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Food waste has been a concern for numerous stakeholders because of its negative impact. Since consumers are believed to be the primary cause of food waste, various policies are in place to reduce food waste generated by consumers. On the other hand, academics carry out numerous studies, one of which examines the habits of consumers concerning food waste. Research also shows that women play a significant role in the community and at home when it comes to food and waste management. Therefore, this research aims to critically examine women’s experience and knowledge concerning food waste practices within the community and the household from a feminist perspective.
This study used a qualitative approach, in contrast to the majority of studies on gendered food waste management, which employ a quantitative approach. More precisely, this study criticised the use of a psychological approach by taking the ‘everyday life’ approach. Psychological approaches are deemed incapable of providing insight into the selection of individuals as units of analysis, and it disregards the decision-making process of individuals. RW 09 Palasari, a community in Bandung, Indonesia, was chosen as the research location, involving 29 female respondents.
This study found the importance of the ‘everyday life’ approach in research on food waste management in the community and the household from women’s perspective. In addition, this study also found that women played an important role in managing food waste in the household. As for the household scope, this study found two things: knowing that cultural and demographic factors affected women in food waste management practices, and women’s foodwork activities affected the amount of food waste produced.
While this study has a global scope on food waste, it is primarily based on empirical research conducted in Bandung, Indonesia. The study intends to serve as a guide for identifying common reasons for food waste; however, it does not provide a universal truth applicable to all places and cultures. To what extent places-specific or cultural factors can account for the degree of inconsistency in results is beyond the scope of this study but could be a potential area for future research.
This study also yielded recommendations for future research on gendered food waste management. A religious perspective in food waste management should be considered in future research because it was found to be quite influential in this study. Furthermore, because the majority of respondents in this study held traditional household divisions of labour, it is necessary to investigate the household division of labour when both men and women work in an office.
This study recommended several policy implementations in addition to future research. Women are the main target of food waste management campaigns because of their significant role in food waste management in the community and at home. A biodigester was also found to be effective in the management of food waste. As a result, more research is required so that people can manage food waste while also benefiting from this technology. |
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