INVITATION : Call for First Movers in Food Loss and Waste and related Greenhouse Gas Emission reduction in India
Are you one of those front runner companies committed to Food Loss and Waste reduction and a strong link to India? Then join our digital roundtable for first movers on October 8th 9.30-12.00 CEST/ 13.00 -15.30 IST to explore the potential of establishing a National Taskforce for Food Loss and Waste Reduction in India reducing Food Loss and Waste (FLW) and FLW induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
The Embassy of the Netherlands in India together with Wageningen University & Research are currently looking for first mover companies and organizations committed to reducing food loss and waste with a strong link to India. Although there are already initiatives around reducing food loss and waste in India, a national strategy with strong public private partnerships could accelerate the food waste fight and scale up current and future initiatives to maximize their impact.
Virtual roundtable
Wageningen University & Research with support of the Embassy will organize a digital roundtable for first movers on October 8th 9.30-12.00 CEST/ 13.00 -15.30 IST to explore the potential of establishing such a National Taskforce for reducing Food Loss and Waste (FLW) and FLW induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions in India.
‘In this uncertain time, in which COVID-19 has caused global economic shifts which have slowed or stopped normal outlets for certain food products, it is more important than ever to reduce food losses and waste’, says Heike Axmann - Expertise Leader Supply Chain Development and Logistic Design of Food Chains (one of the applied research groups at Wageningen University and Research).
As can be seen in several other countries across the world - including the U.K., Norway, Australia, the Netherlands and recently Indonesia and Vietnam - a taskforce can play a pivotal role in the development and implementation of a national strategy and strong public private partnerships (PPPs) to reduce food loss and waste. ‘We are therefore happy to share with you that we are currently starting up a project in India which explores the potential of establishing a National Taskforce against Food Loss and Waste in India’ explains Sanne Stroosnijder, Programme Manager Food Loss and Waste Reduction at Wageningen University and Research.
Fighting food losses and waste to enhance food security
Food security is a prevailing issue in India. Over 194 million Indians are undernourished [1] and millions of children suffer from hunger or malnutrition2. In contrast, India is producing sufficient food to feed everyone, but over 40% of the food produced is lost or wasted along the supply chain or at consumer level. The total value is estimated to be around € 6,- billion per year [2]. But wasted food isn't just a social or humanitarian concern - it's an environmental one as well. The global food loss and waste generate annually 8 % of total human induced Greenhouse Gas Emissions. If Food Loss and Waste were its own country it would be the Third-Largest Greenhouse Gas Emitter [3].
[1] http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#country/100
[2] https://thecsrjournal.in/food-wastage-in-india-a-serious-concern/
[3] http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/nr/sustainability_pathways/docs/FWF_and_climate_change.pdf
Reducing food losses and waste, primarily through prevention, has enormous potential for ensuring sustainable food and nutrition security, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lessening environmental impacts by improved resource use efficiency. Nonetheless, reducing food losses and waste all along the agri-food value chain is not straightforward, as the problem is a result of manifold and highly interlinked causes. Much is known about the causes and many innovative solutions are already available.
Food Loss and Waste reduction contributes to several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is part of the SDG reporting for companies. Reduction measures especially contribute to SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production and SDG 12.3 Reducing food loss, and SDG 13 Climate Action by reducing food loss induced greenhouse gas emission.
Currently we are looking for first mover stakeholders with a strong commitment on the reduction of Food Loss and Waste and a strong link to India. Are you one of those front runner companies and want to team up? Please feel free to reach out to us heike.axmann@wur.nl to join the virtual roundtable on October 8th 9.30-12.00 CEST/ 13.00 -15.30 IST.
More information Taskforce against Food Loss and Waste in India - WUR
