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FAO participates in the 2^nd meeting of the EU FLW Platform towards the achievement of SDG 12.3

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is engaged in policy dialogue and information exchange with the European Commission’s Directorate for General Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) on post-harvest loss and food waste. FAO has, since November 2016, been a member of the EU Platform on Food Loss and Waste (EU PFLW) which aims to involve all stakeholders – including Member States, international organizations, actors in the food supply chain and non-profit organizations – in defining the measures needed to prevent food waste, sharing best practices, and evaluating progress made over time. The activities of the EU PFLW intend to support the EU to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), adopted in September 2015, that include a target to halve per capita food waste at the retail and consumer level by 2030, and reduce food losses along the food production and supply chains. + READ MORE

Food security on the table as pioneering project estimates nutritional losses

The Community of Practice on food loss reduction is drawing attention to the nutritional composition of losses, and to what research organizations are doing on this topic. An article describing the new project called ‘Nutri-P-Loss’, led by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at the University of Greenwich, is available on-line. The project goes beyond quantitative loss to examine the losses in terms of their nutritional composition, including the quantity of vitamins, minerals and proteins that are lost. + READ MORE

Closing Workshop for Project "Capacity Building for Food Loss Reduction in the Near East"

The main objective of project “Capacity Building for Food Loss Reduction in the Near East” was to implement a training and awareness-raising program to strengthen national capacity of local leaders of producer associations, food industry managers and extension personnel on good practice in food handling and improved value chain management. The closing workshop for this project is taking place on the 24th and 25th of July in Cairo, the event will revolve around presenting the different activities that took place and their outcomes from the participating member countries. This workshop is an opportunity to request recommendations from member countries to develop and move forward with FLW reduction in the NENA region. + READ MORE

FAO/IPCC Expert meeting on land use, climate change and food security: 23–25 January 2017

One hundred scientists, economists and policy experts participated in a three-day expert meeting (EM) to engage in a high-level, globally oriented, and multidisciplinary scoping of topics, from climate change to land use and food security. The EM was structured around five themes: climate impacts and human-directed drivers of land change and linkages to food security; mitigation and adaptation options; and policies for resource management, smallholder resilience, mitigation and food and nutrition security. Themes such as "Food waste and loss: improved framing of the problem" are also covered. The report is a valuable source for the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) above-mentioned Special Report, especially in relation to food security, as well to researchers and policy-makers concerned with the policy implication of food security in relation to the post-Paris climate action and Agenda 2030. + READ MORE

Global Collaboration for Sustainability: The Food-Water-Energy Nexus

Early in May, FAO hosted a unique educational session entitled Global Collaboration for Sustainability: the Food-Water-Energy Nexus, in partnership with a graduate class in Organizational Dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania in the USA. The idea behind the session, which emerged from research in food waste and food security emanating from Expo Milano 2015, was to bring global/European perspectives and those of the USA together to examine food-water-energy nexus topics (and in particular food waste), linked to the urgent global challenge of sustainably feeding nearly 10 billion people by 2050. This session prompted an excellent exchange of global and North American perspectives on food-water-energy nexus issues and a dissection of the challenges and opportunities in food waste. Both sides learned from each other, illustrating the benefits of collaborative, mission-aligned discussions that are essential to achieving the Sustainability Goals. The session also inspired several new change agents among the attending graduate students. + READ MORE

Solutions for reducing food loss and ensuring sustainable fishing livelihoods

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has implemented the project in Latin America and the Caribbean that aims to: 1) reduce food loss by improving the management and utilization of bycatch, and minimizing discards; and 2) support sustainable livelihoods by turning shrimp and bottom trawl fisheries into sustainable and responsible fisheries. By focusing on both environmental and livelihood impacts, the project seeks to safeguard human and environmental well-being. With the support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Sustainable Management of Bycatch in Latin America and Caribbean Trawl Fisheries (REBYC-II LAC) project seeks to reduce food loss and enhance food availability by improving the management and use of bycatch and ensuring sustainable fishing livelihoods. + READ MORE

SAVE FOOD will debut in China

The Shanghai World of Packaging (SWOP) will be held at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre from 7-10 November 2017, and will benefit from the global network, expertise and resources of interpack. The study of FAO and State Grain Administration reveals that 35 percent of China's annual grain production was wasted, in which the waste outside the table was as high as 35 million tonnes , nearly 6 percent of China's total grain output. To fight against China's food loss and waste, SAVE FOOD will debut in China during SWOP 2017 with a featured area and forum to share information with the public. + READ MORE

Supermarket food waste — alternative waste strategies can reduce the environmental impact
European Commission

Researchers have examined environmental and economic impacts of supermarket food waste in a new study. Bread and meat products made the largest contribution to the environmental footprint of the supermarkets assessed. Alternative waste strategies, such as using bread waste as animal feed, have the potential to reduce these impacts. + READ MORE

Talking Rot
BBC

If you found some mould on a slice of bread - would you eat it, cut it off, or throw the loaf away? What exactly is that green fur anyway? The BBC's Emily Thomas talks to Chris Wells from Leatherhead Food Research to find out when old food really becomes bad for you. Food historian Helen Zeit from Michigan State University explains how we may have become less tolerant of older food, and Christina Rice of the Harvard law and Policy Clinic explains why the consumer is so confused over when to throw food away. + READ MORE

Closing Workshop for Project "Capacity Building for Food Loss Reduction in the Near East"
Cairo, Egypt, 24 – 25 July 2017
This workshop is an opportunity to request recommendations from member countries to develop and move forward with FLW reduction in the NENA region.

Regional Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems for Healthy Eating
San Salvador, El Salvador, 5 – 7 September 2017
The Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Symposium offers the opportunity to consider the challenges and opportunities in shaping sustainable food systems that assure everyone the human right to adequate and healthy food.

Focusing on food loss and food waste: 2017 food tank summit NYC
New York, United States, 13 September 2017
This one-day event will feature different speakers from the food and agriculture field. Researchers, farmers, chefs, policy makers, government officials, and students will come together for discussions on diverse topics.

Lost harvest and wasted food
The Netherlands, 11 – 22 September 2017
In this course, we will look at ways to minimise losses, reduce food waste and explore alternative uses. Ultimately, reduction of losses contributes to food security. Lost harvest and wasted food The Netherlands .

The 5th World Congress of Agriculture-2017
Shenyang, China, 15 – 17 September 2017
The following themes are in the programme and will focus on post-harvest loss: "Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategies to Mitigate Environmental and Economic Impact of Post-Harvest Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa" - "Post-Harvest Loss Preventive Innovative Technologies"