Hunger is unfortunately an accelerating crisis too, with 193 million people across 53 countries facing food insecurity in 2021, up nearly 40 million from the previous year. \u00a0The young are especially vulnerable, with 20% of deaths among under-5s due to malnutrition.\u00a0 Hunger is also one of the world\u2019s most vivid manifestations of inequality, with almost three-quarters of people in food crisis living within just 10 countries: Sudan, South Sudan, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Nigeria.<\/p>\n
As one might expect, one of the biggest causes of acute hunger is a combination of harsh climates and underdeveloped and inefficient local agricultural capabilities relative to the population, and population growth itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What is less expected, however, is that one of the other main causes is wastage: around one-third of the world\u2019s food is squandered annually through wastage or loss.<\/p>\n
One-third<\/em>. \u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just that we aren\u2019t producing enough food, it\u2019s that a significant amount of the food we produce is simply wasted, while hundreds of millions of people go hungry.<\/p>\n This erosion of food volume occurs at each stage of the food chain, to differing degrees. \u00a0By some estimates[2]<\/a>:<\/p>\n So, what\u2019s causing this waste? And more importantly, how do we stop it?<\/p>\n Having accepted the magnitude of the crisis, we can begin to examine exactly how food loss adds to the growing environmental emergency, and how we can begin to mitigate such terrible wastage.<\/p>\n Food doesn\u2019t just magically appear on our plates, so when we \u2018waste food\u2019 we sacrifice more than just its nutritional value. \u00a0We also render wasteful all the energy, human labor, land, water and fertilizers that went into its production.<\/p>\n Further, as discarded foodstuffs decompose, they add to the global tally of greenhouse gases. \u00a0The UN has calculated the food sector cumulatively accounts for 30% of the planet\u2019s total energy consumption and produces more than one-fifth of toxic emissions[6]<\/a>. \u00a0With scientific modelling suggesting several degrees of global warming by the end of the century[7]<\/a>, it is imperative we reverse our gross wastefulness.<\/p>\n The UN\u2019s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO<\/a>) aims to hasten this journey. It held its third annual International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste<\/a> on September 29, 2022.<\/p>\n The initiative aims to encourage all public and private food producers, as well as consumers, to support food security and nutrition<\/a>. \u00a0The FAO argues this is best accomplished not<\/em> by conspiring to grow yet more food, which is a resource-hungry activity, but rather by cutting waste along production and supply chains.<\/p>\n So, where do we start?<\/p>\n Perhaps we begin with climate-smart food technologies<\/a> and infrastructure \u2013 the types of innovations that can prevent food going bad before reaching markets, or reduce food system emissions.<\/p>\n Cheaper, more efficient refrigeration techniques could help establish more \u2018cold corridors\u2019, seamlessly linking harvest regions with marketplaces to avoid unnecessary spoilage.<\/p>\n Solar-powered walk-in cool rooms could help farmers in rural areas (often blighted by poor grid connectivity) adopt the food preservation strategies of wealthy multinationals.<\/p>\n In the laboratory, research continues into supplementary peels \u2013 specially-made outer skins, produced from organic material, designed to extend the shelf life of perishable foods.<\/p>\n Then we can turn our attention to the human factor: governance, collaboration and ethics. \u00a0Here, changing long-established behaviors is key.<\/p>\n Better livestock management and a wider embrace of meat-free diets are estimated to save 65-80 tons of methane emissions per year over the next few decades.<\/p>\n In addition, reusing rather than discarding excess foods \u2013 either into compost or biogas \u2013 could help redefine the very nature of \u2018waste\u2019.<\/p>\n Businesses, policymakers and NGOs can all play their part in this mission:<\/p>\n It has hypothesized two scenarios: one in which total global food loss is reduce by 50% by 2050, and a second in which food loss is cut by 75% by the same date. \u00a0A 50% cut would translate to 88.50 gigatons of CO2<\/sub> emissions saved; a 75% cut would translate to 102.20 gigatons of CO2<\/sub> emissions saved. \u00a0In fact, Project Drawdown estimates that cutting food waste could help fight world hunger by offsetting some 60% of the global food shortages predicted by 2050[9]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n Big data and the internet of things (IoT) can usher in an age of real-time logistics and stock awareness, synchronizing supplies with pricing and use-by dates. \u00a0In an ideal world, the right produce needs to get to the right locations at the right time \u2013 preferably in the most fuel-efficient manner. \u00a0Local sourcing is the future, wherever possible, heralding social as well as environmental benefits.<\/p>\n Businesses, for their part, can be encouraged to adopt \u2018food waste\u2019 as an official performance metric \u2013 a promising scenario given the recent trend toward ethical, social and governance (ESG) investing<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s good to know that opportunities exit for tackling the scourge of food waste. \u00a0These strategies will come together much more quickly if policymakers put in place the right legislative frameworks.<\/p>\n The FLW aims to incrementally improve the food security of people and countries; to raise farmer incomes; to lower costs for end consumers and companies in the food value chain; and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and demands for water and energy.\u2019[10]<\/a><\/p>\n National policies are beginning to swing behind the food waste challenge.<\/p>\n Mirroring laws passed in France and Italy, Spain this year announced it would fine supermarkets for failing to donate surplus food to charities or NGOs. \u00a0Likewise, Spanish restaurants will be compelled to provide food bags for customers to preserve leftovers \u2013 part of a bid to cut the country\u2019s annual 1,300-ton food waste mountain[11]<\/a>.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s 2.2 million residents discard some 10,000 tons of household waste annually \u2013 up to one-third of which could be compostable.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n Some countries are now offering tax breaks to businesses and individuals donating surplus perishables to food banks, with Canada, Colombia and Argentina making recent headway.[13]<\/a>,<\/sup>[14]<\/a> \u00a0<\/sup>Demonstrating the importance of robust legislation, donations to food banks in Argentina increased 119% a year after the country\u2019s Food Donation Law was refined to cover public liability \u2013 a wise inclusion, given the inherent risks of distributing produce typically past its prime.[15]<\/a><\/p>\n The European Commission launched a Farm to Fork Strategy<\/a> in 2020, part of its Green Deal, including proposed changes to \u2018best before\u2019 and \u2018use by\u2019 labelling across the EU. \u00a0Critics complain that its remit is too narrow, prioritizing consumer and retail waste when at least 30% of the EU\u2019s food waste occurs pre-retail.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n The food waste challenge cannot be solved overnight, so the drive to change attitudes must continue. \u00a0In the USA, legal teams and campaign groups are pressurizing the government to ensure food waste becomes a central plank of its 2023 Farm Bill. \u00a0The coalition is championing a range of strategies, from financial support for composting facilities, to regional supply chain coordinators, to a \u2018good Samaritan\u2019 clause covering civil liability[17]<\/a>.<\/p>\n As with so many of the challenges facing our civilization, inspiring efforts are under way at every level of society, from international collaborations to community action.<\/p>\n Without doubt the private sector must also play its part, deploying its collective financial resources to energize the food waste fightback.<\/p>\n As private investors, beholden neither to shareholder whims nor the transitory nature of politics, we can target our speculative capital at future technologies to help overcome the world\u2019s nutritional challenge.<\/p>\n Private capital is patient, long-term, and squarely focused on the cutting edge.<\/p>\n J-WAFS\u2019 research projects include:<\/p>\n J-WAFS also partners with Rabobank on the annual Food and Agribusiness Innovation Prize<\/a>. \u00a0Projects include a joint MIT \/ Tufts University scheme<\/a> to develop natural protein-based coatings extending the shelf life of perishables by up to 50%.<\/p>\n Since J-WAFS\u2019 foundation, it has financed 60+ projects, generating more than US$ 12 million in follow-on funds.<\/p>\n Away from the corporate world, we can each make a difference next time we stand in the supermarket aisle, order in a restaurant, or open the refrigerator door.<\/p>\n We must repress our urge to exploit buy-one-get-one-free deals which lead to wastage; we must overcome our expectation that seasonal fruit and vegetables from all over the world should be available all year round; we must stop over-ordering in restaurants and cafes and assuming our leftovers will meet some productive fate; and we must become less wedded to expiration dates which scare us into disposing of perfectly good food.<\/p>\n It is morally obscene that while multiple millions of souls struggle for sustenance every year, we collectively sacrifice mountains of food which could help alleviate the problem.<\/p>\n For wealthy societies, it is a matter of financial recklessness. \u00a0For poorer societies, it can be a matter of life and death. \u00a0And for the planet, food waste is another battleground in the ongoing and existential war against climate change.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> https:\/\/www.worldvision.org\/hunger-news-stories\/world-hunger-facts<\/a><\/p>\n [2]<\/a> https:\/\/www.bcg.com\/featured-insights\/closing-the-gap\/food-waste<\/a><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> https:\/\/www.fao.org\/3\/cc1092en\/cc1092en.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [4]<\/a> https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/lanabandoim\/2020\/01\/26\/the-shocking-amount-of-food-us-households-waste-every-year\/?sh=da06cb7dc8e3<\/a><\/p>\n [5]<\/a> https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/1219830\/per-capita-food-waste-of-selected-countries-in-europe\/<\/a><\/p>\n [6]<\/a> https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/sustainable-consumption-production\/<\/a><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-020-01125-x<\/a><\/p>\n [8]<\/a> https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/sustainable-consumption-production\/<\/a><\/p>\n [9]<\/a> https:\/\/drawdown.org\/about<\/a><\/p>\n [10]<\/a> https:\/\/www.wri.org\/initiatives\/food-loss-waste-protocol<\/a><\/p>\n [11]<\/a> https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/jun\/07\/spain-fights-food-waste-with-supermarket-fines-and-doggy-bags<\/a><\/p>\n [12]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ecowatch.com\/curbside-composting-nyc.html<\/a><\/p>\n [13]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ifco.com\/how-incentives-could-reduce-food-waste\/<\/a><\/p>\n [14]<\/a> https:\/\/www.foodbanking.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Colombia-Recommendations.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n [15]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ifpri.org\/blog\/improving-food-donation-policies-key-fighting-food-waste<\/a><\/p>\n [16]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ecowatch.com\/farm-to-fork-europe-2646908613.html<\/a><\/p>\n [17]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ecowatch.com\/reducing-food-waste-farm-bill.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":104869,"template":"","tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Fresh](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/shutterstock_344303621-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/food-waster-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWaste affects the entire food chain<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/food-waste-3-.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHow waste contributes to climate change<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/food-waste-4-.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"UN](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2021\/05\/E_SDG-goals_icons-individual-rgb-12-150x150.png\"){kind=icon}
Little wonder that UN Sustainable Development Goal 12<\/a> (covering responsible consumption and production) aims by 2030 to \u201chalve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses\u201d[8]<\/a>.<\/p>\nInterventions to encourage a healthier food system<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Project-Drawdown-300x114.jpg\")
International nonprofit organization Project Drawdown<\/a>, which aims to curtail greenhouse gases in our atmosphere and ultimately trigger their decline, highlights the profound difference tackling food waste could make to the environment.<\/p>\nLaying the groundwork for a waste-free world<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/World-Resources-Institute-logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
Since 2016 multiple countries and companies worldwide have signed up to the World Resources Institute\u2019s Food Loss & Waste (FLW) Protocol<\/a>, which establishes a standardized set of reporting tools for consistently measuring food loss and waste. \u00a0What can be correctly identified can thereafter be precision-targeted for solutions. \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/NYC-Compost-Program-300x199.jpg\")
Elsewhere, in fall 2022 New York City rolled out a new curbside compost program. \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/12\/food-waste2-.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFunding innovative food waste solutions<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/media.alj.com\/app\/uploads\/2022\/07\/JWAFS.jpg\")
The Abdul Latif Jameel Water & Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS)<\/a>, co-founded in 2014 by Community Jameel <\/a>and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology,<\/a> funds several projects destined to combat food waste.<\/p>\n\n
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