The Devastation of Food Waste
From farm to fork to landfill, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is wasted annually. The environmental and economic impact of this level of waste is not only immense, it's also largely avoidable.
Taking the necessary steps to reduce food waste will not only protect the environment and help the economy, but it will also improve the bottom line for manufacturers, retailers, and all food or beverage businesses. There are so many moving parts in this line of work that most businesses benefit from some kind of quality management software to help reduce waste, streamline their processing, and ensure quality control. Companies can also use a supplier management software if they have manufacturing units in multiple locations.
uniPoint understands how the manufacturing and distribution sector, as well as consumers, can limit food waste. In the below infographic, we tackle this important issue, present solutions and offer invaluable information for reducing food waste worldwide.
Environmental Impact
One of the most important natural resources on our planet is significantly impacted by food waste. In 2007, 250 cubic kilometers of water – equalling half the size of Lake Erie – was used to produce food that was never eaten. That same year, 3.3 gigatonnes of CO2 was emitted into our atmosphere to produce food that was also never eaten.
The Role of the Consumer
By 2050, our world population is predicted to reach 9 billion. In order to meet the needs of a growing population, we will need to increase food production by 60 percent. However, 30 percent of food produced today is lost or wasted.
The average European or North American wastes fifteen times more food than the average African consumer. In the US, 50 million people live in food insecure households while $162 billion worth of food is wasted each year.
What's the Solution?
Countries such as France, Denmark and Copenhagen have tackled this issue by changing consumer habits. In France, supermarkets are required to donate all food near expiration or face heavy fines – in Copenhagen, the world's first supermarkets selling only expired food offer 50 percent lower pricing, and all proceeds are donated to food security charities. Denmark was able to reduce food waste by 25 percent in the last five years.
Meanwhile, 18 percent of food waste occurs during the processing and production phase for a number of reasons, including quality of goods, inaccurate forecasting, contamination and food temperature and storage.
Minimizing waste offers enormous savings for manufacturers and distributors – and benefits both the environment and the economy. In case you are in doubt whether this works, you can always go ahead and keep of track of what all is done to minimize waste. If you are doing it on all a large scale, a document control software can be used to keep track of all your efforts. We can guarantee you that you'll be surprised to see the results.
For now, check out our infographic below for more information on the benefits of reducing food waste.
