Concerns about how to feed a growing population sustainably often focus on how to increase production while reducing carbon emissions and use of natural resources. Yet one way of shoring up global food security, while cutting food’s environmental footprint, lies in a different approach: cutting the vast amounts of food wasted every year.

As Stop Food Waste Day is celebrated on April 24th in many parts of the world, it is important to remind ourselves of the scale of the problem: some 33% what is produced every year is lost or discarded, whether that is fresh produce or crops that fail to reach markets or the uneaten food products that are thrown away by consumers.

The arguments for addressing food waste are compelling. Given the energy, water, land and other resources needed to produce food, it makes no sense to let it go to waste. Worse, food waste is a leading contributor to climate change. It produces methane as it rots, which warms the planet even faster than carbon dioxide. Globally, food waste generates roughly 8% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

The statistics are alarming, particularly in industrialised countries, where food thrown away by consumers is the biggest source of food waste. This was highlighted in the latest Food Sustainability Index (FSI), developed by The Economist Intelligence Unit with the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Foundation.

FSI research based on data from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation shows annual food waste (at end-user level) per head at 95.1kg in the US, the highest of all countries in the index. Other rich countries also perform poorly in the FSI when it comes to food waste. These include Belgium (87.1kg) and Canada (78.2kg).

The policy response

High levels of waste have prompted some countries to take action, as reflected in the FSI. Among high-income countries, the US ranks first in terms of the quality of its policy response to food waste, while Spain, France and Italy are also in the top five. The FSI analysis looked at key policy indicators, such as the existence of a national food waste strategy; reduction or prevention quantitative targets; and laws, regulations and regulatory instruments.

The report accompanying the latest FSI results highlights that France is a global leader in limiting food loss and waste, for example thanks to best-practice legislation requiring supermarkets with a footprint of 400 square metres or larger to redistribute leftover food to charities serving poor communities. Meanwhile, Spain has a strategy called “More food, less waste” that places an emphasis on a multi-stakeholder approach, from raising public awareness to developing new technologies and designing regulatory frameworks.

Research conducted for the FSI shows that, apart from France, several other countries—including Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and the US—have implemented legislation making it easier for retailers to donate unsold food, through laws that either reduce their liability when donating food or require them to donate rather than throw away food waste.

Innovative solutions

But while it is important for governments to continue to develop these kinds of policies, a wave of innovation in the food sector is also promising, and much of it is focused on tackling waste.

Entrepreneurs are bringing new products and business models on to the market, which could help reduce the amount of food lost or wasted, both on the farm and once in the hands of consumers.

When it comes to post-harvest loss, start-ups are helping smallholder farmers gain better access to improved storage facilities. For example, UK-based InspiraFarms has developed off-grid cold storage equipment for farmers in emerging markets. It also offers financing options such as on-demand payment terms that make it easier for its clients—small-scale farmers in developing countries—to afford the equipment.

Meanwhile, a company called Wakati is taking a different approach. It has developed a solar-powered hydration tent for farmers in sub-Saharan Africa that avoids the need for cooling technology. The tent maintains the cell structure of recently harvested fruits and vegetables by eliminating the production of ethylene, which ripens produce and can accelerate the rotting process.

Others are tackling food waste at the consumer end of the chain. For example, the UK’s Rubies in the Rubble makes condiments from ingredients that would otherwise go to waste, often for simply being the wrong shape, size or colour. The company says that by this April it had saved more than 6.8m fruits and vegetables from going to waste.

Technology can also play a role in helping consumers to cut food waste. In Japan, for example, the Reduce Go app allows registered users to collect unused food from restaurants and food outlets for a monthly fee of ¥1,980 (US$17.50). And CoCooking, a Tokyo-based food service company, has launched the Tabete website, which allows consumers to buy meals and food products that would otherwise be discarded.

The report accompanying the latest FSI results also showcases other innovative examples of best practice in reducing food loss and waste, such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s use of nano materials to develop food sensors and London-based Winnow’s smart meter technology that, when attached to waste bins, helps chefs to measure, monitor and reduce food waste.

These and other efforts will be needed to reduce food waste. And the benefits will go beyond protection of the planet. If just a quarter of the food lost and wasted could be saved, it would feed 870m people; thus, reducing food waste and loss could make a major contribution to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, which are closely linked with the food system.