Potential energy and environmental footprint savings from reducing food loss and waste in Europe: A scenario-based multiregional input–output analysis

Authors: OSEI-OWUSU, ALBERT - Aarhus University; Read, Quentin; THOMSEN, MARIANNE - Aarhus University

Submitted to: Environmental Science and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/11/2023
Publication Date: 10/20/2023
Citation: Osei-Owusu, A.K., Read, Q.D., Thomsen, M. 2023. Potential energy and environmental footprint savings from reducing food loss and waste in Europe: A scenario-based multiregional input–output analysis. Environmental Science and Technology. 57(43):16296-16308. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c00158.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c00158

Interpretive Summary: Food loss and waste (FLW) is a huge contributor to humanity’s environmental footprint: a large proportion of greenhouse gases we emit, energy and water we consume, and land we occupy goes to produce food that never makes it to a person’s stomach. If food waste were a country, it would be the third-biggest greenhouse gas producer! The European Union has proposed large cuts to FLW as part of the global effort to cut FLW in half by 2030. However, it is not well known what the potential environmental impacts of that reduction could be. In this study, we use a modeling approach from environmental economics combined with EXIOBASE, a global database of flows of food and other goods within and between countries, to address that knowledge gap. We demonstrate that completely eliminating FLW in Europe could reduce energy use of the food system by 28%, greenhouse gas emissions by 15%, water use by 13%, and cropland use by 12%. The environmental benefits would be felt across the European food system but especially in the agricultural production and foodservice sectors. We demonstrate that FLW reduction is critical for maintaining sustainable and environmentally less impactful food production in Europe.

Technical Abstract: Food loss and waste (FLW) is a major driver of global climate change and inefficiencies in natural resource use. However, unlike dietary changes, FLW strategies have not gained enough attention in food system-related environmental policy. The world aims to achieve a 50% reduction in FLW by 2030. As part of that process, the European Union’s farm-to-fork strategy has prioritised massive FLW cuts in Europe despite the inadequacy of quantitative information on the present energy and environmental impacts of FLW across the continent. Using a consistent and complete global supply chain database, EXIOBASE, this paper applies a multi-regional input-output analysis to evaluate Europe’s food supply chain (FSC) energy and environmental footprints in 2018. Secondly, we model an ambitious 100% FLW reduction scenario in Europe and calculate the potential energy and environmental footprint savings throughout the FSC. Consequently, we find that 100% elimination of FLW in Europe could potentially lower the FSC-related energy, GHG, blue water, cropland, and grassland footprints by 28% (0.93 EJ), 15% (100 Mt CO2e), 13% (9,241 Mm3), 12% (212,893 km2) and 13% (111,047 km2), respectively. At the country level, the highest potential energy and environmental footprint reductions occur in France, Germany, the UK, Italy, and Spain. The agricultural production and food service sectors account for more than half of the potential footprint savings in Europe. Our findings emphasise the indispensability of waste-minimizing farming practices and sustainable food consumption for achieving a resource-efficient and resilient European food system.