to lower levels of plate waste based on conscious perception, represented in smaller portion size ratings. Effects from seeing information posters are found to base on changed personal attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. However, depending on how an individual reacts to the information (by only making an effort to finish all food or by making an effort and additionally choosing a different dish in the canteen) there are opposite effects on these determinants and consequently also on plate leftovers. Overall, the differentiated results on intervention effects strongly support the benefits of more holistic and in-depth analyses of interventions to reduce plate leftovers and therefore to contribute to more sustainable food consumption in out-of-home settings.
KW  - food waste
KW  - plate waste
KW  - portion size
KW  - canteen
KW  - perceived behavioral control
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.03.026
VL  - 139
SP  - 127
EP  - 144
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schneider, Felicitas
A1  - Part, Florian
A1  - Göbel, Christine
A1  - Gerhards, Christian
A1  - Kraus, Günther F.
A1  - Ritter, Guido
T1  - A methodological approach for the on-site quantification of food losses in primary production: Austrian and German case studies using the example of potato harvest
JF  - Waste Management
N2  - In the last decade, in many European Countries more and more measures have been initiated aiming at the prevention of food losses and wastes along the entire value chain. In order to evaluate or monitor such important measures it is crucial to obtain quantitative information on generated food waste amounts, subsequently enabling the quantitative evaluation of the measure’s outcomes and efficiency. Currently there is a paucity of quantitative information, particularly on food losses that are directly generated during harvesting processes. Up to date, no method is available or standardised aiming at the in-situ or on-site quantification of food losses during harvest. Using the example of the potato harvest, this study presents a practical approach for determining potato losses. To test the applicability of the developed method, on-site measurements were conducted directly on the field at five different locations in Austria and Germany. Our method enables the quantification of food losses based on defined areas along the harvested potato rows, where the analyser manually collects potatoes during their harvest. Hereby, two types of potato losses needs to be considered: non-harvested, under-sized potatoes that remain under the earth and the harvested ones, which are rejected on-site because of quality requirements regarding their size, shape, and state of health. Our study shows that between 1 and 9% of field losses (based on yield potential) can be generated during the potato harvest. In future, this method may be the basis for standardised protocols in order to be able to derive cultivar-specific benchmarks and, consequently, to develop measures for preventing food losses. In general, more case studies and evidence-based ground-up measurements on other cultivars and for other regions are needed focusing on the on-site quantification of post-harvest losses.
KW  - Food losses
KW  - Agricultural waste
KW  - Food waste prevention
KW  - Post-harvest losses
KW  - Quantification method
Y1  - 2019
U6  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.01.020
SN  - 0956-05X
SP  - 106
EP  - 113
ER  -