Report outlines ways to help solve North America's food loss, waste problem
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with food loss and waste, the report lists source reduction, food rescue and recovery as having the greatest potentials for savings on GHG and as preferable to recycling.
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Canada, released a comprehensive report on the state of food loss and waste in Canada, Mexico and the United States developed through the CEC’s North American Initiative on Food Waste Reduction and Recovery.
The report, “Characterization and Management of Food Loss and Waste in North America,” documents adverse socio-economic and environmental impacts of food loss and waste, and actions that the industrial, commercial, institutional, government and non-governmental sectors can implement to mitigate these impacts.
Food loss and waste in North America
The report estimates that 168 million tons of food are wasted in North America each year, with Americans wasting 915 pounds per capita, Canadians 873 pounds per capita and Mexicans 549 pounds per capita. With notable differences between the three countries, the report finds that the largest share of food loss and waste in North America, 67 million ton per year, occurs at the consumer level. There are 52 million tons wasted in the industrial, commercial and institutional levels and 49 million tons at the pre-harvest level.
The report also provides a closer examination of the primary causes and potential solutions to reduce the problem, focusing on over-production, product damage, lack of standardized date labeling practices, lack of cold chain infrastructure, rigid food-grading specifications and varying customer demand and market fluctuations. A key finding is that distributors, retailers, food rescue organizations and foodservice providers play a critical role in realizing solutions.
“As we build a greater understanding about the impact of food loss and waste on our economy and environment, we must also commit ourselves to take action on source reduction and food rescue and recovery, at all stages of the food supply chain,” says César Rafael Chávez, CEC executive director. “Our aim with this report is to establish a baseline and identify an array of tools and strategies that will enable each sector of the food supply chain to make reducing these losses a reality."
Environmental and socio-economic impacts of food loss and waste
The report estimates that the annual environmental and socio-economic impacts of food loss and waste across North America are stark. They include: