We are developing a transnational research project based on an integrated analysis of household food practices, focusing on interactions between the prevention of avoidable food waste and the sorting and valorization of household food waste, including both avoidable and unavoidable fractions (e.g. leftovers, spoiled food, inedible residues).
Public authorities increasingly promote the separate collection and valorization of household food waste and frame sorting behaviours as environmentally desirable. Depending on how these practices are framed, incentivised and perceived, and on individual and contextual factors, this may unintentionally reduce the importance households assign to the prevention of avoidable food waste. In some cases, the availability of sorting infrastructures may facilitate decisions whereby edible food shifts to waste, as valorized waste is perceived as involving a lower loss than non-valorized waste.
The project also examines how sustainable household food practices and healthy diets -particularly those characterized by high fruit and vegetable consumption - interact in everyday decisions. While dietary recommendations encourage increased consumption of fresh foods, often characterized by limited shelf life, this may, depending on skills, habits, preferences, equipment and time constraints, lead to higher levels of avoidable food waste, alongside larger amounts of unavoidable food residues to be sorted and valorized.
A core focus lies on interactions between avoidable food waste prevention and food waste sorting practices, including potential negative interactions (e.g. moral licensing effects) and positive dynamics whereby sorting enhances awareness, behavioural coherence and commitment to prevention. The project explores whether and how households establish hierarchies of food-related practices, distinguishing between the perceived severity of avoidable food waste and the non-valorization of food waste.
The consortium will combine quantitative surveys, behavioural and field experiments, and participatory approaches across several European contexts. Work packages will address: (i) households’ hierarchies of food-related practices; (ii) interactions between food waste prevention, sorting, nutrition and food safety perceptions; (iii) the role of infrastructures, retail environments and nudging strategies; and (iv) modelling household decision-making to explore food system transition pathways.
We invite partners from different European countries with expertise in consumer behaviour, behavioural economics, psychology, sociology, social marketing, nutrition, food safety, modelling or sustainability transitions to join us. Proposal submission could take place this year or next year, depending on contributors’ motivation and availability.

INRAE (National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, France) is a major public research institute working for the coherent and sustainable development of agriculture, food and the environment.