Reducing food waste is proving a difficult challenge,
according to a new report from the Value Chain Management Institute.
The
study found that 31 per cent of the total food available for consumption in
retail (10 per cent) and household (21 per cent) was lost or wasted in 2010.
That’s six billon
kilos, enough to fill 60,000 rail cars, stretching 1,000 kilometres.
The
authors found that most efforts that have been taken are waste diversion, not waste
prevention. That’s because waste diversion does not require fundamental change,
requires limited investment to appear effective, and poses limited risk to
government and industry, the report says.
“No two
food chains are alike, with the unnecessary food loss and waste that occurs
along each chain differing in location, type and cause,” the report says. That
means solutions need to be specific to each chain.
“Government policies and legislation that are
not transparently congruent have the potential to increase rather than decrease
unnecessary food loss and waste that occurs along the value chain,” the report
says.
“The
deeply rooted structural, cultural and institutional barriers that create
unnecessary FLW would be best addressed through industry- government
partnerships.
“The
development of effective government policies and legislation is hindered due to
the fact that insufficient information exists on what, where, why and how food
losses and wastes are created along the value chain,” the report says.
“Effective
and sustainable solutions could be achieved by voluntary agreements between
industry and government versus forcing change through policies and regulations,”
it says.
