Waste Less Food | Rare

Waste less food

Most Americans believe they practice wasting less food. However, evidence suggests we’re fooling ourselves, with the average household wasting 32% of its food. This behavior is a repeated behavior, meaning cutting food waste requires ongoing decision-making.

Opportunity

Americans underestimate the intentions and actions of those around them when it comes to wasting food (77% are trying to waste less but only believe 44% of others are too). This suggests a missed opportunity to see or hear others talking about how they’re avoiding food waste.

Because the intention to act is already so high, for this behavior, peer influence could play a large role in showcasing strategies and tactics for individuals to follow through with that intention, versus simply driving more interest.

In addition, people’s interest in taking part in a program is higher than average for all behaviors, except for purchasing an EV.

The Impacts

If 10% of households reduce their food waste by 20%, 13 million MtCO2e would be avoided annually. This translates to an avoided cost to society of between $0.6 to $5.3 billion per year.