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Food Losses and Waste in Europe and Central Asia

Draft Synthesis Report

Year of publication 2013

Pages 49 p.

Author Koester, U.;Empen, J.;Holm, T.

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) Food losses and waste (FLW) has become a high-profile issue in both the public media and in policy debates. The EU and some other countries have even set specific targets for how much FLW should be reduced in a specific period of time. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as the main organization for affairs concerning worldwide food and agriculture, has published several reports that express the significance of FLW. The main message of these reports is that: a) Th e total amount of FLW was quantified in metric tonnes by adding up FLW for very different products. According to these studies, 30 percent of world food production is either lost or wasted. b) Reducing FLW could help fight worldwide hunger and poverty and could also contribute to saving resources and mitigating climate change.

Language English

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