<aside> 💡 These are examples of narrative and mindset shifts that storytellers can explore to nudge human behavior in the direction of climate action.

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• The idea of stigmatizing wasting food in the same way that smoking was stigmatized in the past.

“Imagine seeing someone walk down the street and toss half a sandwich on the ground. You’d probably glare at them, or at least roll your eyes. Now imagine seeing that same person walk down the street and toss that half a sandwich in the trash. In all likelihood, you wouldn’t even blink.

The lesson: Littering is socially unacceptable. Wasting food is not.”

Gunders, D. (2021, September, 21). Reshaping Consumer Environments to Promote Waste Reduction. Retrieved from URL.

So how do we just shift our value set around wasting food?

• How do we remind the eater that we’re part of a finite, interdependent system? (to inspire dedication to reducing over-consumption, food waste, growing food insecurity/need to feed & provide nutrition to a growing world)
• Strategies for having conversations about wasteful behavior without being negative or reinforcing guilt and shame. The importance of messaging in sustainability marketing, emphasizing the need to focus on positive behavior rather than negative behavior. To avoid adding to people's shame and guilt, sustainability messaging should incorporate joy and humor.
• The importance of shifting the narrative to focus on positive possibilities, such as getting creative with recipes and sharing them with friends.
  • Inspire (vs. scare) the eater
• Reframing the role of a consumer in different roles can be helpful in reducing wasteful behavior:
  • producer / grower >> how might people grow their own food?
  • creator / chef >> how might people get creative with their food?
  • advocate / teacher >> how might people educate others about food?
  • observer / caretaker >> how might people better monitor / care for the food in their homes?
• The stigmatization of giving food away, how we can de-stigmatize this, and how to increase awareness of the value of food. While donating food to shelters and food banks is widely accepted, there is still stigma around donating and accepting food to and from neighbors.