ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Waste Management in Agroecosystems
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1662557
Food upcycling focusing on private households: the potential of food upcycling in rural areas
Provisionally accepted
- Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany
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Given the increasing importance of sustainability and the high levels of food waste, this descriptive, quantitative study explored food upcycling as a potential strategy to reduce waste, focusing on rural households in Germany. A survey of 228 participants (response rate of 66 %) examined the acceptance of food upcycling practices for fruits and vegetables in different age groups. While awareness of food waste is high, practical engagement with food upcycling remains limited. Notably, 51% of respondents was unfamiliar with the term "food upcycling," although some of them may already be unknowingly apply this practice. Only 6 % reported frequent upcycling of fruits and vegetables, while 59 % never do so. Generational trends suggest that older consumers (baby boomers and the post-war generation) are more likely to engage in food upcycling and show greater willingness to adopt and promote it. Younger generations (Gen Z and Gen Y), despite higher familiarity with the term, exhibit more neutral behavior and lower commitment. The results highlight a need for targeted initiatives to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice, especially in rural areas. Future research should include urban comparisons and a greater focus on inter-generational differences to encourage and support broader adoption of sustainable practices like food upcycling.
Keywords: Food waste, Germany, Rural households, consumer, generational trends, Post-war generation
Received: 09 Jul 2025; Accepted: 25 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Schulte, Stelloh, Schleyerbach and Bornkessel. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Henning Schulte, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany
Sabine Bornkessel, Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences, Osnabrück, Germany
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