ABSTRACT
The study of food waste has garnered increased attention by scholars, practitioners, commercial, and non-governmental organizations in recent years. Peer-reviewed journal articles on household food waste saw a dramatic increase beginning near the end of the last decade. Yet the literature still lacks shared measures to quantify household food waste. This chapter begins by providing an introduction to the conceptual debates of what is meant by ‘food waste’. I then discuss efforts to develop a global standard for food waste measurement, several alternative measures, and how these reflect different values. The chapter then provides a summary of two common methods (i.e., audits and surveys), and several emerging quantitative methods including the use of radio frequency ID cards and photo-coding methods. As researchers and practitioners prepare to fill the rising demand for food waste studies, an understanding of the various conceptualizations of food waste and the available quantitative methods can help guide study-design decisions.
