Proceedings of The 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Business, Management and Economics
Year: 2023
DOI:
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Impacts Of COVID-19 on Household Food Waste Behavior in The National Capital Region of India
Aakanksha Bhatia, Seema Sharma
ABSTRACT:
Food wastage is a major contributor to pervasive world hunger and raises concern over food security and sustainability of a nation’s natural resources. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global food system made the need to focus on global food waste visible and urgent. The pacing urbanization and changing lifestyles in developing economies has further led to increased household food wastage in already food insecurity-stricken societies. Very scanty literature exists on exploring the effects of COVID-19 on the drivers of household food waste in developing nations, particularly in India. The purpose of the study is to analyze how an external shock like COVID-19 has impacted household foodwaste management in India. The study uses structural equation modeling to analyze data from 240 urban households of Delhi/ national capital region of India. The study shows that the pandemic made the households more cost-conscious towards food wastage and increased their intention to avoid food waste. This study is of great relevance to as it highlights the effects of an external shock on food waste management in developing economies. It further helps policymakers to understand how consumers act in crisis-like situations and how certain sustainable solutions and awareness programs can help in prevention of household food waste.
keywords: Household Food Waste, Emerging Economies, COVID-19, structural Equation modeling, urbanisation