From Table To Trash: A Study Of Consumer Level Food Waste

In the United States alone, about 40 percent of all food, worth an estimated $165 billion, iswastedeach year, the Natural Resources Defense Council reported in 2012.There is a flaw in the way food flows, or rather does not flow, in the supply chain. Food waste occurs at all levels beginning after growth on the farm or production in the facility, followed by waste by distributors, retailers, restaurants and individuals. Causes of food waste vary from an increased global demand for food, to exceptional commercial regulations on the aesthetic quality of food products. My thesis attempts to answerthe following questions: What causes food waste at the consumer level? What can be done to instigate individual action at the consumer level to decrease wasted food?Primary and secondary research will be conducted to provide insight and evidence for thehypotheses and final conclusions of these research questions. A visual and creative approach will be applied to primary research: a photographic study. Interviews and behavioral observations will also be used to supplement the visual data. Furthermore, secondary research in the form of academic papers, statistics from empirical studies and editorial pieces will contribute to the pool of evidence for this inquiry