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    The State of Food and Agriculture 2019: Moving Forward on Food Loss and Waste Reduction
    The State of Food and Agriculture 2019: Moving Forward on Food Loss and Waste Reduction
    The State of Food and Agriculture 2019: Moving Forward on Food Loss and Waste Reduction
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    The State of Food and Agriculture 2019: Moving Forward on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

    By Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

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    About this ebook

    This report provides new estimates of the percentage of the world’s food lost from production up to the retail level. The report also finds a vast diversity in existing estimates of losses, even for the same commodities and for the same stages in the supply chain. Clearly identifying and understanding critical loss points in specific supply chains – where considerable potential exists for reducing food losses – is crucial to deciding on appropriate measures. The report provides some guiding principles for interventions based on the objectives being pursued through food loss and waste reductions, be they in improved economic efficiency, food security and nutrition, or environmental sustainability.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
    Release dateOct 15, 2019
    ISBN9789251318447
    The State of Food and Agriculture 2019: Moving Forward on Food Loss and Waste Reduction
    Author

    Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

    An intergovernmental organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has 194 Member Nations, two associate members and one member organization, the European Union. Its employees come from various cultural backgrounds and are experts in the multiple fields of activity FAO engages in. FAO’s staff capacity allows it to support improved governance inter alia, generate, develop and adapt existing tools and guidelines and provide targeted governance support as a resource to country and regional level FAO offices. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, FAO is present in over 130 countries.Founded in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO provides a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. The Organization publishes authoritative publications on agriculture, fisheries, forestry and nutrition.

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      The State of Food and Agriculture 2019 - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

      This flagship publication is part of THE STATE OF THE WORLD series of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

      Required citation:

      FAO. 2019. The State of Food and Agriculture 2019. Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction. Rome.

      Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

      The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.

      ISBN 978-92-5-131789-1

      E-ISBN 978-92-5-131844-7 (EPUB)

      © FAO 2019

      Some rights reserved. This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo).

      Under the terms of this licence, this work may be copied, redistributed and adapted for non-commercial purposes, provided that the work is appropriately cited. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that FAO endorses any specific organization, products or services. The use of the FAO logo is not permitted. If the work is adapted, then it must be licensed under the same or equivalent Creative Commons license. If a translation of this work is created, it must include the following disclaimer along with the required citation: This translation was not created by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO is not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the authoritative edition.

      Any mediation relating to disputes arising under the licence shall be conducted in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) as at present in force.

      Third-party materials. Users wishing to reuse material from this work that is attributed to a third party, such as tables, figures or images, are responsible for determining whether permission is needed for that reuse and for obtaining permission from the copyright holder. The risk of claims resulting from infringement of any third-party-owned component in the work rests solely with the user.

      Sales, rights and licensing. FAO information products are available on the FAO website (www.fao.org/publications) and can be purchased through publications-sales@fao.org. Requests for commercial use should be submitted via: www.fao.org/contact-us/licence-request. Queries regarding rights and licensing should be submitted to: copyright@fao.org.

      COVER PHOTOGRAPH ©FAO/Heba Khamis

      EGYPT: A youth labourer is arranging the tomatoes to dry in the sun.

      CONTENTS

      FOREWORD

      METHODOLOGY

      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

      ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

      EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

      CHAPTER 1

      FOOD LOSS AND WASTE – FRAMING THE ISSUES

      Key messages

      Food loss and waste and the Sustainable Development Goals

      What is food loss and waste? A conceptual framework

      How much food loss and waste occurs?

      Why is food lost or wasted?

      Why do we need to reduce food loss and waste?

      Scope and structure of the report

      CHAPTER 2

      MONITORING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ALONG FOOD SUPPLY CHAINS

      Key messages

      Moving beyond the global estimate to a more comprehensive analysis of food loss and waste in food supply chains

      Variation in food loss and waste along food supply chains – results of a meta-analysis

      The identification of critical loss points

      Challenges of data collection

      Conclusions

      CHAPTER 3

      REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE – THE BUSINESS CASE AND BEYOND

      Key messages

      The private and societal benefits and costs from reducing food loss and waste

      The business case for reducing food loss and waste – opportunities, costs and barriers

      The economic case for reducing food loss and waste – from private to public interest

      Winners and losers in food loss and waste reduction

      Public-sector intervention on food loss and waste reduction

      Conclusions

      CHAPTER 4

      FOOD LOSS AND WASTE AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

      Key messages

      Food loss and waste and its links to food security and nutrition

      Food loss and waste and the impact on food security and nutrition

      Food loss and waste reduction and the importance of location

      Food loss and waste reduction and levels of food insecurity

      The relative (cost-)effectiveness of food loss and waste reduction in improving food security and nutrition

      Conclusions

      CHAPTER 5

      FOOD LOSS AND WASTE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

      Key messages

      Food loss and waste reduction and environmental sustainability

      Food loss and waste reduction and the environment – key questions and considerations

      Quantifying the environmental impacts of food loss and waste

      From potential to actual impact on natural resource use and GHG emissions – the role of prices

      Food loss and waste reduction in the broader context of sustainability – comparative effectiveness and trade-offs

      Conclusions

      CHAPTER 6

      POLICYMAKING FOR FOOD LOSS AND WASTE REDUCTION – GUIDING PRINCIPLES

      Key messages

      Enabling private actors to reduce food loss and waste

      Public interventions for better food security and nutrition and environmental sustainability

      Public interventions in practice – linking policy objective and entry point along the food supply chain

      Ensuring coherent policies for food loss and waste reduction

      Towards better data on food loss and waste – a road map

      Conclusions

      TECHNICAL ANNEX

      STATISTICAL ANNEX

      REFERENCES

      TABLES, FIGURES AND BOXES

      TABLES

      1 Prevalence of food insecurity (percentage of total population) by FIES category and income group, 2016

      2 Examples of interventions towards food loss and waste reduction around the world

      FIGURES

      1 Food loss and waste and the Sustainable Development Goals

      2 A conceptual framework for food loss and waste (FLW)

      3 Food loss from post-harvest to distribution in 2016, percentages globally and by region

      4 Food loss from post-harvest to distribution in 2016, percentages by commodity groups

      5 Potential direct causes and indirect drivers of food loss and waste

      6 Range of reported food loss and waste percentages by supply chain stage, 2000–2017

      7 Range of reported food loss and waste percentages at the wholesale and retail stage, 2001–2017

      8 Range of reported food waste percentages at the consumption stage in Northern America and Europe, 2012–2017

      9 Heat map of food loss studies by region, 1990–2017

      10 Potential private and broader societal benefits and costs of food loss and waste (FLW) reduction

      11 The potential interactions between food loss and waste and the dimensions of food security

      12 Potential price and income effects of food loss and waste reductions at various points in the food supply chain

      13 Relative contributions of the main food groups to overall food loss and waste and their carbon, blue-water and land footprints

      14 Relative contributions of regions to overall food loss and waste and their carbon, blue-water and land footprints

      15 Overview of the main results of FAO’s Food Wastage Footprint study, 2013

      16 Carbon impact of food loss and waste reduction along the food supply chain

      17 Objectives of loss and waste reduction measures and their entry points along the food supply chain

      A1 Wheat production and losses in tonnes estimated applying constant losses of 15 percent factor

      A2 Graphical representation of the model

      BOXES

      1 Definitions related to food loss and waste

      2 The Food Loss Index methodology in a nutshell

      3 FAO’s earlier estimate of food loss and waste – how is it different from the FLI?

      4 Measuring food loss in physical, caloric or economic value – does it matter?

      5 Definitions of market failure, externality, public good and missing market

      6 FAO’s meta-analysis of existing studies into food loss and waste – methodology

      7 How to interpret the graphs in Figures 6, 7 and 8

      8 Farmer-reported causes of on-farm losses of staple crops

      9 Indirect drivers of on-farm losses of staple crops

      10 Refrigerated warehouse capacities and needs around the world

      11 Reducing fruit and vegetable losses during transportation

      12 FAO’s Save Food case studies on critical loss points for crops, milk and fish

      13 A financial cost–benefit analysis of post-harvest loss reduction for maize in the United Republic of Tanzania

      14 Promoting mud silos to reduce maize losses during storage – evidence from Northern Ghana

      15 The business case for reducing food loss and waste – a survey by Champions 12.3

      16 The business case for reducing food loss and waste – a study by ReFED

      17 Quantifying the economic gains of food loss and waste reduction – the ReFED study

      18 The Love Food, Hate Waste campaign

      19 Providing information and training – the case of tomatoes and milk in Rwanda

      20 Public–private partnerships for food loss and waste reduction in APEC countries

      21 Food security – key definitions

      22 The Malabo Declaration and the prevention of post-harvest losses

      23 The impacts of food loss on micronutrient deficiencies in children under five

      24 Gender relations influence food safety and food losses – the case of rural Ethiopia

      25 The impacts of a reduction in food losses at the primary production and food processing stages on food security and nutrition

      26 The most common environmental footprint indicators for food loss and waste

      27 Environmental footprints of food production along the supply chain – the case of maize

      28 The impacts of a 25 percent reduction in global food losses on agricultural land use and GHG emissions

      29 Water use in the production of mangoes in Australia – targeting resource use efficiency versus actual water use

      30 Financial and economic assessment of clean-energy technologies in the milk supply chain

      31 The environmental performance of packaging to reduce food loss and waste

      32 Food waste reduction campaigns – China, Turkey, North Macedonia and Denmark

      33 Reforming bread subsidies in the Near East

      34 Regional strategic frameworks to tackle food loss and waste effectively

      35 Reducing food loss and waste in the European Union

      36 A road map for improved data collection on food losses

      FOREWORD

      I am heartened to see that the world is paying more attention to the issue of food loss and waste and is calling for more decisive action to address it. The growing awareness and increase in calls for action are rooted in the strong negative moral connotations associated with food loss and waste. These are partly based on the fact that losing food implies unnecessary pressure on the environment and the natural resources that have been used to produce it in the first place. It essentially means that land and water resources have been wasted, pollution created and greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted to no purpose. I also frequently wonder how we can allow food to be thrown away when more than 820 million people in the world continue to go hungry every day.

      International attention on the issue of food loss and waste is firmly reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Specifically, Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which embody this agenda, calls for the halving by 2030 of per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and the reduction of food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses. Many countries are already taking action to reduce food loss and waste, but the challenges ahead remain significant and we need to step up efforts. Furthermore, as this report argues, efforts to meet SDG Target 12.3 could contribute to meeting other SDG targets, not least that of achieving Zero Hunger, in line with the integrated nature of the 2030 Agenda.

      However, as we strive to make progress towards reducing food loss and waste, we can only be truly effective if our efforts are informed by a solid understanding of the problem. Three dimensions need to be considered. Firstly, we need to know – as accurately as possible – how much food is lost and wasted, as well as where and why. Secondly, we need to be clear about our underlying reasons or objectives for reducing food loss and waste – be they related to food security or the environment. Thirdly, we need to understand how food loss and waste, as well as the measures to reduce it, affect the objectives being pursued. This report sheds light on these three dimensions in order to help design more informed and better policies for food loss and waste reduction.

      Concerning the first dimension, the surprising fact is how little we really know about how much food is lost or wasted, and where and why this happens. A broad estimate, prepared for FAO in 2011, suggested that around a third of the world’s food was lost or wasted every year. This estimate is still widely cited due to a lack of information in this field, but it can only be considered as very rough. It is therefore in the process of being replaced by two indices, thanks to efforts by FAO and UN Environment to estimate more carefully and more precisely how much food is lost in production or in the supply chain before it reaches the retail level (through the Food Loss Index) or is subsequently wasted by consumers or retailers (through the Food Waste Index). Initial estimates made by FAO for the Food Loss Index, which I am pleased to release through this report, tell us that globally around 14 percent of the world’s food is lost from production before reaching the retail level. Estimates for the Food Waste Index are under preparation by UN Environment and will complement the Food Loss Index to provide a better understanding of how much food is lost or wasted in the world. These indices will allow us to monitor progress towards SDG Target 12.3 over time, starting from a more solid baseline.

      However, to intervene effectively we also need to know where in the food supply chain losses and waste are concentrated and the reasons why they occur. Evidence presented in this report shows that losses and waste tend to be higher for some specific commodity groups, although they can occur at all stages of the food supply chain to different degrees. However, what really struck me is the vast range in terms of percentages of food loss and waste for the same commodities and the same stages in the supply chain both within and across countries. This suggests that there is considerable potential to reduce food loss and waste where percentage losses are higher than in other places. However, it also shows that we cannot generalize about the occurrence of food loss and waste across food supply chains but must, on the contrary, identify critical loss points in specific supply chains as a crucial step in taking appropriate countermeasures.

      Regarding the second dimension, although the SDGs include the reduction of food loss and waste as a target in its own right, we need to be clear about why we are pursuing it – or what is the underlying objective. Individual actors, from farmers and fishers right up to consumers, may have a private interest in reducing food loss or waste to increase their profits or income, their personal well-being or that of their families. However, this private incentive is not always strong since reducing food loss and waste may require investing money or time which, in the perception of these actors, could outweigh the benefits. There may also be barriers that prevent private actors from making these investments, e.g. credit constraints or a lack of information about options for reducing food loss and waste. On the other hand, there may be a stronger public interest in reducing food loss and waste because it contributes to other public objectives. This calls for public interventions in the form of investments or policies that create incentives for private actors to reduce food loss and waste or remove the barriers that prevent them from doing so. The broad public objectives that this report considers are twofold: improving the food security situation of vulnerable groups and reducing the environmental footprint associated with food that is lost or wasted.

      A key argument in this report is that the linkages between food loss and waste, on the one hand, and food security and environmental impacts, on the other, are complex and need to be thoroughly understood. Positive outcomes from reducing food loss and waste are far from guaranteed, and the impacts will differ according to where food loss and waste is reduced. It is exactly for this reason that policymakers need to be clear about the objectives they choose to pursue. Focusing on one objective will indeed have implications for where food loss and waste reductions can be most effective.

      For instance, if the objective is to improve food security, reducing on-farm losses – particularly on small farms in low-income countries with high levels of food insecurity – is likely to have strong positive impacts. It may directly improve food security in the affected farm households and may also have positive effects in local areas, and even beyond, if more food becomes available. Reducing food loss and waste further along the food supply chain may improve food security for consumers, but farmers may actually be negatively affected if demand for their produce declines. On the other hand, while reducing consumer food waste in high-income countries with low levels of food insecurity may have some impact on vulnerable people locally through food collection and redistribution initiatives, the impact on the food insecure in distant low-income countries is likely to be negligible.

      If the objectives for reducing food loss and waste are essentially environmental, the situation changes. In the case of GHGs, these accumulate throughout the supply chain. Therefore, cutting waste by consumers will have the biggest impact because food wasted at this stage represents a larger amount of embedded GHG emissions. In the case of land and water, the environmental footprint is tied mainly to the primary production phase. Therefore, reducing food loss and waste at any stage of the food supply chain can contribute to reducing overall land and water use at the global level. However, if you want to address local land and water scarcity, measures to reduce food loss are likely to be more effective if they occur at the farm level or at stages in the supply chain close to the farm level.

      I invite you to read this report carefully as it examines the complex ways in which food loss and waste – and the measures taken to address it – affects food security and the environment. The report does not claim to have all the answers, particularly as it acknowledges the important information gaps that stand in the way of a comprehensive analysis. Among other things, the report attempts to highlight precisely where there is a need for a more thorough understanding of the issues, both through more and better data and improved and expanded analysis. It is my hope that it can make a contribution to the debate on how to address the problem of food loss and waste most effectively and in ways that actually make a difference in terms of improved food security and environmental sustainability, following the spirit of the 2030 Agenda.

      METHODOLOGY

      The preparation of The State of Food and Agriculture 2019 began with an inception workshop, held at FAO headquarters in Rome on 10 September 2018 and attended by members of a panel of external experts and FAO specialists. Following the workshop, an advisory group representing all relevant FAO technical units and chaired by the Deputy-Director of FAO’s

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