Food consumption and waste: environmental impacts from a supply chain perspective
→ The environmental impacts of EU food production and consumption have risen along time, transgressing some planetary boundaries.
→ Biodiversity footprint is driven by land use and climate change-related impacts, which are associated mainly with animal-based products.
→ More balanced diets, where animal-based food consumption is reduced and vegetable-based proteins are preferred, could reduce the environmental impacts.
→ In 2020, nearly 59 Mt of food were wasted in the EU, representing roughly 10% of food supplied to retail, food services and households.
→ Meat and dairy contribute to less than 20% of food waste generated in mass, but are responsible for more than 50% of the environmental impacts of food waste.
→ 62% of food is wasted at the consumption stage. This is responsible for more than 70% of the environmental impacts of food waste
generation, stressing the need to focus on prevention efforts at household and food services level.
→ Food waste generation emits 252 Million tCO2 eq: if EU food waste were a Member State, it would be the EU’s 5th largest emitter.
SALA Serenella;
DE LAURENTIIS Valeria;
SANYE MENGUAL Esther;
2023-07-11
European Commission
JRC129245
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC129245,
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