Nutrition Insight quoted Alan de Brauw, senior research fellow at IFPRI, in this article on the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste that explores the multifaceted approaches needed to cut food loss and waste (FLW). De Brauw explained that a combination of technology and financing can help resolve food waste.
According to de Brauw, to understand where the world stands on reducing FLW, we need to know how bad FLW was at the beginning of that period, for which the numbers are often poor. De Brauw points out that the EAT-Lancet commission assumes a higher level of FLW than IFPRI data. “Moreover, there are far fewer estimates of FLW among fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods (or more nutrient-dense foods) than there are estimates for major grains. We need to know more about where losses occur within value chains so we can come up with better innovations to reduce them,” de Brauw said, discussing the many positive impacts of reducing food loss and waste. “Reducing FLW could help reduce prices for consumers (through increased supply, effectively) without reducing the prices producers receive for nutrient-dense foods.”