Predicting environmentally friendly eating out behavior by value-attitude-behavior theory: does being vegetarian reduce food waste?

Growing concerns over the environment and climate has led to increased interest in environmentally friendly eating out, especially with respect to the need to reduce waste in the restaurant and catering sector as well as the adoption of new food norms, such as vegetarianism and veganism. The purpose of this study is to build and test an extended value (perceived value on sustainability)-attitude (attitude, personal norm, and social norm on waste reduction)-behavior (VAB) model to predict sustainable eating out behavior at restaurants. In addition, the moderating effect of being vegetarian or not is tested in relation to the VAB theory. The results reveal that the perceived value on sustainability has a highly significant effect on attitude, personal norms, and social norms on waste reduction. In addition, adoption of environmentally friendly eating is positively influenced, in descending order, by personal norms, social norms, and attitudes towards waste reduction. Furthermore, the eating styles of non-vegetarians and vegetarians moderate the six hypotheses on the VAB model.