Consumers’ Food Waste Reduction Behaviour:an Application Of Extended Theory Of Planned Behaviour

Food waste is a significant global issue with the growing public,political and corporate concerns.Food waste not only causes an economic burden but also accounted for social and environmental issues.The reduction of food waste has also been included within United Nations(UN)Sustainable Development Goals(SDG),and ambitious objectives have been assigned like environmental protection,reduction in hunger,increase in well-being,and climate change mitigations.Food waste reduction is acknowledged as one of the promising avenues for addressing the issue of food waste.In the past few years,little attention was given to the phenomena of food waste at the household level,which contributes significantly to the overall amount of food being wasted worldwide.Literature regarding consumers’ sensitization and promoting waste cautious behaviours among consumers still reveals potential limits,specifically on household food waste.Research observers call for further research to examine the determinants of consumer engagement towards food wastage reduction behaviour.Food waste generation is not considered a single behaviour but rather an outcome of multiple behaviours that can enhance the possibilities or quantity of food wasted.Youths are the population segment most inclined to food waste;therefore,they need to be closely monitored.This study uses the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework as a theoretical foundation to model and examine consumer’s cognitive and religious aspects towards food waste reduction behaviour of young consumers of Pakistan.A quantitative research methodology was adopted to collect primary data to achieve better representativeness and generalizability of findings.The targeted population for this study was young consumers.A convenience sampling technique was used to collect the data from respondents.An online survey was conducted with the help of a questionnaire,and 533 valid responses were collected.The study results supported the significant impact of cognitive and religious aspects on food waste reduction behaviour.The study’s findings have significant implications for governments,policymakers,marketers,and academics interested in developing strategies to reduce the amount of food waste and the development of educational programs by incorporating the cognitive and religious aspects towards food waste reduction behaviour.Although this research offers interesting findings and practical implications,some limitations should take into consideration.