Reframing communications that encourage individuals to reduce food waste

About this resource: Consumer-focused communications campaigns have been used to encourage the reduction of household food waste, or ‘food discard’. This paper evaluated a number of these communications campaigns run in Australia and New Zealand. To achieve this the causes of household food discard and nine recommendations from experts for reducing the problem were identified through a literature review. On assessment, it was found that selected communications campaigns addressed some of the recommendations from experts. A subsequent qualitative investigation of household members’ knowledge of the issues of food discard showed that individuals’ understandings can be prioritised in terms of the expert recommendations and the communication messages in the campaigns. Based on the results of this research, recommendations were made about the targeted messages and interactive discussion to increase awareness of the issue and promote positive action.

Food Waste Innovation Authors: Miranda Mirosa

Citation: Pearson, D., Mirosa, M., Andrews, L. & Kerr, G. (2017) Reframing Communications That Encourage Individuals to Reduce Food Waste. Communication Research & Practice, 3(2), 137-154.