Citizen science and food waste

The project aimed to address knowledge gaps regarding consumer food waste by leveraging citizen science to gain insights into behaviors and decision-making. Key activities included a literature review, the identification of network members, and a workshop in Geneva on 6 June. The resulting network connects researchers, experts, and practitioners to foster collaborative research proposals.

• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that approximately 30% of food produced for human consumption is lost between the farm and the plate, with a significant portion occurring at the point of consumption due to factors like purchasing decisions, storage, preparation, and eating.
• Gathering reliable data on food waste is difficult because it is highly distributed and influenced by a complex mix of consumer behavior factors; however, citizen science can provide unique insights into these behaviors and raise consumer awareness.
• In Europe and North America, the FAO reports that consumers discard between 95 and 115 kg of food per capita annually, and in industrialized countries, around 40% of food losses occur in restaurants, homes, and shops.
• The project successfully established a network of researchers, experts, and practitioners in citizen science and food waste, which has already led to the development of several collaborative research proposals.

APA

West, S., Pateman, R., de Bruin, A., Hobbs, E., & Piirsalu, E. (2019). Citizen science and food waste. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/sei-2019-p2cs-summary-citsci-food-waste.pdf

Chicago

West, Sarah, Rachel Pateman, Annemarieke de Bruin, Emilie Hobbs, and Evelin Piirsalu. Citizen science and food waste. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2019. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/sei-2019-p2cs-summary-citsci-food-waste.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=West |first1=Sarah |last2=Pateman |first2=Rachel |last3=de Bruin |first3=Annemarieke |last4=Hobbs |first4=Emilie |last5=Piirsalu |first5=Evelin |title=Citizen science and food waste |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=March 2019 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/sei-2019-p2cs-summary-citsci-food-waste.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{west2019citizen, author = {West, Sarah and Pateman, Rachel and de Bruin, Annemarieke and Hobbs, Emilie and Piirsalu, Evelin}, title = {{Citizen science and food waste}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2019}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/sei-2019-p2cs-summary-citsci-food-waste.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }