Research On The Measurement And Influencing Factors Of Food Waste In College Canteens

With the development of economy,great changes have taken place in the dietary structure of Chinese residents.The changes of food consumption structure have put forward higher demands on food supply.The food security issue under the new situation has been widely valued by the government and society.The traditional concept of ensuring food security by increasing grain yield is limited by the limitation of cultivated land and other resources.Properly addressing food waste at the end of the food supply chain-the consumption stage-is now an effective way to reduce the pressure on food supply.In developed countries,a large number of studies have been carried out on how to reduce food waste.However,there are still a lot of gaps in domestic relevant researches.Food consumption in university canteens is an important part of residents' consumption of external diet.There are a large number of colleges and universities in China,and the number of students in colleges and universities increases year by year.The study of food waste in college canteens is of great significance for scientifically evaluating the current situation of food waste in China and improving the food waste research system.It is of great significance to measure the scale of food waste in college canteens across the country and explore the influencing factors behind the food waste in college canteens in order to reduce food waste,relieve the pressure of food supply and build an environment-friendly and resource-conserving society.Based on the survey of food waste in college canteens nationwide,this paper makes a systematic study on the food waste in college canteens.Firstly,the concept of food waste is defined.Using survey data,descriptive statistical analysis is conducted to measure the food waste of college students in China.The food loss caused by the food waste in college canteens in China was calculated by using the data such as the rate of ripening and propagation and the grain consumption coefficient of animal products,so as to intuitively analyze its impact on the food supply.Secondly,an empirical regression model is built for the occurrence of food waste,food waste rate and food waste amount in college canteens to study the influencing factors behind food waste.Finally,summarize the research conclusions and put forward policy recommendations.The main conclusions of this paper are as follows: first,the amount of food wasted by students in college canteens across the country is huge,and there are obvious differences among the amount of wasted food.The per capita food waste amount in the dining hall of college is 67.73 grams,and the per capita food waste rate is 13.70 percent.The waste of pasta and rice products is higher than that of other food materials,while the waste of beef and mutton is lower than that of other food materials.Vegetable waste rate is the highest among all foods,while beef and mutton are the lowest.Every year,food waste in college student canteens causes over 1 million tons of raw grain loss,about 100,000 tons of fertilizer loss and over 1 billion cubic meters of water waste loss.Secondly,body mass index(BMI),monthly household income,satisfaction with sanitary conditions and satisfaction with product appearance have significant influence on whether or not waste occurs.The student with lower BMI,the higher monthly family income,the higher health satisfaction and the lower product satisfaction is more likely to waste.Gender,body mass index(BMI),family background,campaigns to save food,the number of people eating together,satisfaction with taste,satisfaction with appearance and other seven influencing factors have significant influence on food waste rate(quantity).Students with female gender,lower BMI,from rural families,accept less propaganda about saving food,more people eating together,less satisfaction with taste and less satisfaction with appearance will produce more food waste.This paper puts forward the following Suggestions:(1)College canteens can serve different portions of food to meet the needs of different students;(2)College canteens should use separate plates as much as possible;(3)College canteens should try their best to improve the food quality;(4)Colleges should vigorously carry out diversified publicity activities to save food.