The purpose of the event was to present the progress made in ameliorating food loss and waste as well as to identify good practices that provide practical solution to food loss. The conference brought together experts from the public and private sectors, international organizations and NGOs, with the aim of exchanging knowledge and encouraging new initiatives to reduce food loss and waste.
The session, moderated by Ms. Kristina Mattsson, Swedish Board of Agriculture, and Mr. Salehin Khan, UNECE Economic Cooperation and Trade Division, started with the opening words of Ms. Nicola Koch, Chef de Cabinet of the UNECE, and Ms. Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, Director of FAO Geneva Office. They stressed the importance of quantifying food losses and identifying the origin to fight food waste through initiatives throughout the total supply chain.
The first speaker, Ms. Björg Askelsdottir, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), presented the results of the report “Tackling the 1.6-billion-ton food loss and waste crisis”. According the BCG, the problem of food loss is growing and, in 2030, annual food loss and waste will hit 2.1 billion tons worth $1.5 trillion. Ms. Askelsdottir commented that food waste occurs at all steps in the value chain, being bigger at the production step (in terms of volume) and at the consumption step (in terms of value). By food category, fruits & vegetables and meat are the main contributors. Dividing countries by GDP per capita, developed regions need to act at the “fork” whereas in developing regions, actions should be taken at the “farm”. She identified five drivers of the problem: lack of awareness of the issue and of possible solutions, inadequate supply chain infrastructure, supply chain efficiency efforts that do not focus sufficiently on food loss and waste, weak collaboration across the value chain and insufficient regulations.
The next speaker, Mr. Ahmad Mukhtar, Economist Trade and Food Security at FAO, gave the presentation “Agro-trade, economic productivity and value additions: the case of food loss”. He claimed that there is enough food production for all, but the challenge is the physical and socio-economic access. Food waste raises a barrier to achieving food security and nutrition for present and future generations through environmental, economic and social impacts within the global food system, he stated. He remarked the importance of harmonizing terminology, methodology, reporting and monitoring in order to build evidence for decisions at local and national level.
Ms. Lucie Rein, Country Manager in Switzerland for To Good To Go, explained how to fight food loss through a mobile app. The Too Good To Go app connects restaurants, bakeries and supermarkets with consumers. The users search for a store, the meal is prepaid via the app, the users go to the store to collect their meal just before closing time, and they receive a bag of unsold food after showing their receipt. She noted that 600,000 new consumers and 1,000 new partners are joining the movement every month.
And last but not least, Ms. Dalma Somogyi, World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), explained different initiatives to fight food loss. The WBCSD is actively participating in different projects addressing food loss waste, such as the Global Agri-Business Alliance (GAA) and the Climate Smart Agriculture, as well as supporting external initiatives, such as Champions 12.3 and the Indonesia FLW Action Partnership. She explained that the strategy to achieve food loss and waste reduction should be divided in three key stages: Target, Measure and Act. She commented that companies consider GHG emissions, deforestation, smallholder livelihood and water management as priority issues for their sustainability strategy. Food loss and waste reduction significantly contributes to reaching a broad range of key sustainability objectives for companies in the food and agriculture sector.