Yesterday, Thursday September 29th 2022, marked the third International Food Waste and Food Loss Awareness Day. The concepts of Food Waste and Food Loss are essential and have become increasingly important: food loss and food waste, which take place throughout the supply chain from production and at the point of consumption and post-consumption, respectively, cause great environmental and economic damage, not to mention the ethical issues concerning this phenomenon. Data from Feedback EU's latest report are alarming: in 2012 the European Union, net of 138 million tons of imported agricultural products, threw away about 153.5 million tons of food, an amount equal to a loss of 143 billion euros and contributing 6 percent of the total CO2 produced in Europe.
43 organizations belonging to 20 EU countries, including Zero Waste Europe and Feedback EU but also platforms against food waste such as Too Good to Go and OLIO, have made an appeal to the European institutions calling for a 50% reduction in food waste from field to table by 2030. As difficult as this target seems, it is fundamental to set this ambitious target in order to achieve the UN's stated sustainable development goal on responsible consumption and production (SDG* 12) and in particular the target on food waste (Target 12.3).
It is essential to place the focus on farms, food processors and food services. If efforts to reach the target were limited solely to covering food waste generated at the consumption and post-consumption stage, it would in fact exclude between 48-76% of total food waste, making it impossible to achieve the target.
In addition, Andrea Segrè, professor of International Agricultural Policy at the University of Bologna and Scientific Director of Waste Watcher International, emphasizes about the strong link between consumption habits, food waste and healthy and sustainable diets. It is precisely this point that is a key aspect of the International Food Waste and Food Loss Awareness Day: changing the eating habits of EU citizens can in fact greatly reduce food waste, but it can also have a positive impact on the production chain by influencing producers' supply.
For more:
Giornata sprechi alimentari: “L’Europa spreca più cibo di quanto ne importa” (Economiacircolare.com)
Spreco alimentare, italiani sempre più consapevoli ma solo il 43% ne conosce l’entità (Ecodallecittà.it)
Read also:
An eye on food waste in 2022
MILAN URBAN FOOD POLICY PACT COUNTERING FOOD WASTE
Check out our page with numerous apps and sites fighting against food waste!
Alessio Haberstumpf
*Sustainable Development Goal