Case 9: The Food Waste Crisis: Why Do Developing Countries Continue to Fail?

The world is in a food crisis exacerbated by climate change, prolonged pandemic and war. There is an urgent need to develop a secure, sustainable and resilient food system. An actionable yet underutilised effort to address food insecurity involves managing food waste. While developing countries are more likely to experience a higher food waste due to growing population, lack of infrastructure and a materialistic culture, they fall short in their effort to lower food waste compared to the industrialised nations. Socio-economic, cultural and political landscapes of emerging economies differ from their industrialised counterparts, resulting in unique context-specific problems that hinder efforts to manage food waste effectively. Within the understanding of the dominant social paradigm, this case study sets out to outline and categorise key factors that may hinder efforts to effectively manage food waste in Malaysia, an emerging economy in Southeast Asia. The aim is to promote potential interventions at macro and micro levels, supporting key stakeholders to design policies and behavioural interventions to address food waste.