A Path Analysis of Behavioral Drivers of Household Food Waste in Greece

Food waste is one of the planet’s most pressing challenges, directly linked to food security, resource depletion, greenhouse gas emissions, and, more broadly, environmental concerns demanding immediate attention. This issue occurs throughout the entire food value chain; however, households are the primary source of waste. This research examines the key factors influencing household food waste behavior and investigates how these factors can contribute to the development of sustainable practices that minimize environmental impacts. Six research hypotheses were examined, focusing on consumers’ knowledge of environmental and food waste issues, their awareness of their community, their emotional responses to their actions, and their social and economic status. A structured questionnaire was administered to a sample of 870 individuals in a region of Greece, and the data were analyzed using factor and path analyses. The results showed that education and accurate information about environmental issues, as well as strategies for reducing waste and its impact on the environment and the economy, were strongly correlated with consumers’ food waste behaviors. The proposed model demonstrated moderate explanatory power (R2 = 0.396) and excellent fit indices (χ2 = 10.58, p < 0.001, NFI = 0.99, IFI = 0.995, CFI = 0.98, RMSEA = 0.06), highlighting the significance of the main predictors identified.