Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The challenge of defining food waste is pivotal to global sustainability efforts, as clear and transparent definitions are essential for accurately monitoring and reporting progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, which aims to halve per capita food waste by 2030. This paper investigates the varying definitions of food waste, exploring their commonalities and differences through a discourse analysis of academic and institutional sources. A comprehensive literature review identified key definitions and highlighted the prominence of this issue over the past decade. A 4-axis conceptual model—Scope, Destination, Nutritional Density, and Edibility—was used to dissect these definitions. The discourse analysis revealed significant gaps, such as the frequent omission of nutritional density considerations. Additionally, a survey involving 103 experts, primarily from Europe (89%), provided insights into their view on food waste through a series of questions based on a 4-axis conceptual model. The findings reveal significant variability in some respects, such as the inclusion of drinking water (37%) and crops left in the field due to diseases or pests (52%), as well as in the categorization of final destinations for food waste, including animal feed (61%) and food exceeding individual nutritional needs (44%). A broad consensus was observed on some aspects, such as including later stages of the food supply chain from processing/wholesale to households (98% - 99%) and excluding tap water (3-12%) or wild berries (7%). The study highlights the lack of a standardized methodology when defining food waste, emphasizing the importance of both inclusion and exclusion in building a clear framework. Such an approach could improve the effectiveness of reduction strategies and enhance global sustainability efforts. Future research should continue to explore this issue, incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives and emerging technologies.