Toward a future without packaging: How bulk and the cybernetic perspective can transform the food industry

The food sector offers significant opportunities for waste reduction through zero waste (ZW) practices. However, the complexity of these practices hinders their implementation. This study aims to understand how individual, organizational, and public policy may be developed to better manage the challenges of sustainable ZW implementation by analyzing bulk offering within the Canadian food sector. It adopts a qualitatively driven mixed methods approach, combining qualitative data from 28 participants representing 26 companies within the supply chain, with quantitative data from a consumer survey (N = 2002), analyzed descriptively to support and triangulate the qualitative insights. The originality of this approach resides in its integration and systemic analysis of these data through the lens of Stafford Beer's organizational cybernetics and the Viable System Model. This perspective allows for a diagnosis of the dynamics underlying the system of bulk offering, revealing fundamental tensions and unexpected divergences between actors. The results reveal a crucial systemic divergence between consumers' perceptions (assigning responsibility primarily to producers and retailers) and internal actors' engagement (the analysis indicating that packaging distributors play a driving role). Although a majority of consumers (88%) are favorable to bulk and a notable proportion (50%) is ready to adopt the practice, persistent barriers (hygiene 26%, effort 25%) limit its implementation. These discordances, revealed by our integrated analysis, underline the complexity of the bulk offer system, as well as the need for targeted collaborations between all actors and effective public policy that accounts for consumers' purchasing behaviors to reduce barriers (hygiene, practicality, and effort).