‘Wasting food is normal!’: How food waste can become the (new) norm in casual dining restaurants

Food waste is a major societal challenge, and hospitality and foodservice organisations make a significant contribution to its occurrence. Although research on food waste in these organisations is emerging, there remains a limited understanding of the underlying reasons behind managerial inaction on its mitigation. This mixed methods study employs neutralization theory, specifically the concept of normalization of deviance, to examine the sociological impediments of effective food waste mitigation among managers of casual dining restaurants in Bangkok, Thailand (n = 17). The findings delineate the process of how food waste can become perceived by managers as a norm and outline the factors contributing to this normalization, namely repeated personal observations of food waste generation, peer reports and media influence. By understanding the determinants of managerial disengagement with food waste mitigation, the study outlines potential interventions exemplified by the design of educational campaigns, regular food waste audits, set-up of corporate goals on food waste reduction and changes to how food waste is presented in the media.