Food packing: A case study of dining out in Beijing

Food waste results in nutritional losses, ecological damage, and environmental pollution. This survey is conducted in Beijing and aims to determine whether food waste can be reduced by food packing when leftovers are produced at the dining table and to identify factors that affect food packing behav...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yu WANG, Shi-wei XU, Wen YU, Ahmed Abdul-gafar, Xiao-jie LIU, Jun-fei BAI, Dan ZHANG, Li-wei GAO, Xiao-chang CAO, Yao LIU
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2016-08-01
Series:Journal of Integrative Agriculture
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095311915612825
Description
Summary:Food waste results in nutritional losses, ecological damage, and environmental pollution. This survey is conducted in Beijing and aims to determine whether food waste can be reduced by food packing when leftovers are produced at the dining table and to identify factors that affect food packing behavior and the use of leftovers. Based on statistical and econometric analyses of the relationship between leftovers packing and possible factors, this study finds that the age, educational level, employment status, farming experience, environmental protection consciousness, food saving advertisement, families with old members, and reasons for dining out significantly influence the food packing behavior of the consumers. Moreover, the dining environment plays an important role in leftovers packing. People with intimate relationships, such as families, friends, classmates, or colleagues, are more willing to take leftovers home. Business partners do the opposite. Finally, almost all packed leftovers (91.59%) are eaten by people and animals. Therefore, packing leftovers is an excellent approach to reduce food waste.
ISSN:2095-3119