Is There a Food Waste Kuznets Curve? Some Evidence from China, Romania and Switzerland

Abstract

The environmental Kuznets curve is defined as the proposition that pollution increases in the early stages of economic development and decreases in advanced economies. It could be verified for many environmental parameters and is based on concepts that make it likely that it could also be applied to the occurrence of food waste in households. Within the frame of a comparative case study, a standardised survey on actual food waste behaviour in 1,510 Chinese, Romanian and Swiss households explore whether rich countries reduce their per capita food waste as compared to middle-income countries. Young people throw away more food than older ones, particularly in Switzerland, which appears to be in contradiction to the Kuznets curve. However, it can be shown that Romanian and Chinese consumers declare more food waste than consumers in Switzerland and that the differences between the countries can be explained by differences in attitudes and behaviour. This is an indicator that the concept of the Kuznets curve can be applied to the problem of food waste.