Food Loss & Waste along the Value Chain
Note: Food loss & waste along the agri-food value chain impacts costs, valuable resources, food security, and sustainability.
Food Loss
The definition of food loss is the decrease in edible food from decisions and actions of post harvest food suppliers. And this excludes retail, food service providers and consumers.
An example of pre-harvest food supplies is an orchard being impacted by extreme winds. And the wind damage results in economic losses and disruptions to food supply chains.
So, an example is extreme wind just prior to fruit -harvesting. And as a result, the damaged fruit is discarded.
Further, a significant amount of post-harvest food supplies can be lost or wasted.
Specifically, the United Nations Food & Agriculture organization (FAO) estimates that one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. Please also see the World Resources Institute’s report.
However, various initiatives are underway to reduce food waste and loss.
Importantly, implementing Circular Economy principles may help.
We need to reduce global food loss and waste.
In summary, more needs to be done!
Food Waste
The definition of food waste is the waste of edible food from decisions and actions at the retail, food service provider or consumer stage.
According to the United Nations, food systems account for some 35% of food wasted.
And quantities of waste at the retail, food service provider or consumer stage are concerning.
Examples include discarding a bag of apples when only one apple is bruised or appears non-optimal in form.
And a major problem is not fully understanding best before dates versus expiry dates.
Plus, additional examples include discarding food after overfilling our plates.
In review, more needs to be done to reduce food waste. Please refer to Education.
- Last Modified: May 17, 2024