By reducing food waste across the food supply chain, our solution will reduce the greenhouse gas emissions and water embedded in it, feeding hungry people and improving the economic performance and resilience of a country’s food industry .
We live in a world where around 900 million people go hungry, while 1/3 of the food produced globally is wasted. The food we waste worldwide is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, 6 times more than aviation. An area the size of China is needed to grow all the food we waste, and the way we produce our food contributes to about 70% of biodiversity loss. This level of waste is simply unsustainable.
WRAP’s solution is a voluntary agreement (VA) to cut food waste whilst making more food available for those who need it. A VA is a private sector initiative that has the support of government, has strong focus on evaluating and reports its impacts publicly. It creates a framework for action to address the environmental, economic and social issues associated with wasting food. Our vision is a food system where all stakeholders (farmers, producers, retailers, consumers, charities & government) work together to reduce waste and ensure that everyone has enough healthy, nutritious food.
Working closely with government, business, and civil society, our solution will enable key players to co-create a new, sustainable food system that delivers lasting, positive impact for the environment and society. We achieve this by establishing ambitious targets to deliver measurable reductions in food waste and increase the donation of food. Bringing together the whole supply chain enables us to address the root causes of food waste, rather than just focusingon one element and causing unintended, negative effects somewhere else, e.g. helping a farmer to harvest more tomatoes is only beneficial if she can sell those tomatoes for a good price to her customers and they don’t get wasted somewhere else in the supply chain.
Our solution will empower cities, especially those in developing countries, which lack the infrastructure, and technological and financial resources, to adapt and respond to the challenges of climate change, to unite along the supply chain to ensure that those living in urban areas have access to sustainable and nutritious food.
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