Even as malnutrition in the form of hunger and obesity affect the health and well-being of millions of people worldwide, a significant amount of food is lost or wasted every day, in every country, and at every stage in the supply chain from the farm to the household. According to a 2011 estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about one-third of food produced is lost or wasted globally. Beyond quantity estimates, however, less is known about the impacts on farmers, food prices, food availability, and environment of reducing food loss and waste. On October 17, 2018, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine organized a workshop to examine key challenges that arise in reducing food loss and waste throughout the supply chain and discussed potential ways to address these challenges. This publication summarizes the presentations and discussions from the workshop.

Contents

• The National Academies of SCIENCES • ENGINEERING • MEDICINE
• PLANNING COMMITTEE ON REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE: A WORKSHOP ON IMPACTS
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• 1. Introduction
  • WORKSHOP CONTEXT AND ORGANIZATION
  • IDENTIFYING NEEDS AND CHALLENGES IN REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE
• 2. Metrics for Understanding Food Loss and Waste
  • FOOD LOSS MEASURES: STATE OF KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWN CHALLENGES
  • USDA/ERS MEASUREMENT OF FOOD LOSS IN THE UNITED STATES
  • FOOD LOSS + WASTE PROTOCOL
  • DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
• 3. Impact of E-Commerce, New Tools, Policies, and Measures
  • GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
  • USDA PERSPECTIVES AND CONTRIBUTIONS
  • PRIVATE SECTOR: SODEXO NORTH AMERICA
  • DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
  • PRIVATE-SECTOR ENTERPRISES
  • DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
• 4. Impacts of Reducing Food Loss and Waste on Food Availability
  • FEEDING AMERICA
  • THE KROGER COMPANY
  • LINKING FOOD AVAILABILITY AND WASTE IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
  • DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
• 5. Impacts of Reducing Food Loss and Waste on Food Prices and Farm Incomes
  • PRICE DISCRIMINATION AND FOOD WASTE
  • IMPACTS OF REDUCING FOOD LOSS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
  • DEALING WITH FOOD LOSS WITHOUT EXPANDING PRODUCTION
  • DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
• 6. Impacts of Food Loss and Waste on the Environment and Health
  • REDUCING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ON THE ENVIRONMENT
  • WASTED FOOD: PUBLIC HEALTH COSTS AND BENEFITS
  • DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS
• 7. Future Needs and Opportunities
  • RESEARCH NEEDS
  • RECAP OF KEY POINTS
• Appendix A. Workshop Agenda
• Appendix B. Biographies of Speakers and Moderators
• Appendix C. Workshop Participants
• Appendix D. Descriptions of Selected Activities Related to Reducing Food Loss and Waste

Suggested citation:

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Reducing Impacts of Food Loss and Waste: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25396.

Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25396

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