Food loss is the decrease in the quantity or quality of food resulting from decisions and actions by food suppliers in the chain, excluding retailers, food service providers and consumers (SOFA, 2019). Empirically, it refers to any food that is discarded, incinerated or otherwise disposed of along the food supply chain from harvest/slaughter/catch up to, but excluding, the retail level, and does not re-enter in any other productive utilization, such as feed or seed. https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/food-loss/introduction/en Food waste https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/food-waste/introduction/en |
UN Entities
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste: https://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/en/
- Food Loss and Waste Database: http://www.fao.org/food-loss-and-food-waste/flw-data/en/
- SAVE FOOD: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction: http://www.fao.org/save-food/en/
- Educational Material on Food Waste Reduction:
http://www.fao.org/save-food/projects/educationalmaterial-fwr/en/
- Educational Material on Food Waste Reduction:
- Food chain crisis: http://www.fao.org/food-chain-crisis/en/
- Food safety and quality: http://www.fao.org/food-safety/en/
- Food security and nutrition for all: http://www.fao.org/food-security-and-nutrition-for-all/en/
- Food systems: http://www.fao.org/food-systems/en/
- Sustainable food and agriculture: http://www.fao.org/sustainability/en/
- World food situation: http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/en/
- Make #NotWasting food a personal resolution: How you can avoid food waste this holiday (28 December 2021): https://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1072865/
- The art of cooking and what you can do to make it more sustainable: Tips from FAO’s Goodwill Ambassador chefs on how you can buy, cook and eat food that respects the planet (18 June 2021): http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1412071/
- 15 quick tips for reducing food waste and becoming a Food hero – We all have a part to play in saving food (29 September 2020): http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1309609/
- Three smart ways innovation is helping reduce food loss and waste: On the first International Day of Awareness for Food Loss and Waste, let’s talk about solving the problem (28 September 2020): http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1309567/
- UN Environment Programme (UNEP)
- Food and Food Waste: https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/sustainable-lifestyles/food-and-food-waste
- UNEP appoints renowned Lebanese chef Leyla Fathallah as advocate on food waste for West Asia region (21 March 2023): https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/unep-appoints-renowned-lebanese-chef-leyla-fathallah-advocate-food
- Why the global fight to tackle food waste has only just begun (28 September 2021): https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-global-fight-tackle-food-waste-has-only-just-begun
- How food waste is trashing the planet (18 June 2021): https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/how-food-waste-trashing-planet
- International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
- Food loss reduction: https://www.ifad.org/en/food-loss-reduction
- Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures/sr-food - World Food Programme (WFP): http://www.wfp.org/
- #STOPTHEWASTE Campaign: https://www.wfp.org/foodwaste
- 11 facts about food loss and waste – and how it links to sustainable food systems (21 September 2021): https://www.wfp.org/stories/11-facts-about-food-loss-and-waste-and-how-it-links-sustainable-food-systems
- UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)
- Food Loss and Waste: https://unece.org/trade/wp7/food-loss-and-waste
- FeedUP@UN to help address food loss and waste: http://feedup.unece.org/
- World Bank
- Climate smart agriculture: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climate-smart-agriculture
- Food security: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture/brief/food-security-update
Further Information
- UN News Stories on Food Waste: https://news.un.org/en/tags/food-waste
- Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Zero Hunger
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/
https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal2
https://sdgs.un.org/topics/food-security-and-nutrition-and-sustainable-agriculture - Global Issues on the UN Agenda – Food: https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/food
- High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis (HLTF): http://www.un.org/en/issues/food/taskforce/
- A foodies choice of UN food resources to celebrate the New Year (31 December 2020) https://unric.org/en/a-foodies-choice-of-un-food-resources/
- UNRIC Library Backgrounder – Food Insecurity: https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-food-insecurity/
UN Observances
- World Food Safety Day – 7 June
https://www.un.org/en/observances/food-safety-day
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-food-safety-day - International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste – 29 September
https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day/
http://www.fao.org/international-day-awareness-food-loss-waste/en/ - World Food Day – 16 October
http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/en/
August 2023
not an official document – for information only
https://unric.org/en/unric-library-backgrounder-food-waste/