Food Loss and Waste Carla Sarrouy and Rob Lillywhite, University of Warwick, Wellesbourne, Warwick

Warwick Crop Centre www.warwick.ac.uk/go/wcc

This inevitably also means that 1/3 of all the resources used to produce food

(such as land, water and labour) are wasted.

Conclusion • Food loss and waste contribute to major problems such as food insecurity and environmental degradation.

• There is growing consumer awareness of food waste and loss due to campaigners such as Tristram Stuart and Hugh Fearnley-Withingstall and innovative projects such as Disco Soup, FoodCloud and Casserole Club.

• Industry is starting to see food waste as an opportunity to create closer links with farmers and consumers.

The greenhouse gas emissions caused by the production of food

that gets wasted are also emissions in vain.

World Food Loss and Waste

Food lost or wasted

Wasted resources

4 billion tonnes of food is produced globally every year for human consumption

1/3 of it is lost or wasted

Carla Sarrouy Rob Lillywhite

Food loss • Occurs at the beginning of the food supply chain

• Causes:

pests, diseases, climatic variations

lack of infrastructure (storage, transport)

Contractual agreements

Food waste • Occurs at the end of the food supply chain

• Causes:

Over-supply (plate size, catering)

Lack of information (labelling)

Regulation/policy

Production Storage Processing Retail Consumption

More than 50% of food waste in the UK

happens at the food service, home and municipal stages.

Difference between Food Loss and Waste in the UK