Food Waste

The food system produces food for consumption, together with a number of outputs that are returned to the natural environment, including: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; packaging; and food waste, each of which contributes to environmental degradation (Friel, Barosh, & Lawrence, 2014). The United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Target 12.3 calls to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030 (UN, 2015). Food loss and food waste are defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as two distinct concepts.“Food loss” arises predominantly in the production and distribution stages of the food supply chain and is caused mainly by the functioning of the food production and supply system or its institutional and legal framework. Conversely,“food waste” refers to the removal from the food supply chain of food which is otherwise fit for consumption, by choice, or which has spoiled or expired, and is mainly a consequence of economic or social behaviour, poor stock management, or neglect (FAO, 2014). The key drivers of food waste and loss vary among low-, middle-and high-income countries (Papargyropoulou, Lozano, Steinberger, Wright, & Ujang, 2014). This chapter will focus on food wasted in highincome countries at the retail and consumption stages.