The DOI matches its Crossref record; 53 of the 54 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Beyond the Throwaway Society: Ordinary Domestic Practice and a Sociological Approach to Household Food Waste
Abstract
This article offers a sociological analysis of household food waste and its starting point is a critique of perspectives in which volumes of waste generation are used to infer the presence of a throwaway society. Drawing on broadly ethnographic examples, the analysis illustrates some of the ways in which the passage of ‘food’ into ‘waste’ arises as a consequence of the ways in which domestic practices are socially and materially organized. Specifically, attention is paid to: 1) routines of household food provisioning and the contingencies of everyday life; 2) the social relations manifest in the enduring convention of the family meal and; 3) the socio-temporal context of food practices. Taken together it is suggested that contemporary sociological approaches to home consumption, material culture and everyday life can usefully engage with public and policy concerns about the origins and consequences of food waste.
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In the citing paper
“in terms of wasting food it has been found to be negative, with consumers feeling bad or guilty about wasting food (Evans, 2012;Watson and Meah, 2012).”
From "The road to food waste is paved with good intentions": When consumers' goals inhibit the minimization of household food waste (2019) · cites this paper as Evans, 2012
In the citing paper
“Despite their generally negative attitude toward food waste, consumers often pursue goals that can inhibit their intention to reduce food waste.”
From "The road to food waste is paved with good intentions": When consumers' goals inhibit the minimization of household food waste (2019) · cites this paper as Evans, 2012
In the citing paper
“Most studies dealing with food waste show that consumers feel bad about wasting food (Evans, 2012; Watson and Meah, 2012) and are concerned when they throw food away.”
From Understanding the antecedents of consumers' attitudes towards doggy bags in restaurants: Concern about food waste, culture, norms and emotions (2017) · cites this paper as Evans, 2012
In the citing paper
“At the purchase stage consumers often rely on food shopping routines (Maubach, Hoek, & McCreanor, 2009) and admit to regularly buying more food than needed (Evans, 2012) or food products they never use (Wansink, Brasel, & Amjad, 2000), thereby increasing food waste.”
From Domestic food practices: A study of food management behaviors and the role of food preparation planning in reducing waste (2018) · cites this paper as Evans, 2012
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“…patterns primarily as an individual failure to translate environmental concern into action, a practice-theoretical perspective directs attention to how food provisioning is reproduced through competences, material arrangements and con - nections with other practices (Evans, 2011, 2012 ).”
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Metadata
- Authors
- Evans, D.
- Affiliations
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Evans, David
- ORCID
- Evans, David
- Venue
- Sociology
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-10-27
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 41-56
- ISSN
- 0038-0385 (ISSN-L)
- 1469-8684
- OpenAlex
- W2029183606
- Cited by
- 569
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 29 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 32 · 2023: 39 · 2022: 65 · 2021: 55 · 2020: 57 · 2019: 58 · 2018: 59 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 37 · 2015: 25 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 11
- FWCI
- 22.92
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Sociology (publishedVersion)
- Research Explorer (The University of Manchester) (publishedVersion)
- Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (publishedVersion)
- Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food Waste Reduction and Sustainability
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Food, Nutrition, and Cultural Practices
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Waste Management and Disposal › Waste Management and Recycling
- Keywords
- household food waste, throwaway society, household practices, food provisioning, family meals, everyday life, household consumption, material culture, waste generation
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