At a time when nearly one-quarter of Canadian households experience some level of food insecurity, reducing avoidable waste should be a national priority. New survey data from the Agri-Food Analytics Lab, in partnership with Caddle and based on responses from 3,000 Canadians, reveal that the vast majority of households continue to throw away food once it passes its use-by date.
Generational Divide in Food Waste
The findings expose a costly and largely preventable problem. What is perhaps most surprising is the generational divide. Generation Z, often criticized for many things, appears to be the least wasteful cohort when it comes to date labels. Only 6.1 per cent say they always throw away food after the use-by date, compared with 15.6 per cent of Generation X. More than one-third of Gen Z respondents say they rarely or never discard food solely because of a date label.
Generation X, meanwhile, emerges as Canada’s most cautious generation. Nearly 40 per cent say they always or often throw away food once the date has passed. At first glance, this may seem counterintuitive. One might expect older Canadians to be more conservative and younger Canadians to be more prone to waste. The opposite appears to be true.
Why Gen Z Is Less Wasteful
The explanation likely lies in a combination of economics, experience, and risk perception. Younger Canadians are facing unprecedented affordability challenges. High housing costs, student debt, stagnant wage growth, and rising food prices have forced many to extract maximum value from every grocery purchase. They are also more likely to have been exposed to sustainability campaigns and food waste education efforts, which often emphasize that many date labels are indicators of quality, not safety.
Why Gen X Is More Cautious
Generation X sees things differently. Many are caring for both children and aging parents. For them, the consequences of serving food that might be unsafe outweigh the cost of replacing it. They also came of age during decades marked by heightened concerns over foodborne illnesses, recalls, and public health warnings. As a result, they may be more inclined to treat date labels as hard safety limits rather than guidelines.
The Role of Date Labels
Canadians often blame grocery stores, food manufacturers, or governments for food waste. Yet much of the waste occurs in our own kitchens, often for one simple reason: we misunderstand food date labels. While only 11 per cent of Canadians say they always discard food after the date has passed, another 20 per cent do so often, and 37 per cent do so sometimes. In other words, nearly seven in 10 Canadians allow date labels to influence their decision to dispose of food.
The reality is that much of this food never needed to be thrown away. Canada’s food labeling system remains poorly understood. Many consumers confuse “best before” dates with food safety indicators.
