Abstract for: No food to waste: the dynamic processes that explain food waste in the Netherlands

This research addresses the dynamic processes that explain food waste in Dutch households. Despite a considerable reduction of food waste in Dutch households in the last decade, with 27,6 kilo per person per year the level of food waste continues to be very high. Food waste is food that is or was appropriate for human consumption that is not consumed by humans but discarded by Dutch households. Reducing food waste is important for the environment because it will lead to a lowered demand for food production, which reduces the use of raw materials as water, energy and agriculture land. The Minister of Agriculture in the Netherlands therefore adopted the UN objective of halving the amount of food waste by 2030 as a policy goal. This research aims to contribute to this policy goal by developing a dynamic theory about food waste in Dutch households.