How Awe Might Be Awesome: The Role of Awe in Consumers’ Food Consumption and Perceptions of Misshapen Produce

Consumers face numerous food choices that impact the wellbeing of themselves, the environment, and society. One such issue which is starting to receive greater attention is that of food waste. Nearly one-third of food produced is wasted globally in developed countries (Loebnitz et al 2015). Thus, understanding how consumer choices and perceptions contribute to food waste and identifying interventions that reduce waste have numerous benefits. In this research, we explore the role of awe in consumers’ food consumption. Awe is a “moral, spiritual, and aesthetic” emotion (Keltner and Haidt 2003, p.297) that has been found to play a role in consumers’ prosocial behavior (Piff et al 2015). Further, it has a number of features that suggest it may influence consumer food choices relevant to food waste. Two factors that contribute to food waste are leftovers (Dewey 2017), particularly of vices which are more likely than virtues to be wasted (Kim and Kim 2016), and misshapen produce (Loebnitz et al 2015). In regards to leftovers, engaging in virtue food consumption is regarded as normal (Rook 1987) whereas engaging in vices elicits guilt (Ramanathan and Williams 2007). Recent research suggests that since consumers feel guiltier when they consume vices, they are more likely to leave leftover vices than leftover virtues (Kim and Kim 2016) which contributes to food waste. Related to misshapen produce, each year, 30-40% of produce is discarded, regardless of whether it is healthy to eat (USDA 2016). Thus, this situation also contributes to food waste (Loebnitz et al 2015).