【Editorial】 Reducing food losses and waste – Now is the time to reenergize the spirit of “Mottainai” (April 17, 2013)

 

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and other organizations are strengthening measures to reduce global food losses and waste, as 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted around the world every year while as many as 900 million people are suffering from hunger. In Japan, diverse initiatives to fight food waste are underway nationwide. We hope such efforts will reverse this unacceptable trend.

The world population is expected to grow from the current 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050, but food supply is believed to become even tighter, under such circumstances as grains being diverted to producing biofuel.

On the other hand, a great amount of food is being discarded. According to the report by FAO, the habit of wasting food is much more prominent in the industrialized world than in developing countries. While the per capita food waste by consumers in Africa and Asia is about 10 kilograms a year, the figure is as much as 115 kilograms in North America and 95 kilograms in Europe. Significant losses also occur in early stages of the food supply chains, such as processing and distribution. Such waste amounts to as much as 1.3 billion tons, equal to roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption or food supply for 500 million people.

To tackle the situation, FAO, the United Nations Environment Program, the European Union and other groups are launching a campaign to reduce food losses and waste. The program is aimed at cutting food waste and helping shape a sustainable and stable food supply system. It calls on consumers to make a plan before shopping and avoid impulse buys. The European Parliament declared the year 2014 the “European Year Against Food Waste” and approved a resolution calling on member states to take radical measures to halve food waste before 2025.

This is a big challenge for Japan as well. According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, as much as 18 million tons of food is lost or wasted in the stages of processing, distribution and consumption every year. As for food waste, referring to food which is discarded even it is fit for consumption, the amount is 5 to 8 million tons. The food products are thrown away because they are non-standard, returned, unsold, left over or their expiration date is over. Out of 18 million tons of food losses and waste, only 4 million tons are recycled as fertilizers or livestock feed, and the rest is just incinerated or decomposed on landfills.

The Japanese government has pointed to the need to reduce food losses and waste in its “Food Industry Vision for the Future.” Similar efforts are being made in local levels. Chiba Prefecture launched a campaign to call on consumers not to buy more food than necessary. It invites restaurants to support the campaign by offering small-portion and half-size dishes and encouraging doggy bags. Yamaguchi and Nagano prefectures, Shibata City in Niigata Prefecture and Abashiri City in Hokkaido have also launched campaigns to reduce leftovers. There are many other cases where consumers, restaurants and hotels are working together to reduce food waste.

Initiative by the food industry is indispensable in order to make such efforts a success. The Food Recycling Law requires food-related businesses to work on reducing food waste, but they also have a social responsibility to cope with the issue actively. Consumers also have a role to play by changing wasteful practices and displaying discipline. All of us must fully exert our traditional spirit of “Mottainai.”

(April 17, 2013)

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