- Title
- Local setting influences the quantity of household food waste in mid-sized South African towns
- Creator
- Chakona, Gamuchirai, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date
- 2017
- Type
- article
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/60866
- Identifier
- vital:27847
- Identifier
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189407
- Description
- The world faces a food security challenge with approximately 868 million people undernourished and about two billion people suffering from the negative health consequences of micronutrient deficiencies. Yet, it is believed that at least 33% of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted along the food chain. As food waste has a negative effect on food security, the present study sought to quantify household food waste along the ruralurban continuum in three South African mid-sized towns situated along an agro-ecological gradient. We quantified the types of foods and drinks that households threw away in the previous 48 hours and identified the causes of household food waste in the three sites. More households wasted prepared food (27%) than unprepared food (15%) and drinks (8%). However, households threw away greater quantities of unprepared food in the 48-hour recall period (268.6±610.1 g, 90% confidence interval: 175.5 to 361.7 g) compared to prepared food (121.0±132.4 g, 90% confidence interval: 100.8 to 141.3 g) and drinks (77.0±192.5 ml, 90% confidence interval: 47.7 to 106.4 ml). The estimated per capita food waste (5±10 kg of unprepared food waste, 3±4 kg of prepared food waste and 1±3 litres of drinks waste per person per year) overlaps with that estimated for other developing countries, but lower than most developed countries. However, the estimated average amount of food waste per person per year for this study (12.35 kg) was higher relative to that estimated for developing countries (8.5 kg per person per year). Household food waste was mainly a result of consumer behavior concerning food preparation and storage. Integrated approaches are required to address this developmental issue affecting South African societies, which include promoting sound food management to decrease household food waste. Also, increased awareness and educational campaigns for household food waste reduction interventions are discussed.
- Format
- 20 pages, pdf
- Language
- English
- Relation
- PLoS One, Chakona, G. and Shackleton, C.M., 2017. Local setting influences the quantity of household food waste in mid-sized South African towns. PloS one, 12(12), p.e0189407, PLoS One 12 vol. 12 no. 1 20 2017 1932-6203
- Rights
- PLoS One
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license
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Collections
RU DST/NRF SARChI for Interdisciplinary Science in Land and Natural Resource Use for Sustainable Livelihoods
Chakona, Gamucharai (Dr)
RU Department of Environmental Science
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 02. Zero Hunger
SDG 12. Responsible Consumption and Production
Shackleton, Charles Michael (Distinguished Prof)
SDG 01. No Poverty
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