Reducing Impacts of Food Loss and Waste: Proceedings of a Workshop (2019)
Chapter: Front Matter
Reducing Impacts of
Food Loss and Waste
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Franklin Carrero-Martínez, Emi Kameyama, and
Paula Tarnapol Whitacre, Rapporteurs
Committee on Reducing Food Loss and Waste:
A Workshop on Impacts
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Policy and Global Affairs
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and Bayer Crop Science, ConAgra Foods, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Agreement Number: 59-0790-7-0016). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-49055-9
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-49055-3
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25396
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Reducing Impacts of Food Loss and Waste: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25396.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE ON REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE: A WORKSHOP ON IMPACTS
Ann Bartuska (Chair), Vice President for Land, Water, and Nature, Resources for the Future
Alison Grantham, Director for Food Systems Research and Development, Blue Apron
Lucyna Kurtyka, Senior Scientific Program Director, Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research
Prabhu Pingali (NAS), Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and Founding Director, Tata-Cornell Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative, Cornell University
Brian Roe, Van Buren Professor, Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, Ohio State University
Project Staff
Franklin A. Carrero-Martínez, Director, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program; Theme Lead, Global Policy and Development
Emi Kameyama, Associate Program Officer, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Nicole Lehmer, Senior Program Assistant, Science and Technology for Sustainability Program (until March 2019)
Consultant
Paula Tarnapol Whitacre, Principal, Full Circle Communications, LLC
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Preface and Acknowledgments
Ensuring food security for all is a significant global sustainability challenge. It is estimated that almost 800 million people do not consume enough food to have healthy and productive lives. At the same time, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimated in 2011 that roughly one-third of food produced globally is lost or wasted.1 Similarly, in the United States, food loss and waste accounts for approximately 31 percent of the food supply at the retail and consumer levels and has significant impacts on food security, environmental conservation, and climate change. Thus, reducing food loss and waste is an important component of ensuring global food security.
A growing body of research illustrates that a reduction in food waste provides an opportunity to address a key food security challenge by increasing the efficiency of the food system. This increased efficiency could also provide environmental benefits and address climate change impacts. On October 17, 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Science and Technology for Sustainability program convened a public workshop to investigate impacts of reducing food loss and waste on farmers, food prices, food availability, and the environment. “Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Workshop on Impacts,” held in Washington, DC,
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1 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2011. Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes, and prevention. Rome, Italy: United Nations. Available at www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ags/publications/GFL_web.pdf.
was made possible by financial support from Bayer CropScience, ConAgra Foods, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, whom we thank for their support.
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings: Bojana Bajzelj, Waste and Resources Action Programme; Darby Hoover, Natural Resources Defense Council; Lisa Kitinoja, Postharvest Education Foundation; and Rob Voss, International Food Policy Research Institute.
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Helen Jensen, Iowa State University. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the National Academies.
Franklin A. Carrero-Martínez, Director
Science and Technology for Sustainability Program
Contents
Workshop Context and Organization
Identifying Needs and Challenges in Reducing Food Loss and Waste
2 METRICS FOR UNDERSTANDING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE
Food Loss Measures: State of Knowledge and Known Challenges
USDA/ERS Measurement of Food Loss in the United States
3 IMPACT OF E-COMMERCE, NEW TOOLS, POLICIES, AND MEASURES
USDA Perspectives and Contributions
4 IMPACTS OF REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ON FOOD AVAILABILITY
Linking Food Availability and Waste in the Global Economy
5 IMPACTS OF REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ON FOOD PRICES AND FARM INCOMES
Price Discrimination and Food Waste
Impacts of Reducing Food Loss in Developing Countries
Dealing with Food Loss Without Expanding Production
6 IMPACTS OF FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Reducing Food Loss and Waste on the Environment
Wasted Food: Public Health Costs and Benefits
7 FUTURE NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITIES
B Biographies of Speakers and Moderators
D Descriptions of Selected Activities Related to Reducing Food Loss and Waste
