Insights from the webinar “Beyond food loss and waste reduction targets: Translating reduction ambition into policy outcomes”

Insights from the webinar “Beyond food loss and waste reduction targets: Translating reduction ambition into policy outcomes” by OECD Trade and Agriculture, in alignment with SDG 12.3 (to halve the global per capita food waste). 

The industry and national experts from Australia, France and Japan presented their FLW, trade and policy implementations and recommendations during the webinar.

Here are my key takeaways from the webinar that could benefit Sri Lanka:

1. Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is a critical part of the global solution to the triple challenge of feeding a growing population, ensuring environmental sustainability, and improving economic efficiency, as these challenges are deeply interconnected, and addressing FLW is essential for achieving a sustainable and resilient food system.

2. The SGD framework has strongly influenced the development of country-specific FLW strategies. However, alignment with international guidelines is often limited.

3. An interested party (often a country) can prioritize policy areas through consumer behaviour change campaigns, regulating food waste to animal feed and benchmarking mandatory food waste reduction targets.

4. An anti-food waste label could be displayed on food packaging, retail shelves, restaurant menus, household storage, and donation centers to guide consumers, optimize supply chains, and reduce waste effectively.

5. Introduction of territorial food projects to develop sustainable agriculture and high-quality food.

6. Improving food redistribution by strengthening food bank networks and integrating FLW policies with social welfare programs.

7. Stockpiling food effectively and improving cold storage facilities for disasters and emergencies.