Food Waste and the Voice of the Small Producer
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Date
2020
Authors
Buckingham, Hannah Drew
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
In the literature of food waste, the voice of the small producer is frequently missing. This study aims to contribute to the growing field of food waste literature, and address the gap in small producer research, by exploring the experiences and perspectives of small producers regarding food waste. To accomplish this, the present study conducted recorded interviews with small producers. These interviews concentrated on three scales of inquiry: personal, on-farm, and bigger picture. Once completed, these interviews were transcribed and analyzed for common themes between participants. This study found the voices of small producers to be valuable contributors in the field of food waste research. Result indicate that small producers view food waste as a primarily ethical, but multifaceted, issue. Overproduction, lack of available processors, and time are the primary factors driving waste for small producers. Donations, feeding livestock, and composting are the methods most commonly used to manage waste. Small producers are motivated to manage and reduce food waste primarily by their ethics, but also by the pragmatic and economic savings available. In their own homes, small producers most frequently manage waste through composting or feeding to livestock. Small producers believe that disconnection, lack of education, and convenience-seeking habits are the drivers of consumer waste. Government subsidies and industrialization are the characteristics of our food system contribute to this undervaluing of food. This is why food waste is high among consumers, and these are the factors contributing to high consumer food waste in the US as a whole. Small producers believe people might be motivated to waste less food if they are reconnected with the nonindustrial food system, prices a raised, better understand the impacts of food waste. As food prices rise, global food security declines, and environmental degradation accelerates, the importance of understanding and effectively reducing food waste grows. The results of this study show that small producers offer unique and valuable perspective on food waste that prioritize community growth, consumer exposure to non-industrialized food systems, and belief in food waste as an ethical issue.
Description
76 pages
Keywords
Food, Small Farmers, Small Producers, Food Waste, Food System, Supply Chain, Waste Drivers