Nutritional condition and nutrient intake predict moral condemnation of food wasting

Food Quality and Preference. 2024. Vol. 114. Article 105087.

Misiak M., Butovskaya M., Sorokowski P.

People believe that food wasting behaviour is immoral. This judgment could be partially driven by increasing
awareness of global environmental threats associated with the current scale of food waste. Recent research indicates
that moral judgments of food wasting behaviour may also reflect higher levels of food insecurity—
potentially serving an adaptive role in harsh environments. In our research, we tested this hypothesis at
both the population and individual levels. The study was conducted among individuals from subsistenceeconomy
populations: the Hadza hunter-gatherers (n = 72) and the Datoga pastoralists (n = 70), where levels
of food insecurity are higher than in industrialised populations. To infer about food insecurity at the individual
level, we analysed body composition, muscle strength, and nutrient intake. We found that individuals who had
lower levels of muscle strength and those who consumed less calorie-dense foods judged food wasting behaviour
as more immoral. These findings show that food wasting moral judgments reflect the short-term nutritional
condition and current nutrient intake. We also found that individuals with greater muscle mass—likely shaped by
activities associated with food provisioning—judged food-wasting behaviour as more immoral. The study supports
the idea that food wasting moral judgments are shaped by food insecurity and points to some novel social
factors that may also influence these judgments.

Keywords: morality, Datoga, Hadza, Food wasting