Toolkit - Reducing the Food Wastage Footprint

Toolkit - Reducing the Food Wastage Footprint

Year of publication 2013

Product type Book (stand-alone)

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) One-third of all food produced in the world is lost or wasted from farm to fork, according to estimates calculated by FAO (2011). This wastage not only has an enormous negative impact on the global economy and food availability, it also has major environmental impacts. The direct economic cost of food wastage of agricultural products (excluding fish and seafood), based on producer prices only, is about 750 billion USD, equivalent to the GDP of Switzerland. The aim of the Toolkit is to showcase concrete examples of good practices for food loss and waste reduction, while pointing to information sources, guidelines and pledges favoring food wastage reduction. The inspirational examples featured throughout this Toolkit demonstrate that everyone, from individual households and producers, through governments, to large food industries, can make choices that will ultimately lead to sustainable consumption and production patterns, and thus, a better world for all.

Language English

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Food Wastage Footprint. Impact on Natural Resources
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This FAO study provides a global account of the environmental footprint of food wastage (i.e. both food loss and food waste) along the food supply chain, focusing on impacts on climate, water, land and biodiversity. A model has been developed to answer two key questions: what is the magnitude of food wastage impacts on the environment; and what are the main sources of these impacts, in terms of regions, commodities, and phases of the food supply chain involved with a view to identify en vironmental hotspots related to food wastage.
Book (series)
The State of Food and Agriculture 2019
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Also available in:

Arabic
Chinese
French
Russian
Spanish

The need to reduce food loss and waste is firmly embedded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Food loss and waste reduction is considered important for improving food security and nutrition, promoting environmental sustainability and lowering production costs. However, efforts to reduce food loss and waste will only be effective if informed by a solid understanding of the problem. 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.
Booklet
In Brief: The State of Food and Agriculture 2019
Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction
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Also available in:

Arabic
Chinese
French
Russian
Spanish

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A shorter version of the FAO flagship publication The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2019, the In Brief contains the key messages and main points from the publication and is aimed at the media, policy makers and a more general public.