The role of reducing food waste for resilient food systems

Bajželj, Bojana; Quested, Tom; Röös, Elin; Swannell, Richard

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101140

Cited by 73 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…According to Stuart, 30-50% of material intended for consumption (including animal material that is fed to animals or discarded as a byproduct) is wasted in North America and the EU at different stages of the food system [41]. According to Bajzelj [42], the reduction of food waste is essential for achieving a resilient food system.…”

Section: Circular Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19, the Food System and the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities

2020

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This paper analyzes the causes and effects of the COVID-19 crisis, with a specific focus on the food system. Food consumption and production has not only been impacted by the crisis, but it may have also contributed to causing the pandemic. After providing a brief introductory framework, the paper presents the results of a pilot study on the link between COVID-19 and the food system, as indicated by the social media activity of selected European Union (EU) Twitter accounts, measured using an original “theme popularity” metric. Thereafter, a systematic review of the literature is proposed to identify the causes of the rise in popularity of a sustainable food system theme, the potential consequences of the COVID-19 crisis for the food system (targeting the production, consumption and waste disposal phases) and possible solutions, focusing on the circular economy. Challenges and opportunities for policymakers in the short and long term are discussed. A holistic approach is advocated, as the global food system is intimately connected with society and requires deep cooperation among nation states and economic actors.

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Section: Circular Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19, the Food System and the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities

2020

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“…Here, food waste is generally assessed in comparison to the total amount of food produced for a particular food group (Béné et al, 2019;Chaudhary et al, 2018;Fanzo et al, 2020). Reduction of food waste is then considered as a key 'environmental indicator', while nuanced discussions on links with food safety or resilience (Bajželj et al, 2020;Mylona et al, 2018) are generally missing.…”

Section: Food Waste and Food Safetymentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sustainability Compass for policy navigation to sustainable food systems

Hebinck¹,

Zurek²,

Achterbosch³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The growing acknowledgement that food systems require transformation has led to a call for comprehensive sustainability assessments to support decision-making. For frameworks to serve sustainability governance, they must show the trade-offs and unintended consequences that might result from policy decisions across key goals relevant to food system actors. This paper reviews existing literature and frameworks and builds on stakeholder input to present a sustainability compass with associated metrics for food system assessments. The compass defines sustainability scores for four societal goals, underpinned by areas of concern. The operationalisation approach for assessment balances policy-usability, system complexity and comprehensiveness, while providing actionable insights. It concludes by outlining additional challenges for research to continue development of food system frameworks that support sustainability governance.

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“…Imposing stringent food quality standards may also be associated with an increase in food waste, as firms and growers may fail to meet the requirements [25,34,39]. This group includes the effects of imperfection on capital markets, since the lack of capital and credit constraints may lead to food waste [41]. Excessive ordering contributes to the amount of food waste at the food service stage in agrifood supply chains [32].…”

Section: Pre-consumption Food Waste Driversmentioning

confidence: 99%

Covid-19 Pandemic and Food Waste: An Empirical Analysis

2021

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This paper investigates the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on food waste using an original dataset from 176 agrifood business operators in the European Union (EU). Our objective is to assess whether and why the pandemic crisis affected food waste level. Unlike previous studies that addressed the issue at a consumer level, our research focuses on pre-consumption waste covering stages of the agrifood supply chain from input suppliers to retailers. Considering the importance of waste reduction for the sustainability of food production, the study provides an insight into the ability of the agrifood supply chain to cope with a major shock and its resilience. A multinomial logit regression model is used to estimate the effect of Covid-19, testing whether the ability to innovate, the role in the supply chain, the magnitude of the shock and policy support were drivers of changes in food waste. We find that three main factors affect the change in a firm’s food-waste level during the Covid-19 pandemic: The magnitude of the disruption of the sale channel, the firms’ ability to adapt the business model to the new pandemic environment, and the adoption of public policies mitigating the lockdown effects. The first driver was associated with an increase in food waste, while the others were associated with a decrease.

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The role of reducing food waste for resilient food systems

Abstract: Graphical abstract

Cited by 73 publications

References 47 publications

COVID-19, the Food System and the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities

COVID-19, the Food System and the Circular Economy: Challenges and Opportunities

A Sustainability Compass for policy navigation to sustainable food systems

Covid-19 Pandemic and Food Waste: An Empirical Analysis

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