Women and the squander cycle in food waste in the United Kingdom: An ecofeminist and feminist economic analysis

Abstract

This paper examines the interconnections between gender, class, food security, sustainable food waste, and values. We link feminist economics and ecofeminism in the context of grocery shopping in the United Kingdom. As an environmental and economic issue, food waste is emerging as a global threat, with developed nations grossly contributing to the squander cycle of resources. Such contextualization allows us to both explore the feminist economics perspective, as well as examine routine decision-making by placing it within the larger value system, and connecting it with the sustainability and environmental protection debates. Data were collected on a purchased Smart Survey sample of a UK-wide population, using an approximately 20-minute online questionnaire. A data set of 792 complete responses was included in the analysis. The findings present a dual narrative on grocery shopping. Reduced-priced shopping is often evaluated by women as socially responsible and environmentally friendly. However, women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds demonstrate a resentment towards price-reduced shopping and evaluate it negatively. We argue that these different attitudes reflect relative perceptions of agency and control, which the data suggest are connected to the propensity for food waste and a worsening of the squander cycle.