Handling Food as a Sphere of (Non)Ethical Consumption in Russia

Abstract

In the contemporary world, food waste at the consumer (household) level poses a large-scale environmental, economic, social, and ethical problem. Its alleviation aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Goal 12.3). Based on data from three representative surveys in Russia (2020, 2022, and 2024; N = 2,000 respondents each), the paper examines changes in the level of consumer engagement in both throwing food away and various food rescue practices. Since preventing food waste accumulation is considered the most effective way of combating this problem, the paper explores consumer behavior at various stages of (non)ethical handling of foodstuffs (purchasing, usage, and disposal) from this perspective. Four types of consumers have been described (“consistently ethical”, “inconsistently ethical”, “stable non-throwers away”, and “consistent throwers away”) and heterogeneity of both throwers and non-throwers away have been revealed. It has been shown that inconsistent engagement in ethical consumption at different stages can either weaken the positive contribution of this phenomenon to the promotion of sustainable development goals (erosion of ethical consumers with “inconsistently ethical” ones) or replenish (and even reinforce it) it owing to the “catching up” incorporation of “stable non-throwers away” at a later stage. Links between the likelihood of joining different consumer groups and a number of value-action, socio-demographic, and status characteristics—as well as engagement in various food-saving practices—have been evaluated using regression analysis. A conclusion has been justified concerning the peripheral role of careful food handling within the family of ethical consumption practices. It also confirms that enhancing its role is a multifaceted goal requiring joint efforts by actors at various levels and types to create conditions that facilitate consumer trade-offs between personal benefits (health, enjoying food) and significant social identities, on one hand, and engagement in reducing food waste, on the other.