Agricultural and Food Systems Sustainability: the Complex Challenge of Losses and Waste

Agricultural and Food Systems Sustainability: the Complex Challenge of Losses and Waste

Basel (Switzerland): MDPI, 2022.

English

140 p.

978-3-0365-6014-4

According to FAO (2018), one-third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted, which has environmental, economic, and social impacts on the overall food value chain and on society. Food loss and waste translate to economic losses for farmers and higher prices for consumers, both of which affect food insecurity by making food less accessible for the poorest and more vulnerable groups (FAO, 2018). The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (Goal 12—“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns”) calls for renewed efforts to reduce food losses along the production and supply chains. Achieving this goal also requires greater efforts globally in implementing food loss reduction policies and intervention. Although progress has been made in identifying the direct causes of food losses and quantifying their magnitude, there is a need to focus loss reduction strategies on technological solutions without overlooking the relevance of socioeconomic factors influencing the functioning of the food value chain. In addition, at farm level, another aspect that appears to be of increasing importance is represented by the sustainable management and use of byproducts from agriculture, including agricultural residues (such as non-edible parts of vegetables’ plants, stalks or wood resulting from pruning, discarded fruits, and crops grown but not harvested).

Electronic ed.

ELR 1234

eng

MON-124738