Future of Food: Journal on Food

Household food wastage in Albania: causes, extent and implications

Rovena Preka
Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), Department for Sustainability, Resources Valorisation Lab., Bologna, Italy
Sinisa Berjan
Faculty of Agriculture, University of East Sarajevo, East Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Roberto Capone
Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Development department; International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in Bari (CIHEAM-Bari), Valenzano (Bari), Italy
Hamid El Bilali
Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Development department; International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in Bari (CIHEAM-Bari), Valenzano (Bari), Italy and Centre for Development Research, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria
Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari
Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University
Philipp Debs
Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Development department; International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in Bari (CIHEAM-Bari), Valenzano (Bari), Italy
Francesco Bottalico
Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Rural Development department; International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies in Bari (CIHEAM-Bari), Valenzano (Bari), Italy and Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy
Vesna Mrdalj
Department for Agricultural Economics and Rural Development, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Banja Luka, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Food waste (FW) is a very serious issue not only in ethical and social terms, but also given its economic and environmental impacts (cf. resource wastage and depletion). Recent data show that more than half of food wastage in the European Union is generated in households. FW is unfortunately not well addressed in Albania. For this reason, an exploratory online survey was carried out in the period August–November 2016 with 185 Albanians to analyse the causes, extent and implications of household food wastage in Albania. Most of the respondents have a high education level, which might have affected the survey’s outcomes. Nevertheless, results showed that awareness about negative impacts of FW is still low. Alongside, although FW seems high, few public initiatives and campaigns are put in place to tackle the issue. Therefore, it’s time to move towards a comprehensive strategy that raises awareness on FW negative impacts in the Albanian society and increases knowledge on food purchase management, consumption habits and related food storage.

Keywords : food waste ,consumer behavior ,economic loss ,food labeling .

Myanmar High School Students’ Perceptions of College and International Readiness in Western Society

Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
Mark Speckien
Louisiana Tech University
International students are more likely to experience mental health issues and increased stress. Mental health is often surrounded by negative societal stigmas that act as barriers to seeking support and tend to lead to greater mental health concerns. International students tend to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers rather than seeking out counseling services. However, this study shows that LGBTQIA+ international students were less likely to seek socioemotional support from other international student peers due to fear of their sexual orientation being discovered and their families finding out about their identity. This study examines how LGBTQIA+ international students talk about their experiences on and off campus in relations to their socioemotional well-being. Specifically, this study sought to better understand the complexities of LGBTQIA+ students’ identities, and the challenges they faced in terms of their socioemotional well-being. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
Keywords : international students, socioemotional well-being, mental health, identity development, intersectionality, LGBTQIA