What a waste - Canada, the world, and the food waste epidemic

In a report recently published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the world is wasting 1.3 billion tons of food every year. To put that number in perspective, imagine throwing out one third of every meal you sit down to enjoy. In a world where the demand on food production is under pressure to feed our ever-expanding population, it begs the question: why isn't more emphasis placed on making effective use of the food already produced?

Here at home, Canadians waste a staggering $27 billion dollars of food a year, according to a 2010 study by the George Morris Centre (GMC) - and over half of that waste is created at the consumer level. Not to be confused with food loss, which is loss at the harvesting and production stages in the supply chain, food waste consists of edible products intended for human consumption. And if we look at the entire picture, we see that it's not simply food that's being wasted, but water and energy in the preparation, retailing, transportation and home storage of food is also being lost.

So what's behind all this waste? The FAO points to a number of factors, such as insufficient purchase planning, products not being used before their best before dates, and the careless attitudes of those who can afford to waste food. GMC also points to consumer behaviours such as preparing too much food, letting food expire, and a lack of confidence in using leftovers.

Education on consumer attitudes and public awareness are starting points to change people's behaviour towards food waste. As consumers, it's easy to convince ourselves that food we throw away will simply turn to compost, but that too has implications. Food that ends up in a landfill will rot and release methane, one of the most powerful greenhouse gases affecting our environment, which inevitably results in an increase to the carbon footprint of the product.

While both the FAO and GMC report relatively low loss and waste at the producer and processor level in Canada, continual improvement along the chain can help increase ever-tightening margins. But no matter what level food waste occurs at, the bottom line remains that there's a need to find ways to improve.

Our Insights

Adopt 'just in time' food habits. As consumers, we can reduce food waste in our own homes by shopping more frequently for food as opposed to buying in bulk, or shopping simply for savings - bigger is not always better. If more frequent trips to a grocery store is not convenient, meal planning in advance of shopping and proper food storage at home will help cut back food waste as well.

A product and packaging shift. Food processors should continue to look at developing products and packaging with consumption patterns and shelf life in mind. Product innovations and packaging by portion size can help reduce food waste in the home.

Improvements along the value chain. Making better use of by-products can help increase profitability and reduce disposal costs for processors. Many have mastered this art of utilization, but others can benefit from re-purposing by-products, culls and off-spec product. Inventory management, as efficient as it already is, can also be improved to help reduce losses.