Food Waste Across the Suppy Chain A U.S. Perspective on a Global Problem

Solutions to sustainably feeding the world must include reducing food waste, as one-third of food produced for humans is never eaten but lost, along with all of the resources consumed in producing and transporting that food. This book examines food loss and waste from farm to table, quantifying where and how much wastage occurs across the U.S. supply chain and the global implications of the problem. Leading experts from academia, government, industry, and NGOs discuss a wide range of issues including food loss in the industrial sector and how it is handled, characteristics of wasted food in restaurants and at homes, food recovery opportunities at various sectors of the supply chain, how food waste can be measured, what interventions are most effective, and how food marketing affects consumption and waste. This is a sourcebook for educators teaching in or outside of classrooms, for researchers endeavoring to gain insights from solid scientific data and analyses, and for a multitude of other food system stakeholders (e.g. sustainability officers, environmental advocates, hunger relief personnel, policy makers, and forward-thinking consumers etc.) seeking to advance constructive dialogue and policies for food waste reduction amid the larger context of global food security and sustainability.