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A half-century of production-phase greenhouse gas emissions from food loss & waste in the global food supply chain
Abstract and Figures
Research on loss & waste of food meant for human consumption (FLW) and its environmental impact typically focuses on a single or small number of commodities in a specific location and point in time. However, it is unclear how trends in global FLW and potential for climate impact have evolved. Here, by utilising the Food and Agriculture Organization's food balance sheet data, we expand upon existing literature. Firstly, we provide a differentiated (by commodity, country and supply chain stage) bottom-up approach; secondly, we conduct a 50-year longitudinal analysis of global FLW and its production-phase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and thirdly, we trace food wastage and its associated emissions through the entire food supply chain. Between 1961 and 2011 the annual amount of FLW by mass grew a factor of three – from 540 Mt to 1.6 Gt; associated production-phase (GHG) emissions more than tripled (from 680 Mt to 2.2 Gt CO2e). A 44% increase in global average per capita FLW emissions was also identified – from 225 kg CO2e in 1961 to 323 kg CO2e in 2011. The regional weighting within this global average changing markedly over time; in 1961 developed countries accounted for 48% of FLW and less than a quarter (24%) in 2011. The largest increases in FLW-associated GHG emissions were from developing economies, specifically China and Latin America – primarily from increasing losses in fruit and vegetables. Over the period examined, cumulatively such emissions added almost 68 Gt CO2e to the atmospheric GHG stock; an amount the rough equivalent of two years of emissions from all anthropogenic sources at present rates. Building up from the most granular data available, this study highlights the growth in the climate burden of FLW emissions, and thus the need to improve efficiency in food supply chains to mitigate future emissions.
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Supplementary resources (2)
... The scope of the problem of FLW is significant, with over 1.3 billion tons of food waste produced globally, equivalent to 13.8% of food production (Parfitt et al., 2010). This food waste could feed around 1 billion people and contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions and resource depletion (Kummu et al., 2012;Porter et al., 2016). The causes of FLW are varied, including lifestyle changes as populations move above the poverty line, infrastructure limitations, environmental and climate factors, and grading for quality or safety (Dora et al., 2021). ...
... The global average per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions due to food waste in 2011 were around 323 kg CO2eq (Porter et al., 2016), with developing economies contributing significantly to the increase in emissions due to higher losses in fruits and vegetables (FAO, 2019). Food waste also embeds a significant amount of resources, including 24% of cropland, freshwater, and fertiliser used for food production (Kummu et al., 2012). ...
... Food production is a resource-intensive process (Valencia et al., 2022, Kummu et al., 2012, and it also contributes to global GHG emissions, freshwater withdrawals, and land use (Chen et al., 2020, Kummu et al., 2012, Porter et al., 2016. Therefore, FLW creates pressure on the ecosystem by (a) wasting precious resources like water, fertilisers, seeds, electricity etc.; (b) deterioration of land quality by depletion of nutrients; (c) adding to food insecurity; (d) contributing to landfill, environmental pollution and climate change (von Bormann, 2019, Potgieter et al., 2020. ...
The growing income levels and population worldwide have increased the demand for food, leading to unsustainable production and consumption practices. Food waste has significant ecological impacts, such as contributing to greenhouse gas emissions through decomposition in landfills. This study aims to explore the barriers and motivators for sustainable food consumption (SFC) in South Africa. One aspect of this issue is examining the potential for the circular economy (CE) approaches to address post-harvest losses in the food supply chain. Further along the supply chain, food losses become more evident at the retail level, where the removal of unsold food from the chain—at the consumer level, generated waste by the disposal of unconsumed food. CE strategies can help reduce waste by directing edible food towards donations and finding alternative uses for food unsuitable for consumption, such as converting it into energy or animal feed. Implementing CE strategies can benefit society, the economy, and the environment in South Africa. However, policy support is needed to transition fully to a CE model. Keywords: Circular economy, sustainable food consumption, food loss and waste, Sustainable Development Goals, South Africa
... As per the FAO (2018), 33% of the total carbon footprint of global FLW comes from animal-based products, despite these goods only accounting for 15% of the overall amount. According to Porter et al. (2016), GHG emissions produced by meat accounted for 34-38% of all GHG emissions during the production phase of FLW, even though meat only makes up 3-4% of the overall FLW by weight. Song et al. (2015) emphasized that while animal-derived meals only constituted 13% of the food discarded in China, they were responsible for 44% of the water buried in the total food waste. ...
... It is evident that there is a clear lack of expertise in the following areas: assessing losses and identifying their causes; comprehending the relationships between various supply chain stages, such as upstream and downstream linkages; adding value through procedures like packing and packaging; guaranteeing quality and safety; putting good manufacturing, hygiene, and agricultural practices into practice; sorting and grading; managing transportation; creating traceability; and maintaining. The region's universities and colleges' academic programs place little focus on or relevance to real-world situations (Porter et al., 2016). There are significant deficiencies in specialized human resources, including technicians who are responsible for the operation, maintenance, and repair of machinery, cold chains, and other infrastructure. ...
Yearly, more than 33% of the food produced for human use is lost or discarded. This statement serves as a critical signal regarding the exhaustion of natural resources utilized in the food supply chain (FSC), which could potentially have adverse consequences on food security. Food wastage predominantly occurs at the consumer level, namely in the retail and food service industries. It is more prevalent in affluent nations compared to food loss, which occurs between manufacturing and distribution and is more common in low-income countries. Hence, the prevention of food loss and waste (FLW) can contribute to a more equitable equilibrium between food supply and demand. This is of utmost importance in enhancing food security, mitigating environmental consequences, and yielding financial advantages for the many stakeholders engaged in the FSC. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of case studies, legislative examples from different countries, and initiatives undertaken by non-profit organizations and industry actors in the food chain to efficiently prevent and/or decrease FLW. Furthermore, it enumerates the current limitations and prospective avenues for further investigation. To optimize the allocation of resources, it is essential to analyze and combine information, while also being cognizant of the specific locations in the food chain, categories of food, and countries experiencing the greatest losses.
... It also generates economic impacts, in their turn, point towards loss of monetary investments and reduced profit margins. Environmental impacts refer to the excessive use of resources and materials, such as land and water for agriculture, and energy for transport, industrial processes and food distribution, in addition to the greater increase in greenhouse emissions [23][24][25]. It should be noted that the cumulative impact generated by each unit of food, with or without losses, at some stage of the supply chain, may be associated with the footprint of previous stages. ...
To analyze the cause of, destination of and strategies used to reduce fruit and vegetable (FV) waste in establishments in a Brazilian metropolis. Cross-sectional design study was carried out in areas with and without public Food and Nutrition Public Establishment (FNPE) in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Variables related to the cause of, destination of and strategies used to reduce the waste were investigated using Fisher's exact test and Holm-Bonferroni tests. More than half of the establishments reported the occurrence of waste of FV (55.4%), being higher in private specialized fresh food market indoor (55.7%) and FNPE (20.3%). The main causes were excessive handling by the consumer (30.1%), poor environmental conditions in the establishment (28.6%) and excessive purchase (15.0%). As for the destination, it was observed that the majority donated (46.2%) or disposal (36.8%). And the main strategies were stock control (40.4%) and the purchase of regional FV (37.6%). The occurrence of waste was high, mainly in private specialized fresh food market indoor and in FNPE, and the causes were related to the consumer and the establishment. Food waste donation and disposal were the main destinations. Stock control and purchase of regional FV were the main strategies.
The topic of food loss and waste has received increasing attention by researchers and policy makers in recent years. However, the problem remains unsolved and inadequately addressed by policies. This chapter presents a critical review of recent academic and policy literature focused on food loss and waste definitions, quantification methods, drivers and EU policies. Moreover, it discusses the main gaps identified in the literature to inform further research and policy. The lack of attention to food losses is suggested as a missed opportunity to implement the waste framework hierarchy and to focus on prevention actions. Moreover, most analyses have not historically considered food waste and loss as part of a broader food system. Consequently, policies do not properly engage with relevant systemic drivers of food loss and waste generation, such as food overproduction and power imbalances in food systems. Finally, it is proposed to fill these gaps by embedding food loss and waste within a food system approach and exploring schools of thought which analyze systemic dynamics of overproduction and economic growth.
Türkiye'de ev dışı gıda tüketiminin ve dışarıda yemek yiyenlerin oranının artmasıyla birlikte gıda atığı sorununun artacağı düşünülmektedir. Gıda atığı sorunu, sadece ekonomik kayıplara neden olmakla kalmayıp aynı zamanda çevre kirliliği, doğal kaynakların israfı ve toplumsal adaletsizlik gibi birçok sosyal soruna da yol açmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, genişletilmiş norm aktivasyon teorisi ve dini değerler bağlamında dışarıda yemek yiyenlerin gıda atığını azaltma davranışını anlamak ve bu faktörlerin davranışsal niyet üzerindeki etkisini incelemektir. Bu amaçla çalışma, Türkiye’nin farklı bölgelerinden dışarıda yemek yiyen 18 yaşında büyük 415 kişi ile gerçekleştirilmiş ve araştırma modeli Kısmi En Küçük Kareler Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi'ne dayalı olarak test edilmiştir. Araştırma, sorumluluk atfetmesinin, sonuç farkındalığının, öz yeterliliğin ve dini değerlerin kişisel normu aktif hale getirerek gıda atığını azaltmaya etkili bir şekilde teşvik edebileceğini göstermiştir. Buna ek olarak kişisel norm ve öz yeterliliğin, gıda atığını azaltma niyeti üzerinde önemli bir pozitif etkiye sahip olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Ancak, beklenmeyen bir sonuç olarak, dini değerlerin davranışsal niyet üzerinde herhangi bir etkisi olmaması ortaya çıkmıştır.
The global food industry faces a growing demand for sustainability, intersecting with the need for strict compliance with religious and ethical standards. The halal industry, driven by a rising Muslim population and increasing interest from non-Muslim consumers, represents a significant and expanding market segment. This study examines the integration of green economy practices into the halal supply chain using a farm-to-fork framework, emphasizing sustainability at every stage of food production. The review explores existing literature on sustainable farming, halal-certified animal feed, compliance with genetically modified organism (GMO) regulations, and the implementation of post-harvest handling, traceability systems, and supply chain management. By incorporating these elements, the framework ensures that halal products maintain their integrity, safety, and quality while promoting environmental sustainability. The findings highlight the potential for aligning the halal industry with global sustainability goals, thereby enhancing consumer trust and supporting the industry’s long-term viability.
The agri-food supply chain is vital for food security, economic development, and environmental sustainability. However, traditional linear production and consumption models have caused environmental degradation, resource depletion, and waste. This study explores integrating circular economy principles into the agri-food supply chain to create a more sustainable, resilient system. A comprehensive literature review examines current initiatives, strategies, and best practices across production, processing, packaging, distribution, retail, consumption, and waste management stages. Emphasis is on both developing and developed countries, with technological advancements, policy frameworks, and case studies from Australia highlighted. The findings stress the importance of collaboration, policy support, innovation, and public awareness in driving circular economy practices. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders, providing a foundation for future research and policy interventions to promote a sustainable circular agri-food system.
The impending challenges posed by climate change along with the consequences it will have on soil health, water quality, and food production highlight the need for revolutionary changes in Indian agriculture. This book chapter spotlights the critical need for carbon farming to reduce global warming and improve agricultural sustainability through various techniques, including soil carbon enhancement, agroforestry, and cover crops. The potential benefits of carbon farming in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) could improve agricultural output, protect farmers’ livelihoods, and strengthen ecosystem health, providing a viable response to current issues. Critical prerequisites for successful carbon farming, including the utilization of carbon credits and green incentives, are scrutinized, offering a nuanced comprehension of the market mechanisms supporting these initiatives. Government policy interventions, notably the National Mission on Natural Farming and the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana, actively promote sustainable agriculture techniques. This emphasizes how cooperative efforts are required to move agriculture in the direction of a sustainable and carbon-sequestering paradigm. This all-encompassing strategy, which includes creative methods, encouraging laws, and farmer empowerment, creates a positive trajectory toward a day when agriculture will both serve the world’s food needs and promote environmental resilience and health. In light of this, a forward-looking viewpoint highlights the revolutionary potential of carbon farming as a cornerstone for eco-friendly farming practices and global nutritional security within the framework of carbon capture farming potentials and strategies aimed at accomplishing India’s SDGs.
Avoiding food loss and waste may counteract the increasing food demand and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the agricultural sector. This is crucial because of limited options available to increase food production. In the year 2010, food availability was 20% higher than was required on a global scale. Thus, a more sustainable food production and adjusted consumption would have positive environmental effects. This study provides a systematic approach to estimate consumer level food waste on a country scale and globally, based on food availability and requirements. The food requirement estimation considers demographic development, body weights, and physical activity levels. Surplus between food availability and requirements of a given country is considered as food waste. The global food requirement changed from 2,300 kcal/cap/day to 2,400 kcal/cap/day during the last 50 years, while food surplus grew from 310 kcal/cap/day to 510 kcal/cap/day. Similarly, GHG emissions related to the food surplus increased from 130 Mt CO2eq./yr to 530 Mt CO2eq./yr, an increase of more than 300%. Moreover, the global food surplus may increase up to
850 kcal/cap/day, while the total food requirement will increase only by 2%-20% by 2050. Consequently, GHG emissions associated with the food waste may also increase tremendously to 1.9–2.5 Gt CO2eq./yr.
Producing sufficient, healthy food for a growing world population amid a changing climate is a major challenge for the twenty-first century. Agricultural trade could help alleviate this challenge by using comparative productivity advantages between countries. However, agricultural trade has implications for national food security and could displace environmental impacts from developed to developing countries. This study illustrates the global effects resulting from the agricultural trade of a single country, by analysing the global cropland and greenhouse gas impacts of the UK's food and feed supply. The global cropland footprint associated with the UK food and feed supply increased by 2022 kha (+23%) from 1986 to 2009. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) associated with fertilizer and manure application, and rice cultivation remained relatively constant at 7.9 Mt CO(2)e between 1987 and 2008. Including GHGE from land-use change, however, leads to an increase from 19.1 in 1987 to 21.9 Mt CO(2)e in 2008. TheUK is currently importing over 50% of its food and feed, whereas 70% and 64% of the associated cropland and GHGE impacts, respectively, are located abroad. These results imply that the UK is increasingly reliant on external resources and that the environmental impact of its food supply is increasingly displaced overseas.
The reduction of food waste is seen as an important societal issue with considerable ethical, ecological and economic implications. The European Commission aims at cutting down food waste to one-half by 2020. However, implementing effective prevention measures requires knowledge of the reasons and the scale of food waste generation along the food supply chain. The available data basis for Europe is very heterogeneous and doubts about its reliability are legitimate. This mini-review gives an overview of available data on food waste generation in EU-27 and discusses their reliability against the results of own model calculations. These calculations are based on a methodology developed on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and provide data on food waste generation for each of the EU-27 member states, broken down to the individual stages of the food chain and differentiated by product groups. The analysis shows that the results differ significantly, depending on the data sources chosen and the assumptions made. Further research is much needed in order to improve the data stock, which builds the basis for the monitoring and management of food waste.
Changing food consumption patterns and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have been a matter of scientific debate for decades. The agricultural sector is one of the major GHG emitters and thus holds a large potential for climate change mitigation through optimal management and dietary changes. We assess this potential, project emissions, and investigate dietary patterns and their changes globally on a per country basis between 1961 and 2007. Sixteen representative and spatially differentiated patterns with a per capita calorie intake ranging from 1,870 to [Formula: see text]3,400 kcal/day were derived. Detailed analyses show that low calorie diets are decreasing worldwide, while in parallel diet composition is changing as well: a discernable shift towards more balanced diets in developing countries can be observed and steps towards more meat rich diets as a typical characteristics in developed countries. Low calorie diets which are mainly observable in developing countries show a similar emission burden than moderate and high calorie diets. This can be explained by a less efficient calorie production per unit of GHG emissions in developing countries. Very high calorie diets are common in the developed world and exhibit high total per capita emissions of 3.7-6.1 kg CO2eq./day due to high carbon intensity and high intake of animal products. In case of an unbridled demographic growth and changing dietary patterns the projected emissions from agriculture will approach 20 Gt CO2eq./yr by 2050.
Global food production is identified as a great threat to the environment. In combination with technical advances in agriculture, dietary change is suggested to be necessary to reduce the environmental impact of the food system. In this article a systematic review assessing the environmental impact of dietary change is performed. The aims are to i) evaluate the scientific basis of dietary scenario analysis, ii) estimate the potential environmental effects of dietary change, iii) identify methodological aspects of importance for outcome and iv) identify current gaps in knowledge. The review includes 14 peer-reviewed journal articles assessing the GHG emissions and land use demand of in total 49 dietary scenarios. The results suggest that dietary change, in areas with affluent diet, could play an important role in reaching environmental goals, with up to 50% potential to reduce GHG emissions and land use demand associated with the current diet. The choice of functional unit, system boundaries and methods for scenario development and accounting for uncertainties are methodological aspects identified to have major influence on the quality and results of dietary scenario analysis. Further understanding of dietary change as a measure for more sustainable food systems requires improved knowledge of uncertainty in dietary scenario studies, environmental impact from substitutes and complements to meat and the effect of dietary change in different groups of populations and geographical locations.
There are few peer-reviewed or major published studies that estimate the total amount of food loss in developed countries and even fewer attempt to estimate the monetary value. We compiled estimates of the amount and value of food loss for more than 200 individual foods in the United States using the US Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data and then aggregated these values to estimate the total value of food loss and the value by food group. The results indicate that in 2008, the estimated total value of food loss at the retail and consumer levels in the United States as purchased at retail prices was 390/capita/year. Food loss represents a significant share of household food expenditures: our estimates suggest that the annual value of food loss is almost 10% of the average amount spent on food per consumer in 2008 and over 1% of the average disposable income. This consumer level loss translates into over .3 kg (0.7 lb) of food per capita per day valued at $1.07/day. Our estimates of the total value of food loss in the United States and loss estimates by food group are useful in that they can generate awareness of the issue among the food industry members, governments, and consumers. Potential large-scale approaches and economic incentives to mitigate food loss in developed countries are also discussed.
In this paper a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of protected crops was carried out. In particular, energy and environmental performances of peppers, melons, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and zucchini in different typologies of greenhouses (tunnel and pavilion) were assessed. The study aimed at assessing the ecoprofile of each product and the share of each life-cycle step on the total environmental impacts. The related process flow chart, the relevant mass and energy flows and the key environmental issues were identified for each product. Collection of primary data was conducted by means of a detailed questionnaire distributed to a producer company in southern Italy. The analysis was developed according to the LCA standards of the ISO 14040 series.The results showed that for all the examined vegetables the packaging step and the greenhouse structures have a relevant share in the environmental impact distribution. Further tunnel and pavilion greenhouses are characterized by comparable ecoprofiles and both of them are characterized by lower energy consumptions than greenhouses in the North of Europe, due to the non-use of auxiliary heating systems in the former.
From the “cradle-to-gate” assessment of one ton of plain flour, wheat production is found to contribute most to the carbon
footprint of plain flour with a percentage over 60%. In particular, the flour mill production, an energy-intensive lifecycle
stage, accounted for approximately 30% of the final carbon footprint results — with the milling process resulting in 40% of
the production emissions. Direct GHG emissions reduction strategies proposed include the purchased wheat from suppliers who
demonstrate cleaner production and are of proximity. Alternatively, carbon footprint can be lowered indirectly through making
the operations more energy efficient by improving the processes and equipment used.
KeywordsCarbon Footprint Assessment-Energy Efficiency-Flour Mill Production