Afronline – The Voice Of Africa

Food production must clearly increase significantly to meet the future demands of an increasing and more affluent world population. Considering the number of people starving worldwide – 925 million in 2010 – and the growing population – 9 billion people by 2050 – the subject of food losses and waste has become one of utmost concern. The next Brussels Development Briefing, co-organised by CTA on 26 June, will address the concerns revolving around global hunger, food security, sustainability and waste recovery.

Food waste is also a critical issue due to its links to agriculture, food security, trade, energy and environment and the complex causes, effects, actors involved and sectors affected. The exact causes of food losses and waste vary in low-income, medium- and high-income countries and largely depend on the specific conditions and local situation in each country.

In this context, it is necessary to increase awareness of the economic, social and environmental challenges related to food losses and waste, and to emphasize the importance of respecting food through responsible consumer behavior and changes in attitudes to food.

‘Postharvest loss’ (PHL) refers to the measurable quantitative and qualitative food loss in the postharvest system and comprises interconnected activities from the time of harvest to crop processing, marketing and food preparation, up until the final decision by the consumer to eat or discard the food. The term ‘food loss’ can be defined as any reduction in food available for human consumption taking place in the food chain from the moment of harvest until the moment of consumption. At later stages of the food supply chain, the term ‘food waste’ is applied and generally relates to behavioral issues and a deliberate discarding of edible food.

The Scale of Food Waste

Estimates relating to the scale of global food waste vary, yet there is consensus that waste is substantial. Today, the volume of food produced globally is more than sufficient to feed the population, but due to the significant amounts of food around the world that is lost or wasted after harvesting – approximately one-third of food produced (1.3 billion tonnes per year) – large amounts of the resources used to produce food are used in vain. Overall, on a per-capita basis, much more food is wasted in industrialized countries than in developing countries.

It is estimated that the per capita food waste by consumers in Europe and North-America is 95 – 115 kg/year. In the European Union, the total food loss is estimated at 89 million tonnes per year, with households (43%) and the food industry (39%) taking the largest share of food loss. Households in the United Kingdom waste an estimated 6.7 million tonnes of food every year, around one third of the 21.7 million tonnes purchased. This means that approximately 32% of all food purchased per year is not eaten.

Most of the food waste (4.1 million tonnes or 61%) is avoidable and could be eaten if it were better managed.12 In the US, 30% of all food, worth US$48.30 billion (EUR32.5 billion), is thrown away each year. It is estimated that about half of the water used to produce this food also goes to waste. Losses at the farm level are probably about 15-35%, depending on the industry. The retail sector has comparatively high rates of loss of about 26%. Overall, losses amount to around US$90 billion – US$100 billion a year.13 In the Netherlands alone, €2 billion worth of food and food ingredients is wasted annually in the food chain; during harvesting or processing, upon storage, and in retail distribution.

Continue Reading on Brussels Development Briefing’s website

This article is published in the framework of an editorial project supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in the framework of Brussels Development Briefings (http://bruxellesbriefings.net )