“Food or Waste?”: Communication and Food Waste Management in Thai Society

Abstract

        This qualitative research analyzes (1) the development and evolving awareness of food waste management (FWM) in Thai society; (2) factors raising public awareness of FWM today; and (3) FWM practice, negotiation, and resistance strategy among the Thai middle class. Data was gathered by historical contextual analysis; content analysis of the television program Kin Yoo Kue (Eat Am Are); Scholars of Sustenance Foundation media analysis; and in-depth interviews with six selected household participants.

        Results were that food waste communication management may be categorized into five historical eras: (1) Pre-Rama V: a self-sufficient Thai societal food production system had no significant food waste issues at any stage of the food cycle; (2) Rama V to the pre-1932 political transition: food trading grew through fresh markets, with waste still efficiently managed by market mechanisms enabled by agricultural produce sale and distribution; (3) nation-building : production methods in the nascent industrial food production system, but waste was not yet a prominent issue; (4) First National Economic Development Plan: Thai economic expansion into full-fledged private capitalism and mass media promoted limitless consumerism, starting the food waste problem; (5) food security and sustainability: post-1997, Thai society encountered growing concerns over food waste and environmental degradation, emphasizing sustainability, environmental awareness, and responsible resource use. Past societal FWM consciousness was based on ardent beliefs and respect for food that enabled food surplus management without creating problems.

        Today food waste issues are embedded in industrialized food production and consumption systems, driven by capitalist market mechanisms generating waste at every stage: production, distribution, preparation, consumption, and disposal. Knowledge and proper management approaches remain lacking. Additional factors boosting public awareness include: sustainable development goals (SDGs), food security, and international and domestic policies impacting concrete practice in food waste management.

        Food waste is not merely detritus awaiting disposal, but has other related dimensions, including: wisdom, cultural, social, economic, producer and consumer, and scientific dimensions as well as health, environmental, and food security. Additionally, FWM formats change according to social context, requiring integration of diverse forms of management capital: cultural, knowledge, communication, economic, social, and symbolic. Factors leading to practical FWM implementation by the Thai middle class consisted of: consciousness, integrating old and new knowledge sets, and practical simultaneous choices depending on availability.