The Food Loss and Waste Paradox
According to the most recent estimates, the world’s population will have grown to approximately ten billion by 2050, which means that, if present trends persist, world food production will need to increase from current levels, putting pressure on the already limited natural resources. Approximately one third of global food production is currently lost or wasted along the food supply chain, which is paradoxical given that theoretically this wasted food could feed the 821 million people suffering from hunger four times over (BCFN 2012, 2013; FAO 2013). Along with the competition for natural resources between humans, animals and cars, as well as the co-existence of hunger and over-consumption of food, food loss and waste represent one of the food paradoxes identified by the Barilla Foundation since 2012 (BCFN 2013).
Among the more perishable foods we waste the most, FAO estimates that around 45% of fruit and vegetables, 35% of fish, 20% of meat and dairy products are lost along the entire supply chain (Gustavvson et al., 2011).
If we look at the causes, food loss – i.e. the decrease in edible quantities of food in the early stages of the supply chain, from field to industrial processing – is more common in developing countries for economic/structural reasons. In fact, in these countries there is often a lack, or inefficiency, of infrastructure and storage facilities allowing the food produced to be managed, preserved and transported to the processing plants or to the points of sale. On the other hand, food waste – i.e. waste that happens at distribution and consumer level – is typical of western countries and occurs mainly for behavioral reasons. In the EU, for example, 70% of food waste occurs in the home and in the food service and retail sectors, with the production and processing sectors contributing the remaining 30% (FUSIONS, 2016).
As individuals, we often behave inappropriately or in ways that result in us throwing away food. Up to 30% of the food we buy is estimated to end up in the garbage can. At distribution level, waste mainly occurs due to incorrect management of the cold chain, stock rotation problems, or the high aesthetic standards applied to products (Partfitt et al., BCFN, 2012).
Individuals waste food for a series of complex and multifaceted reasons framed by the “household food waste journey model”, which highlights the incorrect behaviors and factors that drive wasteful behavior during the food management process, from planning the shopping to disposing of waste, considering psychosocial, situational, demographic and socio-economic variables (Principato, 2018). Food waste reduction is an integral part of a sustainable and healthy diet and is currently addressed through specific interventions, such as the EU-funded Su-Eatable Life project aimed at engaging students and employees in university and company canteens (Antonelli et al., 2019).
The impacts of waste are devastating. The economic impact alone amounts to $2.6 trillion a year globally (FAO, 2014). Given the magnitude of the phenomenon, over the past few years both institutions and the public-private sector have been moving forward with commitment, carrying out policies and initiatives to tackle waste. In the next paragraph we will discuss some of the projects implemented in Europe (EIU, BCFN, 2018).
European action against food waste: a supranational and urban perspective
An overview of EU policies
The unfair distribution of food in the supply chain does not only affect countries in the Global South. In 2018, EUROSTAT calculated that more than 36 million people cannot afford a good quality meal (including meat, chicken, fish or vegetarian equivalent) every two days in the EU (EUROSTAT). This is one of the reasons why, over the last decade, EU institutions have been working actively to promote a more sustainable vision of the food supply chain, in line with the targets set in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, a series of initiatives to fight food loss and waste have been promoted, with the aim of identifying the root causes behind it, and addressing the regulatory, economic and cultural obstacles that contribute to generating it. The Food Sustainability Index reveals interesting data on food loss and waste in the EU. On the one hand, it shows that every EU citizen generates around 60 kg of food waste per year on average, with the highest level recorded in Belgium (87 kg/per capita) and the lowest in Cyprus (36 kg/per capita). On the other hand, the Index highlights that, on average, 3% of total food production is lost, with the lowest levels recorded in Finland (less than 1%) and the highest ones in Slovenia (11%). Overall, the EU-funded FUSIONS project estimated that over 20% of the food produced in the EU was wasted (88 million tons per year), with an economic cost of 143 billion euros, accounting for 6% of total EU greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In this context the sectors contributing the most to food loss and waste generation are households (53%) followed by processing (19%), the retail sector (17%) and finally production (11%) (Stenmark et al., 2016).
At regulatory level, since Resolution 2175/2011 was adopted by the European Parliament in 2012, many institutional players (i.e. the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Court of Auditors) have worked to set up a clear legislative framework to tackle food loss and waste (Ferrando and Mansuy, 2018). The process has been long and complicated as the topic touches upon several policies, ranging from waste management to food safety and information, research and innovation, environment, agriculture, education and social policy (European Parliament, 2017). Moreover, it involves a plethora of actors, including producers, processors, retailers and consumers. Against this backdrop, the first aim of the EU’s action was to reduce the current regulatory gaps, to agree on a waste hierarchy (European Union 2018), to try to clarify date marking, [1] to provide guidelines for food donations and finally to identify targets for food waste reduction.
This work was part of a broader effort to approve a Circular Economy Package that eventually became Law in 2018 (European Union, 2018). The new legislation introduced new obligations for Member States, with the aim of reducing food waste generation at each stage in the food supply chain (i.e. primary production, processing/manufacturing, retail/other food distribution, restaurants and food services, households). In this context, the so-called Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste, established in 2016, brought together several actors from different backgrounds but also created the conditions for all members to define measures to redistribute surplus food, agree on a common definition of food losses and waste and share best practices. Such an approach allowed the Commission to achieve at least three main goals in the fight against food waste. First, it proposed a common methodology for measurement (European Commission, 2019), second, it established precise guidelines to facilitate food donation (European Commission, 2017) and third, it issued guidelines for the feed use of food no longer intended for human consumption (European Commission, 2018). Finally, in 2019 the Platform launched a series of recommendations for the future, targeting all actors operating at various stages of the food supply chain and suggesting some areas of implementation by 2030 (EU Platform on Food Losses and Waste). The establishment of a common methodology will be a crucial step, as it will allow Member States to provide the first new data on food waste levels by mid-2022. In this sense, as stated in the new Directive 2018/851 on waste, this data will make it possible to publish a first EU-wide report on food loss and waste across EU members and may become a driver to introduce legally binding targets to halve food loss and waste from farm to fork by 2030, in line with SDG 12 (European Union, 2018).
The role of cities in tackling food waste
In recent years, EU cities have come to the fore as new crucial actors in the promotion of more circular food supply chains. Several mayors have put the fight against food waste at the top of their agenda. Figure 3 provides a map of some of the most relevant initiatives taken by a selection of 14 cities spread across 10 EU countries in the field of food loss and waste reduction.
The city of Milan is working on this at local level, for instance by introducing fiscal incentives (tax deductions) for food businesses (supermarkets, restaurants, canteens, producers etc.) that donate their food to charities, and internationally, for instance through the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP), as well as other groupings such as EUROCITIES and C40. In Belgium, Ghent in 2017 launched an innovative multi-stakeholder platform called “Foodsavers” with the aim of collecting surpluses from supermarkets and producers and donating them to charities. After the first 10 months of operation, 300 tons of food (with fruits and vegetables accounting for more than three thirds) were collected, involving 24 retailers, one wholesale market, two retail distribution centers, one organic farm and one company supplying food products. In addition, “Foodsavers” brought together 58 local charity organizations and social restaurants in distribution activities to reach almost 19,000 citizens in need. This led to an overall reduction in CO2 of 762 tons as well as providing jobs for 19 long-term unemployed people (FAO and MUFPP, 2018). Finally, Riga has turned the Getlini waste landfill into a more innovative and environmentally-friendly waste management site. The plant has become one of the biggest producers of green energy in Latvia (31 to 33 GWh annually), with the heat produced as a result of energy generation (20 GWh in 2015) used to heat greenhouses and provide up to 400 tons of off-season organically-produced tomatoes and cucumbers to the citizens of Riga, distributed through the primary supermarket chains (FAO and MUFPP, 2018). The economic and social impacts of this project have been huge, as the landfill has turned into of the biggest source of jobs in the suburbs, with almost 17% of employees coming from the neighboring district.
References
Antonelli M., Castaldi S., Dembska K., Magnani A., Varotto A., Petersson T., Bouwman L., Valentini R. (2019), Reducing carbon emissions and water footprints through sustainable diet promotion in university and company’s canteens: the SU-EATABLE Life project. Conference paper presented at the “Sustainable food systems = sustainable diets”, Conference in Rome, Italy, Oct 11, 2019.
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End notes
[1] Citizens tend not to know the difference between “use by” and “best before” date. “Use by” date indicates the date until which food can be eaten, hence it is an indicator of safety. “Best before” date refers instead to the quality of food, as it shows that food can still be eaten, though it may lose flavour and texture.