effort to monitor global food waste #africa

the World Resources Institute (WRI) today
announced the first step in designing a global
standard for measuring food loss and waste. The
forthcoming guidance, called the "Food Loss and
Waste Protocol," will enable countries and
companies to measure and monitor the food loss
and waste that occur within their boundaries and
value chains in a credible, practical, and consistent
manner.
The announcement was made at the Global
Green Growth Forum (3GF) conference in
Copenhagen, with the leaders of UN Environment
Programme (UNEP), World Business Council for
Sustainable Development (WBCSD), Waste and
Resources Action Programme (WRAP), WRI, and
others. The director general of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) also
participated in the forum.
Food loss and waste refers to food intended for
human consumption that is not ultimately eaten.
WRI estimates that halving the rate of food loss
and waste by 2050 would close more than 20
percent of the gap between the food available
today and what is needed in 2050.
"Meeting the world's growing food demand is
one of the great challenges we face. But we can
shift this dynamic by greatly reducing food loss
and waste, a critical step in ensuring that all
people have enough food to meet their needs,"
said Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO, World
Resources Institute. "Developing a consistent,
global standard to measure food loss and waste
will help create a more sustainable future for
people and the planet."
Globally, a significant amount of food is lost and
wasted each year. One-third of food by weight
(or one-quarter measured by calories) intended
for people is not ultimately consumed.
About two-thirds of the food calories lost in
developing countries occurs immediately after
harvest and in storage. About half of the food
calories wasted in developing countries occurs at
the point of consumption, whether at home or
when eating elsewhere.
"The absurd reality that one third of all the food
we produce is lost or wasted each year has
significant impacts on people and the planet," said
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and
UNEP Executive Director.
"Wasting and losing 1.3 billion tonnes of food
annually is clearly an ethical issue given that 870
million people go hungry every day, not to
mention the 3.3 billion tonnes of greenhouse
gases this waste adds to the planet's
atmosphere."
The Protocol will contribute to the "Think Eat
Save: Reduce Your Food Print" campaign led by
UNEP in collaboration with FAO, WRAP and other
partners, as well as to FAO's Save Food Initiative.
The Protocol development will build on other
programs, including engagement with EU
FUSIONS, which is developing food wastage
measurement guidance for the European Union.
"One of my priorities in FAO is opening our
doors to potential allies. Fighting food loss and
waste is clearly one area in which partnership is
needed. Developing a global protocol can help
provide clear measurements and indicators on
which we can base guidance on how to reduce
food loss and waste," said FAO Director-General
José Graziano da Silva.
The Protocol will provide guidance on multiple
aspects of measuring food loss and waste. These
include definitions, boundaries of what to
measure, appropriate data sources and
quantification methods, and how to evaluate
tradeoffs between accuracy, completeness,
relevance, and cost.
By creating a global standard, the Protocol will
ensure international consistency, enable
comparability, and facilitate transparency by
users. By using the Protocol, countries and
companies will be able to identify how much and
where food is being lost and wasted.
"We have committed to play a leading role in
reducing food waste globally-not only in our
stores but also in areas of shared responsibility
from farm to fork," said Philip Clarke, CEO of
Tesco, one of the world's largest food retailers.
"Having a globally consistent standard for
measuring food loss and waste will play an
important role in taking effective, collaborative
action to achieve our goals."
WRI will convene numerous experts and
stakeholders to develop the Protocol. Participants
will include representatives from academia, the
private sector, government, and civil society
organizations.
"Public-private partnership will be a critical
ingredient of this Protocol," said Peter Bakker,
President of the WBCSD.