Grown and thrown: Exploring approaches to estimate food waste in EU countries.

National studies on food waste quantification in EU countries present highly discrepant results due to the different quantification approaches adopted. The European Commission has published a delegated act establishing a common methodology and minimum quality requirements for the uniform measurement of food waste generated in Member States. Nevertheless, as EU countries are at different levels of development and implementation of national strategies for food waste quantification, there is a need to develop a harmonized modelling system that enables the estimation of food waste generated by Member States to assess the amounts reported by each country. The aim of this paper is to fulfil this need by presenting two modelling approaches to estimate food waste in EU countries. One approach is based on Material Flow Analysis (MFA) and combines statistical information on the production and trade of food products with food waste coefficients. The other approach is based on the estimation of food waste based on waste statistics. Three EU countries are used to illustrate the two approaches and compare the results obtained thereby. Food waste estimates from waste statistics are generally lower than those obtained using MFA, in particular at the early stages of the food chain. The MFA model presented in this article is the first of its kind developed to estimate food waste across Member States in a consistent way and through time. Crucially, this could support the definition of a baseline and binding targets to reduce food waste across the EU, as announced in the EU Farm to Fork Strategy.

Evaluation of the influence on water consumption and water scarcity of different healthy diet scenarios.

A deep understanding of the water-food nexus it is of a paramount importance as an avenue for sustainable development. Water forms the foundation for food production and a sustainable use of this resource is essential to guarantee the long-term productivity and to build resilient capacity in food and agricultural systems. Here we present methodological challenges regarding different water footprint (WF) methods applied to different dietary scenarios. The volumetric WF of three theoretical but realistic dietary patterns has been quantified (Omnivorous(O), Vegetarian(V) and Vegan(VG)), by means of the Water Footprint Network methodology. Moreover, the AWARE methodology is applied to assess potential impacts of water use trough the Water Scarcity Footprint (WSF). Diets are set to integrate and consider different drivers for food consumption encompassing the social value of the Mediterranean diet, healthy diet recommendations, food preferences of Italian consumers and the trade dimension of foodstuffs. In terms of volumetric WF, the O diet is the most water intensive one accounting for 2800 L/capita/day. A shift from an O to a V and VG diets allows to reduce the volumetric WF respectively 10% and 14%. Green water consumption accounts for the largest share (85%) in all three scenarios. Considering the WSF, V healthy diet is similar to the VG resulting in 11,069 and 11,130 L H2Oeq/capita/day respectively, whereas the O diet resulted in 11,932 L H2Oeq/capita/day. A sensitivity analysis was performed by changing each food category, one at a time, to its maximum and minimum value, in order to evaluate the significance of changes in the volumetric WF and WSF as well as the variables that mostly contribute to them. Results show that the volumetric WF associated with V and VG diets consumption overlay the O diet in respectively 53.5% and 35.7% of runs, while overlapping is improved comparing WSFs results. In this case, the WSFs of V and VG diets overlay the O diet in 83.5% of runs, suggesting that the alternative dietary scenarios would have little effect on the overall WSF and that the results are particularly sensitive to the different countries of importation. Results demonstrate the need to consider both volumetric WF and WSF with particular attention to trade analysis in order to support the development of new policies with the aim to foster sustainable consumption patterns, while preserving water resources.

Unveiling the potential for an efficient use of nitrogen along the food supply and consumption chain.

Ensuring global food security is one of the challenges of our society. Nitrogen availability is key for food production, while contributing to different environmental impacts. This paper aims firstly to assess nitrogen flows and to highlight hotspots of inefficient use of nitrogen along the European food chain, excluding primary production. Secondly, it aims to analyse the potential for reducing the identified inefficiencies and increase nitrogen circularity. A baseline and three scenarios-reflecting waste targets reported in EU legislation and technological improvements- are analysed. Results highlighted a potential to reduce reactive nitrogen emissions up to more than 45%. However, this would imply the conversion of reactive nitrogen in molecular nitrogen, such as urea, before re-entering in the food chain. Techniques to harvest reactive nitrogen directly from urine and wastewater are considered promising to increase nitrogen use efficiency along the food chain.

Out of sight out of mind? A life cycle-based environmental assessment of goods traded by the European Union.

Ensuring responsible production and consumption is one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which the European Union (EU) has committed. An increasing body of literature has demonstrated that global trade flows are key contributors to the environmental impacts of consumption. Indeed, very often developed countries import fuels and other resources from developing ones, displacing a large share of environmental burdens related to consumption of goods outside their boundaries. This paper has a triple goal. Firstly, it assesses the environmental impacts of traded goods with a bottom-up approach, adopting life cycle assessment (LCA) and identifying hotspots related to EU consumption. Secondly, it analyses the extent to which the trade of goods is contributing to the environmental impacts of EU apparent consumption. Finally, it compares the contribution of environmental impact of EU traded goods against overall global impacts. Forty representative products imported or exported by the EU were selected based on their relevance in mass and economic value according to official trade statistics. LCA was applied to these products using the EU Environmental Footprint method. The results were then upscaled in order to be representative of the entire impact of traded goods in the EU. Overall, consumption in the EU resulted to cause considerable environmental impacts outside EU boundaries and impacts of imports and exports were mostly associated with few products groups, which either were traded in large quantities (e.g. "Fuels and mineral oils") or had a high impact intensity compared to the others (e.g. "Pulp of wood and other cellulosic material" for land use).

Quantification of food waste per product group along the food supply chain in the European Union: a mass flow analysis.

In 2015, the United Nations defined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which include a target (12.3) on food waste. The target requires "by 2030, to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses". The target has increased awareness about the food waste problem and boosted research in food waste quantification. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies that adopt a systematic approach to account for food waste providing disaggregated values per food supply chain stage and per food groups. Such an approach could support policy makers in prioritizing interventions for food waste reduction. To fill this gap, this paper presents a high-level top-down approach to food waste accounting in the European Union. The study aims to support the understanding of the mass flows associated with food production, consumption, and waste, addressing different food groups along the food supply chain. The method for accountin is the mass flow analysis. According to the results, cereals, fruit, and vegetables as the food groups are responsible for the highest amount of food waste, and the consumption stage to be responsible for the largest share of food waste for most food groups. This work highlights the need for further primary research on food waste generation in the EU. Ultimately, this would allow to robustly estimate the food waste generated at EU level, and establishing a more accurate baseline to track the progress towards SDG target 12.3.

Food waste accounting methodologies: Challenges, opportunities, and further advancements.

About one third of the food produced globally is wasted along the food chain, representing a burden for the environment and an inefficiency of the food system. Tackling food waste is a priority on the global political agenda to guarantee food security. Defining a methodology for food waste quantification is key to monitoring progress towards the achievement of reduction targets. This paper summarises the outcomes of a workshop on food waste accounting co-organised by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre and Directorate-General on Health and Food Safety with the aim of stimulating harmonisation of methodologies, identifying challenges, opportunities, and further advancement for food waste accounting. The paper presents methodological aspects, e.g. system boundaries, reliability of data, accounting of water flows, to ensure better support to food waste policy design and interventions. It addresses all the actors of the food supply chain, governments, and research institutions.

Contribution of different life cycle stages to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with three balanced dietary patterns.

In light of the considerable pressure exerted by food production on the environment, the assessment of the environmental burdens of dietary choices has recently gained interest among the scientific community. Several studies based on life cycle thinking approach agreed that a transition from an omnivorous to either a vegan or vegetarian diets would reduce the environmental impact associated with food consumption. The majority of the studies set the system boundaries up to the retail, excluding the consumption phase and generally do not account for uncertainties. The aim of the present study was to assess how personal consumption choices and behaviour can affect the greenhouse gas emissions generated by three balanced dietary patterns (omnivorous, vegetarian and vegan), defined on the basis of nutritional recommendations for an average Italian man. It took into consideration the uncertainties associated with three elements, namely the greenhouse gas emissions due to the production of the food items, the emissions associated with cooking and the food wasted by consumers. The results of the study highlighted that, despite the higher share of greenhouse gas emissions of the supply chain stages prior to consumption (66%-74% of the total emissions), domestic behaviours have an important influence of the total greenhouse gas emissions of the diet, which can offset the lower GHG emissions due to the choice of vegetable-origin foods. In fact, 15%-21% of the total emissions are associated to the cooking phase and 11%-13% to the food waste generation. Therefore, this study remarks the importance of adopting a cradle to grave perspective when assessing the environmental burden of dietary patterns and emphasises the central role of consumers in the definition of low GHG-emitting dietary patterns.

Food waste accounting along global and European food supply chains: State of the art and outlook.

Contributing to environmental pollution and resources depletion, food waste represents a considerable inefficiency of the global food system. Within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, countries committed to halve per-capita food waste generated at retail and consumer levels and to decrease food waste along the food supply chain by 2030. Reliable and detailed information on food waste is of utmost importance for the actors of the food supply chain, organizations and governments willing to implement and monitor effective reduction strategies. The present paper is a review of existing studies on food waste generation at the global and European scales and aims primarily at describing and comparing the approaches adopted, and secondarily at analysing their potential in supporting food waste related European interventions and policies. Ten studies were selected among relevant scientific papers and grey literature and their underlying quantification methodologies were systematically analysed. Methodological elements discussed in the paper include type of waste streams captured by estimations, distinction between edible and inedible food waste along the agro-food supply chain, reported units of measure, overall inefficiencies of the food system, and uncertainty of data. Current estimations of food loss and waste generation range between 194-389 kg per person per year at the global scale, and between 158-298 kg per person per year at the European scale. However, further efforts are needed to improve their level of detail and reliability and to foster their support to food loss and waste-related strategies.

Quantifying household waste of fresh fruit and vegetables in the EU.

According to national studies conducted in EU countries, fresh fruit and vegetables contribute to almost 50% of the food waste generated by households. This study presents an estimation of this waste flow, differentiating between unavoidable and avoidable waste. The calculation of these two flows serves different purposes. The first (21.1 kg per person per year) provides a measure of the amount of household waste intrinsically linked to the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, and which would still be generated even in a zero-avoidable waste future scenario. The second (14.2 kg per person per year) is a quantity that could be reduced/minimised by applying targeted prevention strategies. The unavoidable waste was assessed at product level, by considering the inedible fraction and the purchased amounts of the fifty-one most consumed fruits and vegetables in Europe. The avoidable waste was estimated at commodity group level, based on the results of national studies conducted in six EU member states. Significant differences in the amounts of avoidable and unavoidable waste generated were found across countries, due to different levels of wasteful behaviours (linked to cultural and economic factors) and different consumption patterns (influencing the amount of unavoidable waste generated). The results of this study have implications for policies both on the prevention and the management of household food waste.

Techno-economic and profitability analysis of food waste biorefineries at European level.

Food waste represents a potential source to produce value-added materials replacing the use of virgin ones. However, the use of food waste as feedstock in biorefineries is still at an early stage of development and studies assessing its economic viability at large scale are lacking in the literature. This paper presents a techno-economic and profitability analysis of four food waste biorefineries that use wastes from tomato, potato, orange, and olive processing as feedstock. The study includes the assessment of potentially available quantities of those waste flows in Europe. Due to the low technology readiness level of this kind of biorefineries, a screening methodology to estimate the investment and manufacturing costs as well as two profitability ratios (the return on investment and the payback time) was adopted. Results show that not all the waste feedstocks have the same potential. The most profitable options are those related to implementing fewer plants, namely concentrating the production and capitalising on economies of scale while being at risk of increasing externalities, e.g. due to logistics of the feedstocks.

Systematic analysis of secondary life cycle inventories when modelling agricultural production: A case study for arable crops.

Analysis of agricultural production with life cycle based methodologies is data demanding. To build comprehensive life cycle inventories, secondary datasets are commonly used when primary data are not available. However, different inventory data and modelling approaches are used to populate secondary datasets, leading to different results. The present study analyses the features of twelve secondary datasets to support datasets selection and proper interpretation of results. We assess twelve datasets for arable crop production in France, as modelled in three databases often used in the LCA field (Agri-footprint, ecoinvent and AGRIBALYSE). First, we compared system boundaries and general assumptions. Second, we focused on foreground systems comparing, inventory data, data sources and modelling approaches. Third, we performed a contribution analysis of impact assessment results to identify modelling choices that contribute most to differences in the results. Nine relevant elements were identified and assessed: definition of system boundaries and modelling of agricultural practices, characteristics of inventory data, agricultural operations, fertiliser application and fate, plant protection products application and fate, heavy metals inputs to the agricultural system and fate, irrigation assumptions, land use and transformation. The datasets differ greatly with respect to these elements. Hence, recommendations are drawn from the datasets comparison, supporting the selection of the datasets coherently with the goal and scope of a study and interpretation of results.