1. SAVE FOOD – Global Initiative on food losses and waste reduction
Averting food losses and waste
in the agri-food value chain
Ms. F. Tartanac
Senior Officer
Market Linkages and Value Chain Group, AGS-FAO

2. Food losses and food waste
Food loss is the reduction of food available for human consumption in terms of quantity, quality, safety and nutritional value;
Food waste occurs when decisions are made to discard food that still has value;
Food losses and waste occur at all levels of the agri-food value chain.

3. Global food losses and waste: estimated at 1.3 billion tonnes / year
Source: FAO Global food losses and food waste

4. Global food losses and waste in agri-food value chain
Source: FAO Global food losses and food waste

5. Food losses and waste in the agri-food value chain
In developing countries:
the largest food losses and waste occur in the supply chain prior to consumption;
food losses and waste are a result of, among others:
Poor production planning
Production problems
Premature harvesting
Poor storage facilities
Lack of processing facilities
Inappropriate food contact materials
(packaging, processing machines)
Inadequate marketing systems
Lack of infrastructure

6. Food losses and waste: the environmental impact in the value chain
Larger food quantities need to be produced to make up for the food losses and waste.
Food losses and waste impact on the environment:
the energy, biodiversity, water, soil and other resources that are used to produce, store, and distribute;
the generated green house gasses (in the value chain and after disposal – e.g. landfills).
For example:
Input level: more fertilizer and pesticides need to be produced which would other wise not have been needed;
Farm level: More farm production causes further usage of natural resources;
Marketing level: More marketing resources, such as transport, are needed and contributing thus to more emissions.

7. Food losses and waste: the environmental impact in the value chain
Averting food losses and waste at the origin of where they occur in the agri-food value chain → redesigning value chains;
Greening value chains to avert food losses and waste → increased use of energy in reworking and recycling of food losses and waste;
Clearly the environmental cost of such operations must not be higher than the environmental benefits;
FAO study: the food waste footprint.

8. Food waste footprint study
Ultimate objective:
to provide a consistent knowledge base which can be used to underpin future policy debate in environmental impacts of food losses and waste.
Objective:
to provide a global account of the environmental footprint of worldwide food waste along value chains;
focus on the impacts on climate, water, land, and biodiversity.
The study provides an economic assessment of food waste costs and an analysis of prospective scenarios

9. Food waste footprint study

10. SAVE FOOD - Global Initiative on food losses and waste reduction
SAVE FOOD - Global Initiative on food loss and waste reduction was launched together with Messe Düsseldorf GmbH – a German private sector organization and an international fairs organizer for the food packaging and processing industry;
U.N. organizations interested partners: World Food Programme (WFP); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); UNEP;
African Development Bank (AfDB), African Postharvest Losses Information System - APHLIS (Natural Resources Institute, EU Joint Research Centre); International Trade Centre (ITC);
Donor countries: Norway;
Research partners: Wageningen University (EU FP7 Project FUSIONS)

11. SAVE FOOD - Global Initiative on food losses and waste reduction
Four pillars:
Collaboration among key public and private partners - mobilize resources; conceive and implement activities by applying global coordinated and coherent methodologies;
Evidence-based policy development and investment support - field case studies on food losses and waste on a regional basis with focus on core subsectors: cereals, roots & tubers, fruits & vegetables, oilseeds & pulses, meat, dairy, fish & seafood;
Awareness raising - worldwide media campaign;
Networking among stakeholders - farmers, agro-processors, packaging industry, retailers, policy makers and researchers; with a view towards developing feasible solutions.

12. FAO websites and contact
Link:
and
Contact: