1st Edition
Food Loss and Waste Policy From Theory to Practice
This book examines policy responses to food waste and loss, an issue of significant, global concern, with one-third of food produced for human consumption lost or wasted.
Investigating food waste and loss under an interdisciplinary lens, the contributors employ a variety of methodological approaches, including quantitative and qualitative techniques, drawing on in-depth case studies and action research. The volume is organised into four parts: Understanding Food Loss and Waste, International Programmes, National Policies and Local Initiatives. The first part introduces the reader to the concept of food loss and waste, how it can be measured, its causes and consequences, and how it can be reduced. The second part is dedicated to international and cross-country case studies, with six chapters reviewing national policies implemented in France, Italy, Romania, Japan, China and the United States. In Part Four, three chapters are dedicated to local food recovery and redistribution initiatives. By focusing on different territories and different levels of governance, the book provides a detailed evaluation of food loss and waste policies, the barriers and opportunities of implementing the policies, as well as the impact they are actually having. The chapters are both descriptive and evaluative and draw out lessons for designing, implementing and reforming programmes.
This book will be of great interest to students and scholars working on food waste, food policy, sustainable food systems, agricultural production and supply chains and public policy, as well as policymakers involved with developing and implementing programmes and policies to regulate and reduce food waste and loss.
Is this the era of food waste policy?
Simone Busetti and Noemi Pace
PART 1: UNDERSTANDING FOOD LOSS AND WASTE
1. Assessing food loss and waste: approaches, methodologies and practices
Clara Cicatiello
2. The policy problem: The causes and consequences of food loss and waste
Noemi Pace
3. Tackling food loss and waste: An overview of policy actions
Christian Reynolds
PART 2: INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES
4. The contribution of social protection to reducing food loss and waste
Qiushi Yue, Daniella Salazar Herrera and Omar Benammour
5. Reducing food loss in rural development projects. Examples from IFAD’s investments
Romina Cavatassi, Robert Delve and Giuseppe Maggio
6. The European Union and the fight against food waste and losses: from policy to practice
Fabrizio D’Angelo
PART 3: NATIONAL POLICY
7. Did France really ban food waste? Lessons from a pioneering national regulation
Marie Mourad
8. Food waste policy in Italy: From decision to implementation
Simone Busetti
9. Food waste policy in Romania: A case study
Cristina Vasilescu
10. Japan’s practices on food waste reduction
Liu Chen
11. The Political Economy of Anti-Food-Waste in China: From Anti-Corruption to Enhancing Food Security
Xiaohua Yu
12. History and Legacy of the U.S. Good Samaritan Food Donation Law
Emily M. Broad Leib and Ariel Ardura
PART 4: LOCAL INITIATIVES
13. Social innovation for food waste reduction: Surplus food redistribution
Anna Davies and Alwynne McGeever
14. Mitigating barriers to surplus food donation in Italian retail and food service
Giulia Bartezzaghi, Claudia Colicchia, Paola Garrone, Marco Melacini, Alessandro Perego and Andrea Rizzuni
15. Food waste reduction through food re-distribution actions during COVID-19 in Brazil
Luciana Marques Vieira and Daniele Eckert Matzembacher
What works in food loss and waste policy: Suggestions from the case studies
Simone Busetti
Biography
Simone Busetti is a policy analyst and evaluator and is currently Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Analysis at the University of Teramo, Italy. He has worked on local development, public administration reform, and food policy and served as a professional evaluator for several public administrations in Italy.
Noemi Pace is Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Teramo. She is also a research fellow at the UCL Centre for Global Health Economics, UK, and a research fellow in the Center for Economic and International Studies (CEIS) at the University of Tor Vergata, Italy.
"An eye-opening account of one of the major causes of global food insecurity and hunger that illustrates in an accessible way the quantitative dimension of food loss and waste, while offering evidence-based and feasible policy solutions to reduce this phenomenon. The book draws an interesting distinction between the role of food loss reduction in developing countries as a pathway to reduce hunger by increasing availability through technological advancement and that of food waste reduction in developed countries by curbing overproduction. An excellent read on Food Economics."
Ervin Prifti, Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund
"This book deals with a topic of great relevance and interest, such as food loss and waste. With the participation of scholars and experts at the international and national level, it offers a broad and in-depth picture, combining contributions to the theoretical and methodological framework with analyses of policies and programmes at the national, international and local scale. A must-read if you want to have an up-to-date, comprehensive, and passionate look at the subject of food loss and waste."
Egidio Dansero, Professor of Political and Economic Geography, University of Turin, Italy & Coordinator of the Italian Network for Local policies of Food
"I have read this book with great interest, and it has been very useful for my work as a teacher and researcher. This book examines the political responses to a critical issue that currently constitutes a challenge for humanity, such as food loss and waste, which accounts for 30% of world production. The book is of great value, not only for its content but also for its approach: (1) it has an interdisciplinary perspective; (2) it incorporates the application of a wide variety of methodological approaches, including quantitative and qualitative techniques; (3) it is based on in-depth case studies and action research, with a broad geographic scope. I am sure it will greatly interest students and academics working in the food and public policy fields, and I also believe it can be very useful to professionals designing and implementing public policies for preventing food loss and waste."
María Ángeles Huete García, Professor of Sociology, Universidad Pablo de Olavide de Sevilla, Spain
"Suppose you are interested in a policy approach to understanding why FLW policy succeeds or fails. In that case, you need to read this book. Foremost, it expands our understanding of the multiple goals of FLW programs and provides insights into the complexity of policy-making when addressing wicked issues intersecting with safety, circularity, and poverty. Collecting various case studies in different countries and national and local contexts, the authors provide a bright and easily readable volume, light on the technical/legal aspects of the matter. This book can be a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners to design and improve food policy's social, economic, and environmental sustainability."
Maria Stella Righettini, Professor of Public Policy. University of Padua, Italy
