Sustainability of food industries and ways to reduce food waste
Sustainability of food industries and ways to reduce food waste
While 1.3 billion tons – annually – of food intended for human consumption (a third of the food produced globally) is wasted, nearly 700 million people around the world suffer from hunger. In addition, food waste results in hundreds of billions of dollars in losses; Which means that it is not only an environmental issue, but also a social and economic issue, which is what we tried to highlight in this article.
The food industry is responsible for 8-10% of total greenhouse gas emissions. This industry also relies heavily on the use of resources, and requires huge amounts of energy, water, and land use. Furthermore, food industries contribute to other negative environmental impacts, such as the loss of biodiversity on land and in the oceans.
So, wasting food does not just mean losing an extra meal, but rather losing all the resources used to produce, process, and transport it. All of these processes have a severe impact on the environment, to the point that reducing food waste is considered – according to many experts – the most effective measure in combating climate change and achieving a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)__EG_PH_10.
Understanding the supply chain
To understand the issue of food waste, it is important to understand the topic from the perspective of thesupply chain, including the production and packaging processes, then distribution and retail, as food waste occurs at every level of the supply chain; The more stages in this chain, the more food is wasted.
For example, we find that during the Corona crisis, the world suffered from major disruptions in food supply chains, which led to increased rates of food waste. The pandemic has exposed the fragility of today’s food systems and served as a clear reminder of the need for more resilient systems. In order to understand the reality of the problem, we must realize that a large percentage of global food waste occurs during the production, manufacturing and distribution processes of various foods before they reach our plates.
It is worth noting that – every year – hundreds of millions of tons of food are wasted at various stages of the supply chain, starting with farms that are directly affected by climate change, through the planting, irrigation and harvesting processes. In addition to this, the formal requirements that some crops are subject to by merchants, such as the color and size of the fruit; Which means that the stage of planting, harvesting, and supplying the crop alone causes huge amounts of food to be wasted.
Every year, 500 million tons of crops produced globally are wasted, representing 32% of the total waste in the supply chain. While we find that 23% of food waste occurs in the handling and storage stage, 10% during processing and packaging, and 13% in the distribution and retail stage. All this in light of the lack of clear tracking and inventory systems that enable stakeholders to determine the exact quantities and reasons for these huge amounts of waste.
Finally, 22% of total global food waste occurs at the consumption stage, and waste at this stage is often related to poor meal planning, excessive purchasing, or incorrect storage, and may – sometimes – be due to doubt about the expiration date.
Environmental, economic and social considerations
For companies operating in the food industry, reducing food waste is an integral part of strategies for achieving sustainability goals. Reducing food waste not only contributes to achieving environmental goals, but also contributes to social goals, as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for halving the per capita share of food waste – globally – at the retail and consumer levels, and reducing food loss along production and supply chains by 2030.
Reducing food waste also contributes to achieving other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including this second goal: eliminating hunger, and this is through increasing food security and equitably distributing edible food. Therefore, many major food companies have committed to reducing food waste, as it is one of the basic sustainability goals for the coming years. Nestlé, for example, achieved its goal of reducing its operational food waste by half in June 2020, and today we find that 95% of the company’s sites do not generate any operational waste for disposal.
As the climate crisis worsens, integrating sustainability goals into all industrial sectors becomes a must, not an option. The food industry is not far from this, as many countries have established more stringent regulations that companies must adhere to regarding food waste. European Union regulations, for example, have set legally binding targets to reduce food waste by 2023, and have also established a reporting framework outlining the food waste measures used by each company.
Here we must point out the importance of one of the basic aspects of contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other frameworks, which is “the possibility of measurement.” Without accurate, high-quality data about the work of factories and measures to increase production efficiency to reduce waste, companies will not be able – at the administrative level – to determine the places of development in their work cycle, which confirms the importance of having clear regulatory frameworks that obligate companies and factories to submit periodic reports on their operational processes.
Measuring food waste that occurs in a company’s supply chain can help identify where the biggest problems are, and implement appropriate strategies accordingly. Therefore, we find that the world’s leading companies in the food industry sector are very interested in taking the lead in combating food waste by having a clear regulatory framework, from which they can obtain accurate data regarding food waste rates. Therefore, obtaining the correct data can also improve the financial performance of companies, not only by increasing the efficiency of using resources, but also by avoiding the costs of disposing of them in landfills and landfills.
Knowledge is the foundation
Sustainability management solutions allow organizations to track food waste recorded by various facilities. Based on the right data, companies can implement waste reduction activities, with the participation of all relevant manufacturing sites and facilities.
Therefore, it can be said that knowledge represents the basic element in reducing food waste across supply chains. By measuring various data, companies become more prepared to confront any potential disruptions and mitigate the resulting risks, in addition to consolidating relationships between the supplier and the consumer, as a correct understanding of the location and quantity of food that is wasted throughout the supply chain is a crucial starting step towards addressing this matter. Based on this knowledge, sustainable decisions can be made.
By using sustainable supply chain solutions, the necessary data can be collected about quantities and potential losses at various stages of the supply chain, after which the type of data collected can be adapted to different frameworks; In the end, we will have a set of standards through which the efficiency of operations along the supply chain can be measured.
With the establishment of more stringent laws and regulations for this vital sector, things will become more transparent, which will lead to a proper understanding of the nature of the supply chain. Using the right data not only reduces risks and reduces food waste, but it also allows for more resource-efficient food chains, increases profitability, and allows companies to demonstrate their commitment to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Food brands have an important responsibility to educate consumers about food waste, by communicating more clearly through the use of clear signs of expiration dates and storage conditions. For example, major brands – such as the Danish dairy giant Arla – are launching campaigns to raise awareness of the expiry date information written on the packaging and appropriate storage conditions.
Another matter is reintegrating the waste of manufacturing processes back into the production process, or finding solutions to exploit this waste. Applying the principles of the circular economy and reducing food waste. Partnerships can also be made between food manufacturers and food banks to donate any excess quantities of stock in these factories instead of destroying them.
Finally, the consumer in turn bears an important responsibility, which is responsible shopping and intelligent meal planning. To prevent food waste, whether it is excess or expired. We must realize the value of every atom of food and the great resources that were used to produce it. Every meal we throw away represents a dream for hundreds of millions of people.
