Food waste/surplus food | TableDebates

USDA, Fresh food in garbage can to illustrate waste, Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

What is food loss and food waste?

Around one third of the weight of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, and around a third of crop calories are lost to the food system during livestock production. Meanwhile, the global food system causes significant environmental impacts and around 800 million people are undernourished. This building block examines the following aspects of food loss and waste: mainstream definitions and alternative understandings, global statistics, and ‘hierarchies’ for prevention and treatment. Last update: 25 March, 2019 https://www.doi.org/10.56661/f98ed9f6

An improved picture of the UK diet

This report from WRAP and Valpak combines data sets on food purchase and food waste to derive a more up-to-date picture of UK food consumption patterns.

Sustainability in the UK food service sector

This report from the UK’s Sustainable Restaurant Association reviews the current state of sustainability in the UK food service sector. The three main challenges it identifies are reducing the amount of meat on menus, reducing food waste, and using less single-use plastic packaging.

Circularity in agricultural production

This booklet, by FCRN member Imke de Boer, sets out the scientific basis for the 2018 Mansholt lecture by Louise Fresco, President of the Wageningen University & Research Executive Board. The lecture discussed how the concept of circularity can be applied to agricultural production.

Cities and circular economy for food

This report from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation outlines three ways in which cities can promote a circular food economy: source food grown regeneratively and (when appropriate) locally; reduce waste and use by-products; and design and market healthier food.

Resources and waste strategy for England

The UK government has set out a waste and resources strategy for England, aiming to eliminate all avoidable waste by 2050 and promote a circular economy. Proposed measures include taxing plastic that contains less than 30% recycled material and providing food waste collection to all householders and relevant businesses.

Fixing food 2018 - Best practices towards the SDGs

In this report, the Barilla Centre for Food & Nutrition uses findings from the Food Sustainability Index to investigate best practices in food sustainability, focusing on sustainable agriculture, nutritional challenges, and food loss and waste.

Saving food - book on food waste

This book, edited by Charis Galanakis, describes many different aspects of saving food and food security throughout the supply chain, including raising awareness, redistribution, policy, food conservation, cold chain, supply chain management, and waste reduction and recovery.

Image: liz west, cranberries, Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

News and resources

US farmers agree to destroy a quarter of cranberry crop

This piece in the New Food Economy explores why the US cranberry industry has collectively agreed to destroy one quarter of its harvest, but will not ask any farmers to scale back production. A surplus of cranberries on the market means that prices are being driven below the cost of production. The agreement to destroy a portion of the harvest means that prices will rise again. Unlike other industries, which are regulated by antitrust laws, farmers are allowed to make collective agreements such as this under the Capper–Volstead Act.