Launch of a new Policy Brief by the Global Panel & FAO on Nutrition and Food Loss & Waste
Loss and waste of nutritious foods needs to be an urgent ‘new’ priority for improving diets and nutrition. Both fundamentally affect the availability and affordability of foods which make up healthy diets, and represent a major food system dysfunction that can no longer be tolerated. Reducing loss and waste in nutritious foods would thus yield substantial benefits far beyond addressing hunger and malnutrition – to encompass economies and the natural environment.
In that context, FAO HQ held on November 7, 2018 an event to launch the new policy brief entitled “Preventing nutrient loss and waste across the food system: policy actions for high-quality diets".
Highlighting the need for actions to reduce the loss and waste of high nutirent foods, the panel and discussants urged policymakers to prioritize the reduction of food loss and waste serving as a mean to improve people's access to nutrious and healthy food.
The brief was prepared by the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
It proposes a series of policy actions across the entire food system, including: educating stakeholders; focusing on perishable foods; improving public and private infrastructure; encouraging innovation; and closing the data and knowledge gaps on food losses and waste. In conclusion, the brief puts out six specific priorities for action to prevent food loss and waste, while improving access to high-quality diets.
More details on the policy brief and launch event .