SAVE FOOD: Initiative mondiale de réduction des pertes et du gaspillage alimentaires
SAVE FOOD Newsletter
SAVE FOOD Newsletter
  August 2016, Issue #35
SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

Latest News

 

SAVE FOOD Meeting 2016

Following the extremely successful first SAVE FOOD Meeting at Nestlé in Vevey, Switzerland last year, the second meeting is being held on 26 September at the Ateneo de Madrid in Spain. The event is devoted to the issues of food waste and loss in relation to the various stages of the food value chain. High-ranking policy-makers from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment as well as the French government are participating. The programme will be rounded off by presentations from the FAO, companies from the primary sector as well as the packaging industry. + READ MORE

 

 

The hidden beauty of ugly food

Ugly food fever has spread to the United States of America. United States supermarkets, including Walmart, Whole Foods and Giant Eagle, have a beautiful answer to food waste: ugly produce. Walmart writes, “food waste is an ugly problem to face”. Many consumers seem to agree. + READ MORE


Preventing food waste by turning Olympic leftovers into nutritious meals for the needy

The "Reffetto-Rio" project is an initiative presented in Rome in the presence of Director-General José Graziano da Silva and Maurizio Martina, Italy's minister of agricultural policies. Thanks to the "Reffetto-Rio" project, surplus food from the Olympic Village during the Olympic Games about to commence in Rio de Janeiro will be recovered and turned into nutritious meals for distribution to the neediest. At the same time, cooking and nutrition classes will be given for the benefit of youth and those in difficulty. + READ MORE


Italy adopts new law to slash food waste
BBC

Italy has passed into law a raft of new measures to try to reduce the mountain of food wasted in the country each year. The bill - backed by 181 Senators, with two against and 16 abstaining - aims to cut waste one million tonnes from the estimated five million it wastes each year. + READ MORE


Commission publishes composition of its Platform on Food waste and Food losses
European Commission

The participants to the 154th The Commission announced the composition of the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste. Part of the 2015 EU Action Plan for Circular Economy, the Platform is to bring together 70 member organisations, both from the public and private sectors, in order to maximise the contribution of all actors and support achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, as well as to reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains. + READ MORE


The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2016
United Nations

“We have embarked on a monumental and historic journey,” the Secretary-General told the United Nations (UN) High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), which ran from 11 to 20 July at UN Headquarters in New York. The forum is the UN’s central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 12.3 – By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including postharvest losses – was adopted last September by 193 UN Member States. + READ MORE


UN demands more action from African governments
GhanaWeb

Officials of the United Nations (UN) are demanding more effective measures from African governments to deal with postharvest losses of food. Spokesperson for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Nick Nutall, says this is crucial to ensure a sustainable food supply chain as the world’s population grows. + READ MORE


Future of food – shaping a climate-smart global food system
World Bank

The World Bank report Future of food – shaping a climate-smart global food system highlights how “Reducing food waste and food loss is key for boosting the CSA [climate-smart agriculture] triple win by raising the overall food system productivity while delivering greater resilience and lower emissions by using less land, forests, and water resources.” + READ MORE


Action to cut food waste gains momentum across Europe
The Guardian

According to campaigners, efforts to force supermarkets and other businesses to waste less food are gaining momentum following France’s ban on supermarkets throwing out unwanted food. + READ MORE


Salvation Farms study finds staggering food loss from Vermont farms
Salvation Farms

In the first empirical study of food loss from farms in Vermont, United States of America, Salvation Farms and Isgood Community Research estimate that 14.3 million pounds of wholesome vegetables and berries grown in the state are left uneaten every year. Salvation Farms began the study last year to understand the scope of food loss, which is defined as edible, quality crops that are neither sold nor donated. + READ MORE


Perfectly imperfect
interpack

The United Kingdom supermarket chain Tesco has a new product range: Perfectly Imperfect. It simply means selling any misshapen or otherwise less attractive fruit and vegetables that would normally end up in the waste bin. Similar pilot projects have also been launched by other supermarket chains, such as Asda and Morrison’s as they too seek to reduce their volumes of food waste. + READ MORE


AGRA launches initiative to reduce postharvest losses
Mozambique High Commission

The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) has launched a three-year initiative to reduce postharvest losses of cereals and beans in sub-Saharan Africa by expanding the use of threshers and airtight sacks. According to AGRA President Dr Agnes Kalibata, the project is being launched in Mozambique and Burkina Faso, focusing on reducing cowpea and soybean losses. + READ MORE


Smart kitchen system checks food wastage
Straits Times

Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort and Spa has installed a smart system in one of its kitchens to monitor food waste. The Winnow System is a smart meter that is integrated into a kitchen’s waste bin. It comprises a scale, a liquid-crystal display panel and wireless connectivity. + READ MORE


Netherlands action plan for reducing food losses in developing countries
Postharvest Network.com

Earlier this year Member of Parliament of the Netherlands, Carla Dik-Faber (of the ChristenUnie party), proposed a parliamentary motion requesting the setting up of an national action plan for reducing food losses in developing countries, bringing together non-governmental organizations in the Netherlands to explore this topic. + READ MORE


What we can do about Canada’s food waste problem
HuffPost

While the old adage tells us to waste not and want not, all too often surplus food is left uneaten. Canada’s mounting food waste is costing consumers and cutting into the country’s overall economic output. + READ MORE


Industry guidelines on surplus food donations aim to fight food waste
Niamh Michail, Food Navigator

Manufacturers and retailers have teamed up with the European Federation of Food Banks to produce a framework for donating surplus food and cutting down on food waste. + READ MORE


When we waste food we waste love
Selina Juul Founder of Stop Wasting Food movement Denmark (Stop Spild Af Mad)

Food waste is not only that piece of uneaten hamburger on your plate. It’s also a gigantic waste of resources behind the scenes, when you really take a look at your hamburger and see its story unfold: animals’ lives, land, farmers’ work, fertilizers, animal feed, water, gas, energy, transportation, packaging and storage. + READ MORE


Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too

In preparation for this year’s World Food Day, on the theme of “Climate is changing. Food and agriculture must too,” The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is disseminating seven facts on climate change and food production for sustainable development. Fact 4 states that “Over one-third of food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. That amounts to about 1.3 billion tonnes per year”. + READ MORE

 
slideshare     

Videos

Why do we need to change our food system?
Postharvest loss by Rockefeller foundation
Campagne « Ça suffit le gâchis » : la liste de courses

Publications

Report of the "2015 Series of International Conferences on Food Loss and Waste"
Food Waste Toolkit for the Office
Food loss in Vermont - Estimating annual vegetable & berry loss
2016 Global Nutrition Report
The cost of Canada’s annual food waste

Infographic

Food loss/waste
Food loss and waste facts

Events

Foodsharing Festival
Berlin, Germany, 12 - 14 August 2016
To create a better awareness for this important topic by generating new ideas on how to save even more food and engage more people.

“Cibo: un bene per tutti. Dalla lotta allo spreco alle nuove tecnologie”
Rimini, Italy 25 August 2016
This year the Fondazione Banco Alimentare Onlus will host this important event during the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples.

Better food for more people
Denmark, Copenhagen, 25 - 26 August 2016
Theme sessions #4 Prevention of food waste.

Harnessing Consumers & Communities to Help Meet U.S. Food Waste Reduction Goals: Conference and Webinar
26 August 2016
This Conference and Webinar will bring together those interested in reducing and redirecting food waste in their own communities.

The Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI)
Nairobi, Kenya, 27 - 28 August 2016
TICAD-VI will be a milestone of the TICAD process, since it will be the first-ever TICAD Summit to be held in the African continent in its over 20 years of history.

Conference: ‘WASTE NOT, WANT NOT: The Circular Economy to Food Security’
Canberra, Australia, 29 - 30 August 2016
The conference has eminent international and Australian speakers who will address a broad range of food loss and waste issues and solutions.

Course on Lost harvest and wasted food
The Netherlands, 13 – 23 September 2016
In this course, you will look at ways to minimise losses, reduce food waste and explore alternative uses. Ultimately, reduction of losses contributes to food security.

SAVE FOOD Meeting 2016
Madrid, Spain, 26 September 2016
The event will focus on the issues of food waste and loss in relation to the various stages of the food value-added chain.