What is the food loss and waste strategy?

January 13, 2026 •

4 min read

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), roughly one-third of the food produced for human consumption worldwide is lost or wasted each year. Understanding what is the food loss and waste strategy is crucial to tackling this global paradox of food abundance and persistent hunger. This approach provides a framework to systematically address inefficiencies and practices that lead to food and resource wastage, affecting economies, food security, and the environment.

Quick Summary

A food loss and waste strategy is a comprehensive framework guiding actions to prevent, recover, and recycle food, minimizing its loss throughout the supply chain. This approach leverages policies, technologies, and behavioral changes to optimize resource use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve food security.

Key Points

Strategic Framework: A food loss and waste strategy is an integrated approach to systematically address the causes of food loss and waste across the entire food supply chain.
Distinction is Key: Food loss happens mainly at the production, post-harvest, and processing stages, while food waste occurs at the retail and consumer levels, driven by different factors.
Hierarchical Approach: Effective strategies prioritize actions based on the Food Recovery Hierarchy, starting with prevention (source reduction) and moving down to recovery, recycling, and disposal.
Environmental and Economic Impact: Reducing food loss and waste helps minimize greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and saves valuable resources like land, water, and energy, with significant economic benefits.
Collaboration is Crucial: Success depends on collaborative efforts involving governments, businesses, and consumers, supported by policies, technology, and education.
Behavioral Change: Strategies for food waste focus heavily on consumer education to promote better purchasing habits, meal planning, and proper food storage to reduce household waste.
Technological Solutions: Innovation, including optimized cold chain logistics, inventory management software, and consumer apps, plays a vital role in minimizing loss and facilitating recovery.

Understanding the Core Concepts of Food Loss and Waste

To grasp what is the food loss and waste strategy, one must first distinguish between these two interconnected concepts. While often used interchangeably, they refer to different stages of the food supply chain. Food loss typically occurs earlier in the chain, primarily during production, post-harvest handling, storage, and processing. It is often the result of systemic issues, such as inadequate infrastructure, poor storage, or limited technology. In contrast, food waste happens at the retail and consumer levels, driven by behavioral factors like over-purchasing, confusion over date labels, or poor meal planning. A robust strategy addresses both, tailoring interventions to the specific stage where the problem arises.

The Environmental and Economic Imperatives

The case for a food loss and waste strategy is compelling, grounded in critical environmental and economic impacts. The resources used to produce lost or wasted food, including land, water, and energy, are squandered. Furthermore, the decomposition of food in landfills generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas, contributing significantly to climate change. Annually, food loss and waste account for 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Economically, the cost is staggering, estimated at around $1 trillion annually, reflecting lost revenue for farmers, producers, and businesses. By implementing effective strategies, these adverse effects can be mitigated, and resource efficiency can be dramatically improved.

Key Strategic Pillars: The Food Recovery Hierarchy

A food loss and waste strategy is often structured around the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Food Recovery Hierarchy, which prioritizes actions to prevent and divert food waste from landfills.

Source Reduction: This is the most preferred approach, focusing on reducing waste at the source. This includes optimizing agricultural yields, improving processing efficiency, and encouraging mindful consumer purchasing through education. For example, farmers can use better harvesting techniques, and consumers can practice meal planning to avoid overbuying.
Feed Hungry People: Edible, surplus food that would otherwise be wasted is redirected to food banks and charities. This addresses food insecurity while preventing waste. Legal frameworks often exist to facilitate food donations, protecting donors from liability.
Feed Animals: Food scraps and unconsumed food that are safe and nutritious can be processed into animal feed. This diverts waste from landfills and can be a cost-effective food source for livestock.
Industrial Uses: For inedible food waste, technologies can convert it into valuable non-food products. This includes generating bioenergy (biogas) through anaerobic digestion or creating other bio-based materials.
Composting: This natural process turns food scraps and other organic matter into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, supporting agriculture and reducing the burden on landfills.
Landfill/Incineration: This is the least preferred option, used when no higher-priority action is feasible.

Comparison of Food Loss and Food Waste Strategies

Different stages of the food supply chain require targeted strategies. Here is a comparison of typical approaches.


Aspect	Food Loss Strategy (Production/Processing)	Food Waste Strategy (Retail/Consumer)
Primary Cause	Inadequate technology, storage, and infrastructure; poor harvesting practices; lack of market access.	Over-purchasing, confusion over date labels, consumer behavior, improper storage.
Key Interventions	Technology: Improved storage, cold chain optimization, and predictive analytics. Infrastructure: Investment in better roads, processing facilities, and refrigeration. Training: Educating farmers on proper handling and harvesting.	Education: Campaigns like 'Love Food Hate Waste' to inform consumers. Labeling: Standardizing and clarifying date labels ('Best Before' vs. 'Use By'). Retail Policy: Offering discounted prices for nearing-expiry items.
Focus	Systemic efficiency and operational improvements to maximize yield and quality.	Behavioral change and awareness to encourage responsible purchasing and consumption.
Example	A company uses smart tags to monitor the freshness of produce during transport, automatically rerouting batches to the nearest market to reduce spoilage.	A supermarket partners with a mobile app to sell surplus, perfectly edible food to consumers at a reduced price before closing.
Measurement	Food Loss Index (FLI), typically focusing on quantitative metrics from farm to retail.	Food Waste Index, measuring waste at the retail, food service, and household levels.

The Role of Policy, Technology, and Collaboration

Effective food loss and waste reduction relies on a multi-pronged approach involving policy, technology, and collaboration across all stakeholders. Governments set national targets, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 of halving per capita food waste by 2030, and implement supportive policies like food donation liability protections. Public-private partnerships are essential for driving investment and innovation. Technology plays an increasingly critical role, from smart inventory management systems and cold chain optimization to consumer-facing apps that connect surplus food with consumers. This ecosystem of collaboration is vital for transitioning from simply managing waste to preventing it entirely, ensuring a more resilient and sustainable global food system.

Conclusion

A food loss and waste strategy is not a single action but a comprehensive, integrated framework that systematically addresses inefficiencies throughout the food supply chain. By distinguishing between food loss and food waste and targeting interventions at the appropriate stage—from farms to households—such strategies can significantly improve resource efficiency, mitigate environmental damage, and enhance food security. The successful implementation requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders, supported by effective policies, innovative technologies, and a collective commitment to changing behaviors. Embracing these strategies is a critical step toward creating a more sustainable and equitable future for food systems globally. For more information on international efforts, you can explore the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3.

Frequently Asked Questions

Food loss occurs during the early stages of the food supply chain, like harvesting, processing, and transportation, often due to poor infrastructure or systemic issues. Food waste happens later, at retail and consumer levels, mainly caused by behavioral factors such as overbuying or confusion over date labels.

A strategy is important for multiple reasons: it addresses food insecurity, reduces the environmental impact of food production (including greenhouse gas emissions), and provides significant economic savings by conserving resources and maximizing product value.

Governments can set national targets (like SDG 12.3), implement policies that facilitate food donations (e.g., liability protections), provide incentives for sustainable practices, and support public awareness campaigns to drive behavioral change.

Technology helps reduce food loss through tools like advanced inventory management systems, optimized cold chain logistics using real-time data, and specialized packaging that extends shelf life. These innovations help manage produce freshness and minimize spoilage before it reaches consumers.

Consumers can contribute by planning meals to avoid overbuying, understanding the difference between 'best before' and 'use by' dates, storing food correctly, and creatively using leftovers. Donating surplus food to charities and composting scraps are also impactful actions.

When food is sent to landfills, it decomposes and produces methane gas, which is a greenhouse gas significantly more potent than carbon dioxide. By diverting food from landfills through recovery and recycling, this environmental harm is reduced.

Examples include consumer education campaigns like 'Love Food Hate Waste,' which have proven to influence habits, and the development of mobile apps that connect consumers with surplus food from restaurants and retailers at a reduced price, like 'Too Good To Go'.