A Latent Class Model to discover Household Food Waste Patterns in Lisbon City in Support of Food Security, Public Health and Environmental Protection

Abstract

In the middle of a great world financial crisis that also affects food security, it is important to characterize the habits of households concerning the buying and wasting food. With this study we intend (1) to uncover the patterns of Portuguese citizens concerning food waste by using a mixed research approach and (2) to identify demographic factors that can influence the production of food waste and that may support initiatives towards the education of society on food waste. We used a random sample of 542 Portuguese citizens to identify consumer profiles and 18 in-depth interviews for better understanding the uncovered profiles in a mixed method research approach. Through a two-latent class model two clusters of consumers were identified: cluster 1, the Non food waste citizens with 65% of respondents, mainly 24 years or more, female and married or divorced and cluster 2, the Food waste citizens  with 35% of respondents, mainly up to 23 years old, male and single. Our findings may impact in two distinct ways: they may be used to educate Portuguese citizens concerning the issue of food waste and they may be useful in contributing to a less polluted world.