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Food waste prevention [COMPLETED]

CALENDAR:

START: Jenuary 2019

FINAL: December 2020

GOALS:

  • Disseminate the waste in the different links of the food chain among the school, general and professional public:
    • Disseminate food waste through leaflets. A leaflet on food waste prior to reaching the consumer and another focused on agricultural producers
    • Reducing food waste by improving the producer-establishment-consumer relationship by strengthening communication between the different links in the chain.
    • Generate games for school audiences about food waste
    • Take a demonstration tour of the Can Moragues farmhouse to see the shape
    • Reuse cooking workshops with the Cooks of Sils
    • Carrying out 4 technical seminars on harvesting and conservatio
    • n Record a video about waste in the different links in the food chain

BUDGET:

  • TOTAL BUDGET OF THE PROJECT: 29.918,20€

FINANCERS:

    • ARC (AGÈNCIA DE RESIDUS DE CATALUNYA)
    • FUNDACIÓ EMYS

COLLABORATORS:

  • CUINERES DE SILS
  • TRIAS PASTISSERS

SUMMARY:

This project, called "Prevention of food waste from a circular economy perspective: how to reduce food waste by coordinating the different links in the chain and their interactions" focuses on preventing food waste that occurs along the food chain, with a special focus on agriculture, one of the most forgotten sectors in the fight against waste.

The data on food waste is very worrying. It is estimated that one-third of food produced in the world is wasted, that is, food that is edible for humans, is thrown away or destined for less priority uses (feeding animals or composting). Another calculation, this one about our house, tells us that the food that is thrown in Catalonia every year would serve to feed half a million people for a whole year. This waste has many different causes and origins and, in order to understand it, it is necessary to know all the levels of the agri-food system. Given this situation, and given that the Emys Foundation is involved in all the links in the food chain, we decided to embark on a project that would help reduce this type of impact.

The relationship between the links in the chain has a great deal of influence on the waste, and in some cases the link in the chain where the waste occurs does not have to be responsible for this. For example, the better the food is stored by farmers and distributors, the longer that food will last, and the more likely it is not to be wasted at home. Also, for example, a shorter chain of sale makes food less likely to be wasted. In addition, the sale of short chains favors that the farmers, when obtaining better prices for their harvests (less intermediaries), do not leave fruit or vegetables without harvesting, since it comes out to them economically. (Leaving fruit or vegetables unharvested is a common occurrence among farmers when prices are very low. In 2019 it is estimated that this has affected up to 40% of the Catalan citrus harvest).

RESULTS

FOOD WASTE

Introduction: our project

In 2019, the Emys Foundation has begun a project focused on preventing food waste along the food chain, with a special focus on agriculture, one of the most forgotten sectors in the fight against waste.

In the framework of the grants for prevention and preparation projects for the reuse of municipal waste 2018 granted by the Catalan Waste Agency, Fundació Emys has won a grant for the project “Prevention of food waste from an economic perspective circular: how to reduce food waste by coordinating the different links in the chain and their interactions ”.

During the project, two training and dissemination actions are being carried out and will be carried out among the agricultural sector in order to reduce the waste of the chain's initial link (generation of information leaflets and training days) and five awareness-raising and dissemination actions. for different audiences in order to reduce waste due to the interactions between links in the food chain (creation of school resources, demonstration visits, cooking courses and a pilot labeling system and the production of a small documentary).


The value of food

Generating food has a very high cost, on many levels. Environmentally, food production involves the conversion of thousands of km2 of forests and rainforests into crops or pastures each year, with very large impacts on biodiversity and CO2 emissions. It also involves the generation of huge amounts of fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides which, in addition to being very expensive to produce, are very harmful to the environment and health. At the human level, food production is also priced. The agricultural sector has one of the most precarious working conditions and is also one of the most dangerous: 170,000 agricultural workers die annually (out of 1.3 billion agricultural workers). Thus, we can say that food is of great value, and that wasting 33% of world agricultural production is a fact that we must urgently reverse.

 

What is waste and why is it important to reduce it?

Food waste refers to those safe and nutritious foods initially intended for human consumption that are rejected or used alternatively (non-food) along food supply chains, from primary production to the final consumer. about food waste are very worrying. It is estimated that one-third of food produced in the world is wasted, that is, food that is edible for humans, is thrown away or destined for less priority uses (feeding animals or composting). Another calculation, this one about our house, tells us that the food that is thrown in Catalonia every year would serve to feed half a million people for a whole year. This waste has many different causes and origins and, in order to understand it, it is necessary to know all the levels of the agri-food system.

The vast majority of waste reduction campaigns so far have focused on the home (the last link in the food chain). While it is true that studies show that the majority of food waste occurs in households (between 40 and 50%), there are also indications that 35% of waste can be produced in the agricultural sector. or that the manufacturing sector may be responsible for up to 20% of these losses.


Some of the causes of waste and what we can do to reduce it:

It should also be noted that the relationship between the links in the chain has a great influence on the waste, and that in some cases the link in the chain where the waste occurs does not have to be responsible for this fact. For example, the better the food is stored by farmers and distributors, the longer that food will last, and the more likely it is not to be wasted at home. Also, for example, a shorter chain of sale makes food less likely to be wasted. In addition, the sale of short chains favors that the farmers, when obtaining better prices for their harvests (less intermediaries), do not leave fruit or vegetables without harvesting, since it comes out to them economically. (Leaving unharvested fruit or vegetables is a common occurrence among farmers when prices are very low. This year 2019 it is estimated that this has affected up to 40% of the Catalan citrus harvest).

 

ACTIONS PERFORMED

Food waste in the agricultural sector

We are adding a technical day to the courses on organic conservation and organic fruit growing in 2019 and 2020 to talk about crop conservation. The timing and manner of harvesting, and especially the preservation of harvested vegetables and fruits, is critical to optimizing the shelf life of food in good condition.

- We are preparing two information leaflets on waste in the agricultural sector. The first will be to encourage good conservation practices and reduce waste among farmers. The second will be for actors in the other links in the food chain to take measures to reduce the waste caused in the agricultural sector: short chain sales, proximity sales, more flexibility in the acceptance of sizes and shapes of fresh products, among others. others.

 

Malbaratament al llarg de la cadena

Creation of a pilot labeling system for the main fresh products, detailing the optimal storage conditions for these products and the main causes of waste, so that the different actors in the chain can avoid making the most common mistakes. food preservation.

- Creation of a guided itinerary on the Can Moragues estate, where the public and professionals from different sectors can understand the operation of the food chain and its links, visiting the Can Moragues orchard, the Obrador and the Rebost , which will detail the good practices for the reduction of food waste at all times, and quantify the waste that has been reduced from the actions taken in these spaces.

- Preparation of educational resources for schools, to help students understand the workings of the food chain and provide tools to get involved in reducing waste beyond school and home.

-"Here nothing is thrown away!" Course with the Cooks of Sils in the Pantry of Can Moragues: 5 free cooking sessions to learn to cook with products that would normally be wasted. Dishes cooked during the course can be taken home in a lunch box.