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Global food waste across the income spectrum: Implications for food prices, production and resource use

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  • Lopez Barrera, Emiliano
  • Hertel, Thomas

Abstract

There are few examples in the existing literature that address the quantitative linkages between food waste, food security, and environmental sustainability, at global scale. Here we develop a new panel database on household food waste at the national level based on the Energy Balance equation, including adjustments for changes in body weight over time. We use this to characterize the non-linear relationship between per capita income and the share of food availability wasted. By incorporating this relationship into a global partial equilibrium model of the agricultural sector (SIMPLE), we develop future trajectories of household food waste. We find that the emerging economies, particularly China and South Asia, are likely to play a key role in determining global food waste at mid-century. We also present several counterfactual scenarios that shed light on the implications for environmental and food security of limiting future growth in food waste. We find that the global impacts of these alternative pathways are greatly enhanced in the context of a more open international trade regime.

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  • Lopez Barrera, Emiliano & Hertel, Thomas, 2021. "Global food waste across the income spectrum: Implications for food prices, production and resource use," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:98:y:2021:i:c:s0306919220300762
    DOI: 10.1016/j.foodpol.2020.101874
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    Cited by:

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    4. Kocak, Emrah & Bilgili, Faik & Bulut, Umit & Kuskaya, Sevda, 2022. "Is ethanol production responsible for the increase in corn prices?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 689-696.
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    6. Aino Friman & Nina Hyytiä, 2022. "The Economic and Welfare Effects of Food Waste Reduction on a Food-Production-Driven Rural Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Boysen-Urban, Kirsten & Philippidis, George & M'barek, Robert & Ferrari, Emanuele, 2021. "Impacts of Changes Towards More Sustainable Food Production and Consumption at the Global Level," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315275, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Nihal Ahmed & Franklin Ore Areche & Guillermo Gomer Cotrina Cabello & Pedro David Córdova Trujillo & Adnan Ahmed Sheikh & Mohamad G. Abiad, 2022. "Intensifying Effects of Climate Change in Food Loss: A Threat to Food Security in Turkey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    9. Tariq Ali & Bo Zhou & David Cleary & Wei Xie, 2022. "The Impact of Climate Change on China and Brazil’s Soybean Trade," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, December.
    10. Robert Becker Pickson & Elliot Boateng, 2022. "Climate change: a friend or foe to food security in Africa?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4387-4412, March.
    11. Anna Sylwia Tarczyńska & Ewa Malinowska & Andrzej Urbanowicz, 2023. "Attitudes and Behaviours of Young Consumers towards Wasting Food: Case Study Based on Polish Students," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-18, February.
    12. Y. Feng & C. Marek & J. Tosun, 2022. "Fighting Food Waste by Law: Making Sense of the Chinese Approach," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 457-479, September.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food waste; Food security; Sustainability; Global food economy;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q11 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Aggregate Supply and Demand Analysis; Prices
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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