The global community has recognised "food waste" as a significant issue and has included it as part of Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12) on sustainable production and consumption. One target of SDG 12 aims to halve global food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 2030.
In terms of jargon, "food waste" is gradually replacing "wet waste" or the broader term "organic waste", focusing attention on both waste and food issues. This shift is expected to lead to more comprehensive and effective management practices.
Indeed, food waste has always been part of world consumption. Whether you are Thai, Chinese, Japanese, or from the West, all frugal and resource-wise parents will teach their children to finish all their meals. Various cuisines also have their own ways of reusing food to make new meals from leftovers.
The term and campaign are influenced by Swedish scholars led by Jenny Gustavsson. Her academic research, "Global Food Losses and Food Waste", unveiled at the world's first Save Food Congress in 2011, pitched food loss caused by lavish consumption as a threat to global food security. That same year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) revealed the alarming report that one-third of food produced globally is lost, while another segment of the population suffers from food insecurity.
There are different perspectives on food waste. For some, food waste is not just the leftovers of lavish buffets or expired food that we have overly stocked. For experts on nutrition, food waste is a loss of valuable nutritional resources which means even rich consumers can be victims of it if their meals are made from ingredients with low nutritious value. Today, perspectives on food waste have evolved, and it is increasingly seen as a factor contributing to global warming. When food waste is sent to landfills or piled up, it decomposes anaerobically, producing methane (CH4) which is nearly 30 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide (CO2). Poor management of food waste thus contributes to global warming.
On the other hand, local authorities managing municipal waste are concerned about the increasing volume of waste, about half of which is made up of food waste. This is due to the lack of waste separation at homes, markets, restaurants, and shops -- which leads to higher costs for waste collection and affects the limited landfill space.
Similarly, businesses see food waste as a loss of revenue due to issues like improper food storage, leftover food, unsold food, expired food, and so on.
Thailand has developed a "Food Waste Management Action Plan, Phase 1 (2023-2027)". This aims to reduce the proportion of food waste to less than 28% of municipal solid waste by 2027. Currently, according to the Pollution Control Department's 2021 survey, food waste constitutes 38%.
This scheme details key measures for tackling food waste.
Since 2019, The UN has designated Sept 29 each the International Day of Awareness on Food Loss and Waste Reduction. However, the campaign has a limited reach, and the overall situation remains unchanged despite increased retailer awareness, as evidenced by reduced unsold food and increased food donations through charitable organisations.
The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2024 gives us a clearer picture of food waste resources.
According to the report, in 2022 most of the world's food waste came from households. Out of the total food wasted that year, households were responsible for 631 million tonnes, equivalent to 60%, while the food service sector accounted for 290 million tonnes and the retail sector 131 million tonnes.
Zooming out further, the world wasted 1.05 billion tonnes of food. This amounts to one fifth (19%) of food available to consumers being wasted, at the retail, food service, and household levels. That is in addition to the 13% of the world's food being lost in the supply chain, as estimated by the FAO, from post-harvest up to and excluding retail.
This amounts to approximately one-third of global food production, consistent with data from 2011. This indicates that we have not yet made sufficient progress in addressing the issue.
Some countries and cities are now holding Food Waste Conferences annually to foster cooperation in addressing this issue through regulatory measures and incentives, as well as developing relevant innovations and technologies. Importantly, there is a focus on communicating the connection between the "loss of food value" and the "impact of food waste" to the public.
Where does food waste come from? Who generates the most of it? Researchers have sought answers to these questions and generally conclude that consumers are a crucial factor in the creation of food waste. This is because most food waste occurs as leftovers on consumers' plates and is discarded from households. However, the leftovers on those plates, known as "plate waste", involve factors related to the consumer, food preparers, food vendors, event owners, and catering service providers.
A peer review conducted by Zhengxia Dou, a professor of agricultural systems at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine, and John D Toth, a research specialist at the same institute, points out the rate of food waste per capita per day varies significantly depending on area, ranging from over 0.4 kilograms per person a day to less than one-tenth of this amount. This is based on 32 research papers published worldwide from 71 countries. Most research also indicates that urban consumers generate more food waste compared to those in peri-urban and rural areas. Additionally, income levels do not seem to influence individual food waste rates.
Campaigns to raise awareness and change consumer behaviour have been expanding to reduce food waste from consumption. For example, the "Love Food Hate Waste" campaign in the UK uses websites and mobile applications as interactive tools to help consumers track their food waste, plan meals, and find recipes for leftovers.
Another case is the "Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables" campaign by a supermarket network in France, which sells blemished, misshapen, or downgraded fruits and vegetables at discounted prices, focusing on quality and taste, while educating consumers about the value of these foods rather than discarding them.
There are many other examples, including the "Save Food" campaign by the United Nations, which is a global initiative aimed at reducing food waste and losses throughout the food supply chain. However, consumer behaviour can change with circumstances, so it is essential to continuously monitor and adjust strategies to achieve meaningful and sustainable results.
We still hope that reducing global food waste to one-quarter of what is produced could help over 870 million disadvantaged people, as the UN has stated. Furthermore, achieving the SDG target of halving food waste would benefit even more people. After all, there is enough food to feed every mouth.
It is such a pity that this food is not handled efficiently and ends up as food waste.
Benjamas Chotthong is Director of Project Development and Planning Program at Thailand Environment Institute (TEI). The United Nations General Assembly has designated Sept 29 as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW).
Source: Bangkokpost
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