What Reduces Household Food Waste in Japan? Nation-Wide and Region-Specific Contributing Factors in Urban and Rural Areas
Nakamura K., Kojima D., Ando M.
Sustainability (MDPI), 14(6):3174
Urban Farm DB summary
Analyzes nationwide survey data to identify consumer attributes (gender, age, children in the household, safety awareness) and behaviors (checking labels, food management) associated with household food-waste generation and reduction in Japan. It shows that contributing factors differ between large cities, small cities, and rural areas, underscoring the need for region-specific measures.
Key points
- 1Across Japan, consumer attributes such as gender, age, presence of children in the household, occupation, safety awareness, and time are related to household food waste generation.
- 2In terms of consumer behavior, "action," "checking labels," and "food management" are related to food waste occurrence.
- 3Only "checking labels" showed a positive relationship with the occurrence of food waste.
- 4In large cities, "children in the household," "time," "safety awareness," and "food management" particularly affected food waste, while their impact was less in small cities and towns.
- 5For individuals with "agricultural experience," the occurrence of food waste was significantly lower in towns and villages.
Extracted facts
5 factsOnly numbers and their conditions are stored, as structured data — never the source's own sentences. Metric and condition names stay in English, as coded.
- gender age children occupation safety awareness time related
attribute factors related to food waste(household food waste)
Social- region
- JP
- study design
- ordered-probit
- scope
- nationwide-sample
- regions
- large-cities; small-cities; villages
- action checking labels food management related
behavioral factors related to food waste(household food waste)
Social- region
- JP
- study design
- ordered-probit
- scope
- nationwide-sample
- positive relationship↑ Increase
association with food waste occurrence(label checking behaviour)
Social- region
- JP
- study design
- ordered-probit
- scope
- nationwide-sample
- stronger in large cities
regional factor sensitivity(household food waste)
SocialControl: small cities and towns- region
- JP
- factors
- children-in-household; time; safety-awareness; food-management
- study design
- ordered-probit
- lower with agricultural experience↓ DecreaseStatistically significant
food waste occurrence(household with agricultural experience)
SocialControl: households without agricultural experience- region
- JP
- setting
- towns-and-villages
- study design
- ordered-probit
Direction of conclusions
Each author conclusion is recorded only as a coded direction per topic. Read the original for the conclusion itself.
- Food securityMixed
- Education and learningSupportsWith caveats
Abstract and stored text
OpenAlexWe analyze the contributing factors (i.e., attribute factors and behavioral factors) that lead to household food waste in Japan by region (i.e., large cities, small cities, and villages) using a nationwide sample and an ordered probit model. As a result of the analysis, it was found that “gender”, “age”, “children in the household”, “occupation”, “safety awareness”, and “time” were related to the occurrence of food waste in terms of consumer attributes, which were common throughout Japan. In terms of consumer behavior, “action”, “checking labels”, and “food management” are related. Among these, only “checking labels” had a positive relationship with the occurrence of food waste. By region, “children in the household”, “time”, “safety awareness”, and “food management” were particularly affected in large cities, while they were less affected in small cities and towns. For those who had “agricultural experience”, the occurrence of food waste was significantly lower in towns and villages.
Why it matters for urban farming
This research highlights that factors influencing household food waste in Japan vary by region, which is crucial for planning urban farm activities. Specifically, the finding that agricultural experience contributes to food waste reduction suggests that urban farms, by offering opportunities for urban residents to engage in farming, can raise food awareness and consequently reduce food waste. Urban farms can serve as educational hubs for food management and safety, becoming centers for promoting region-specific food waste reduction strategies.