Addressing the Consumer Food Waste Crisis: A Decade of Psychological Interventions

Food waste has become an increasing global crisis, especially in the last few years. Researchers and policymakers have attempted to work towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations. While much research has been conducted, we are still far from achieving the SDG by 2030. Many interventions have been studied, but each outcome varies. Thus, this review summarizes 30 psychological-based interventions between 2010 to 2022, retrieved via the Scopus database. It is found that each method of intervention works differently based on each type of food waste. Institutional food waste appears to be the most common setting in conducting food waste reduction interventions. Combining knowledge and practical-based interventions are concluded to work best in tackling household food waste; disseminating information, including teaching methods in classrooms and practical interventions for food waste in the educational institution settings; informational messages and prompts for food and beverage settings; ensuring convenience and accessibility, clarity of information and social cohesion as essential intervention factors for tackling municipality and public consumer food waste behaviour. Psychological interventions such as building trust and motivation effectively address cognitive and behavioral modification in food waste reduction. Future research can consider these intervention methods and more consistent follow-up via a longitudinal approach.