Only 54% eventually consumed
The losses appear to happen in every phase of the chain: from the
production to the consumer at home. The United Nations’ Food and
Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that the biggest loss (20%)
occurs in the production phase. Causes are manifold: predators and insects, damage inflicted during
harvesting and the process of sorting out in accordance with the
customers’ quality standards (supermarkets and manufacturers), but also
the failure to balance supply and demand, causing quite a lot of
vegetables and fruit to be left behind in the fields unharvested.
Another 5.5% gets lost during post-harvest handling and processing,
while about 7.5% is wasted in the distribution phase. Consumers are
responsible for 13% of the loss, either because we dispose of good food
or we keep it too long or at the wrong temperature. In the end, only 54%
of all fruit and vegetables is consumed.
Minimize loss, raise awareness and recycle
As part of the European research project “Veg-i-Trade”, scientists of
the universities of Ghent and Wageningen are trying to find ways to
minimize the loss in the vegetable and fruit chain. Among their tools
are statistical models that will enable us to predict decay. “These
models can be used by food manufacturers, carriers and supermarkets to
improve planning and logistics”, says Mieke Uyttendaele, project
coordinator.
Consumers should also change their habits: on a website dedicated to
food, people are encouraged to eat more seasonal products, stop
disposing of leftovers and use them in soup or jam, hold a “weekly
leftover hotchpotch day” and, last but not least, stop buying more than
they need or are able to consume.
