Food Waste and Sustainable Nutrition Awareness Among University Students in the Climate Crisis Environment

Ensuring sustainable nutrition and reducing food waste play a role in reducing the effects of the climate crisis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sustainable healthy eating behaviors of college students and how these behaviors relate to food waste. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 423 students at a state university. 76.6 percent of participants had never heard of “sustainable nutrition”. 34.0 percent of participants reported that they do not waste food, 13.0 percent waste it, and 53.0 percent sometimes waste it. Participants living at home had higher scores for sustainable and healthy eating behaviors than those living in dormitories ( p = 0.047); participants who had heard of sustainable nutrition had a higher score than those who had not ( p < 0,001). The sustainable and healthy eating behavior scores of participants who did not waste food were also significantly higher than those who did waste food ( p < 0.001). A one-unit increase in sustainable nutrition scores was associated with a 58.2 percent reduction in always wasting food and a 41.3 percent reduction in sometimes wasting food compared to non-wasters. Actions aimed at promoting sustainable eating habits among young people and reducing food waste are recommended to protect human and environmental health in today’s and tomorrow’s world.