Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

Author of submission (name, surname, position, organization)

Giuseppe Ruocco, Director General DGISAN - Ministry of Health; Denise Giacomini, Medical doctor, DGISAN - Ministry of Health DGISAN; Elena Sturchio, Res. INAIL/DIT; Elena Carrano Nutritionist, DGISAN- Ministry of Health

Title of your example

“Food waste, consumer attitudes and behaviour: a project exploring the reasons linked to consumer-related food waste, involving Italian schools”

Theme

School food and nutrition programs linked to the agricultural sector

Date, location and geographic scope of your example (regional, sub-regional, national, local)

Date: 2016- 2017

National level study in Italy

Main responsible entity(ies) for the implementation of your example

Ministry of Health, INAIL/DIT

Key objectives and implementation approach of your example

Reducing the amount of wasted food is a key element in developing programs of global environmental and ethical and sustainable food system production. There is a substantial lack in the knowledge of the reasons linked to waste food at households. The aim of the  Project is to focus on the consumption food waste for exploring the reasons of food waste on family level in order to overcome food wasting behavior and point out options to design prevention measures by the responsible involvement in analysis and possible solutions of the students of the “pre University” level, at the same time to point out the need of respecting nutritional rules to not “waste their health”.

The learning methodology consist of a non-formal and informal education, that offers an experiential learning which aims to achieve knowledge "experimenting."

The knowledge is shared in a "horizontal" and “multidirectional” relationship among teachers, educators, experts and firstly students, that develop critical attitude of thought and an active participation. Furthermore, the SPAIC project, as well as called in Italy, adopts the "nudging" methodology, also called "gentle push" that can offer a way to behave properly (a kindly suggested model not be not be refused a priori as taxation authority), and therefore effective and culturally acquirable.

In fact, behavioural economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein outlined the potential for more innovative and less coercive government interventions to shape people’s behaviour. A central premise behind nudge theory is that people frequently behave in a way that is difficult to predict and not in their own best interest.

Employing behavioural insights as a prognosticator of human behavioural responses makes it possible to shape behaviours, by changing the” choice architecture” of those people. These changes may prompt people to make better decisions about health, wealth and happiness, in their own declared interest.

Thaler and Sunstein provide a flexible definition of what a nudge is: “A nudge, as we will use the term, is an aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behaviour in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives.

To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be cheap and easy to avoid. Nudges are not mandates.

Nudges can be implemented by a wide range of actors, come in a wide range of forms and seek to achieve a wide range of outcomes. The choice architects are therefore supposed to rearrange the physical and social environment in order to make people change behaviour, a kind of soft paternalism that does not include coercion, a benignly intentioned manipulation meant to improve the direction of peoples’ choices while maintaining freedom of choice.

Nudge previously has been examined in individual studies for its capacities to positively influence behaviours including decreasing tobacco-use, increasing physical activity and encouraging financial planning instead we’ve decided to use this model in a” wellness based” study on the Food Waste.

The Project principally consists of two steps:

1) provide scientific information on "Food waste" that occurs at all stages of the food life cycle

 2) disseminate good behavior model, in efficient and effective way, regarding the issue about food waste and respect of related nutrition rules, among classmates, youngsters and families, in a prevention perspective of the contribution to food waste at households (and the related territory) and at the same time forming a specific conscience of the important role that new generations “have to” play in this field.

Funding and technical assistance of your example

Funging of Ministry of Health and technical assistance and expertise of INAIL DIT involving Research Organization (CRF), and three Italian high schools.

Key stakeholders involved. Describe the cross-sectoral coordination mechanism of your example, if any.

INAIL/DIT and Ministry of Health/DGISAN are carrying out a Project “Food waste, consumer attitudes and behavior”, involving Research Organization (CRF), and three Italian high schools.

How your example addresses food security and nutrition challenges. Describe linkages to social protection policies / school food programs / sustainable food systems. 

The learning methodology consist of a non-formal and informal education, that offers an experiential learning which aims to achieve knowledge "experimenting." The knowledge is shared in a "horizontal" and “multidirectional” relationship among teachers, educators, experts and firstly students, that develop critical attitude of thought and an active participation. Furthermore, the SPAIC project adopts the "nudging" methodology, also called "gentle push" that can offer a way to behave properly (a kindly suggested model not be not be refused a priori as taxation authority), and therefore effective and culturally acquirable.

Three high schools from Latium region were selected, characterized by different socioeconomic status and fields of education: a private school of art situated in the center of Rome, a Cinematographic high school with a less central location and a biotechnology school in Rome province. We chose different schools to study whether the difference in localization and socioeconomic status has a reflection on habits about food waste (shopping, leftovers, food preservation….) as well as on perception of individual responsibility towards food waste.

In each school, the activity consists of two steps. In the first step, an analytical review of the specific lifestyles and behaviour of consumer that identify the causes that lead to the production of waste, was performed to transfer the scientific knowledge to a pre-selected group of students involved in the proposed corrective action. In particular, starting from the evidence that the attitudes and behaviour can significantly affect the amount of food directly and indirectly wasted, scientific literature was reviewed to extrapolate the guidelines for achieving the chosen goals, including specific surveys on social media and on the corrective actions already adopted in other case studies.

After a consultation phase between experts, researchers and professors for the planning of activities, the active involvement of 250 students of Classes 3 and 4th "high school" followed.

First, data about food waste habits and the perception of one’s responsibility about it were collected with self-report questionnaires, filled in by both adolescents and their families, as a baseline study.

Lessons regarding food waste impacts on the environment, on loss of resources, on its cause were given to the students, in order to raise awareness of a selected group of students (30 students for each school). Working groups are formed involving students chosen among about 250 of them, considering their "specific" excellence and mainly their interest to the theme, according to teachers involved in the project.

Teachers and researchers proceeded to organize training activities on food waste, correlating it to the concept of sustainability and underlining its negative economic, environmental and social impacts. The learning methodology consists of both nonformal and informal education, that offers an experiential learning which aims to achieve knowledge "experimenting." The knowledge is shared in a "horizontal" and “multidirectional” relationship among teachers, educators, experts and firstly students, that develop critical attitude of thought and an active participation, through a lifelong learning methodology. The project is planned according to the interests, perceptions and curiosity of the students, focusing on their insights to design useful "products", that transform the idea into concrete social utility tools, according to the European conception of Science useful to the progress and growth.

During a brainstorming phase, students, teachers and experts, defined objectives, the strategies and the method to be adopted to realise new multimedia viable products to induce correct behaviours regarding food waste. In addition, it is expected to use the WEB as a tool for promotion of strategies and initiatives conducted by the pilot school in the area on food waste in relation to the specificity of their living environment, as a replicable model of education by the schools.

What are the elements needed for the practice to be institutionally, socially, economically and environmentally resilient and/or sustainable? 

Reducing the amount of wasted food is a key element in developing programs of global environmental, ethical and sustainable food system production. Food waste occurs at all stages of the food production, starting from harvesting, through manufacturing and distributing and finally consumption, but the largest contribution to food waste occurs surprisingly at home in the developed countries.

Food waste generation that occurs in large scale retail distribution and at home, is mostly avoidable because large quantities of produced food are discarded when it is still edible. As a cause of negative economic, environmental and social effects, food waste is considered to be one of the priority sustainability issues that needs to be addressed. In developed countries, consumers are one of the biggest sources and they are directly/indirectly responsible of food waste. To successfully reduce consumer-related food waste, it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the factors influencing food waste-related consumer perceptions and behaviours.

The impact of your example on national policies and people’s lives. What indicators have been used to measure it? 

In the second step, the objective was to create effective communication products for dissemination of good behavioral practices within the family and territory, enhanced by peer tutoring activities directed to younger class-mates for food waste reduction and environmental and health risk prevention.

These products may be then widespread through the media channels supported by the researchers. To encourage the students to be aware of their capabilities and achieve effective communication product, the support of expert researchers in the field of "nudging - gentle push" or a psycho-behavioural model it was necessary.

The model drives the consumers to adopt best practices and good behaviour in daily life.

In fact, the application of the model aims to change behaviour for reducing food waste and its impacts both on people’s health and on the environment, and it consists of two different kind of nudges: a nudge that involves physical/environmental factors and a nudge based on motivational/emotional factors.

The environmental nudge consists in the creation of a space inside the school where students may consume meals prepared at home (the lack of a such dedicated space seems to encourage students to buy food at the school bar or from a vending machine placed inside the school that offers foods that are mostly unhealthy and not environmental friendly).

The motivational/emotional based nudge consist of meetings with a motivator, a person who works with the students at an emotional and creative level to inspire them about their potential to be active participants in choices that are relevant for them and for the whole environment.

These meeting are designed to make students able to thrust in their capabilities to make important changes in their lives.

Finally, the dissemination of results will be carried out through the drafting of a final document, and a public presentation of the final results, where students will be the protagonists and actors of the event as well as recipients of the educational process.

Key lessons (positive and negative) that can be learned from your example and how gaps, obstacles and any other adverse conditions were addressed. 

The Project has the purpose of raising awareness among young people (a preoccupational category/pre-University studies) and to educate them and to induce correct behaviors regarding wasted food and to become testimonials and possibly “cult” multimedia spreader of correct information and behavior.

To date, 9 out of 18 months of experimentation are conducted, the Project SPAIC is in progress but has already achieved relevant results.

We apply a “nudge” approach for enabling and encouraging change in students, families and people in order to overcome food wasting behavior.

We have not yet objective evidence about results of this model. We have instead just a qualitative analysis from which it seems that the students are very pleased and motivated by both proposals. The purpose of using the Nudge model, in particular the emotional based nudge helped students finding the motivation and the inspiration for the creation of a “product” that can be shaped as they decide, for the purpose of training others to understand the importance of personal actions in global food waste (peer education). Each school is working on a different product chosen by the students according to the specific school orientation and interest.

From a preliminary qualitative assessment of questionnaires of 30 questions, filled by the students at the beginning of the project, they would seem to have a low sense of responsibility for their own waste.

However most of the students showed a clear willingness to be informed about environmental negative impacts of food waste.

Every action of the Project requires the synergistic involvement of the main "actors" (students, teachers, experts and families) called to dialogue and contribute to common goals.

Following training and emotional meetings, students are producing social – network interactive products or video, for their class mates and youngsters with the intent to disseminate good practices on food waste in environmental and health risk prevention perspective.

Some of the products realized by students, to date, include leftover food recipes, amusing street interviews, a photo exhibition, the creation of a learning unit on food waste and a script for a short film. After this initial stage there will be other evaluation phases of the project, in order to collect and analyse more data on the development of the project and on the efficacy of the nudge model.

In conclusion the Project allows to provide education and information about food waste field and health to high school students, and to test by smart indicators the perception of teenagers on this issue. Among the main final purposes of the research we want to evaluate whether the Nudge model can be helpful in this type of study.

Furthermore we want to understand if the two different nudges used here had some efficacy by comparing the results. At intermediate stage of the project we evaluated that the active involvement of young people in products realization, should be acquired as a standard methodology in order to trigger their inherent ability to innovate in the world of work.

Sources and/ or additional background material 

References

[1] Van der Heijden J. and Kosters M.,2015. From mechanism to virtue: evaluating

Nudge-theory. RegNet Working Paper, No 80, Regulatory Institutions Network.

[2] Thaler R. and Sunstein C. , 2009. Nudge (revised edition). London: Penguin.

[3] Vallgarda S., 2012, A new and better way to improve health?, Health policy 104,

200-203.

[4] Missbach B. and Konig J., 2016. Middle choice preference and snack choice: The

role of self-regulatory resources to nudge healthier food choice, Food Quality and

Preference 53, 127-131.

[5] Arno A. and Thomas S.,2016. The efficacy of nudge theory strategies in

influencing adult dietary behaviour: a systematic review and meta analysis. BMC

Public Health 16:676.