Food waste is one of the most important issues of current food systems: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that more than one third of food is either lost or wasted along the entire food supply chain causing significant economic, social and environmental impacts.
Food waste is one of the most important issues of current food systems: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that more than one third of food is either lost or wasted along the entire food supply chain causing significant economic, social and environmental impacts. From an environmental point of view, food waste represents between 8% and 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and the annual water footprint of the agricultural phase of food waste is about 250 km3, five times the volume of Lake Garda and higher than any national food consumption water footprint. The IPCC Special Report Climate Change and Land (2018) estimates that 37% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to the food system considering its complete cycle, from agriculture and land use, storage, transport, packaging, processing, retail, consumption and waste. In the European Union (EU), 88 million tons of food waste are generated each year (i.e., 173 kg per capita) with significant economic, environmental and social impacts. It has been estimated that 15–16% of the total environmental impact of the food supply chain in Europe can be attributed to food waste.
Cities have emerged as crucial actors in the global food security geography: today they occupy approximately only 3% of the total land, but the number of people living in urban areas surpassed for the first time the number of people living in rural areas, and urban contexts are therefore the biggest source of post-consumption food waste, using between 70% and 80% of world’s food.
However, cities have proved to be crucial actors in tackling food waste, launching effective policies and initiatives to address it.
By looking at 40 cities across 16 European countries, a study recently published on Resources – Special issue Food Loss and Waste: The Challenge of a Sustainable Management through a Circular Economy Perspective presented a new framework for assessing urban food waste policies and initiatives.
Read more at: CMCC Foundation - Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change
Photo Credit: Shutterbug75 via Pixabay
