IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/envpol/v17y2015i1p43-77.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of reducing food losses and food waste on global food insecurity, natural resources, and greenhouse gas emissions

Author

Listed:
  • Yosuke Munesue
  • Toshihiko Masui
  • Takesato Fushima

Abstract

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that in 2010–2012, 868 million people were undernourished worldwide. At the same time, FAO reported that approximately 1.3 billion tons of food were lost or wasted globally in 2007, which was equivalent to approximately one-third of the food produced for human consumption at the time. Food losses and waste deprive the poor living in developing regions of opportunities to access food, cause significant depletion of resources such as land, water, and fossil fuels, and increase the greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production. In the present study, the effects of reducing food losses and waste on global food security, natural resources, and greenhouse gas emissions were evaluated using a food trade model operating under the assumption that in 2007, developed regions, as defined by the FAO, would reduce food losses and waste by up to 50 % during the stages of postharvest handling and storage, processing and packaging, distribution, and consumption. The results obtained show quantitatively that reductions in food losses in developed regions decrease the number of undernourished people in developing regions by up to 63 million, leading to decreases in the harvested area, water utilization, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production. Copyright Springer Japan 2015

Suggested Citation

  • Yosuke Munesue & Toshihiko Masui & Takesato Fushima, 2015. "The effects of reducing food losses and food waste on global food insecurity, natural resources, and greenhouse gas emissions," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 17(1), pages 43-77, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:envpol:v:17:y:2015:i:1:p:43-77
    DOI: 10.1007/s10018-014-0083-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s10018-014-0083-0
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10018-014-0083-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark & Andrews, Margaret S. & Carlson, Steven, 2011. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2010," Economic Research Report 118021, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Muhammad, Andrew & Meade, Birgit Gisela Saager & Regmi, Anita & Seale, James L., 2011. "International Evidence on Food Consumption Patterns: An Update Using 2005 International Comparison Program Data," Technical Bulletins 120252, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Somwaru, Agapi & Dirkse, Steve, 2012. "Dynamic PEATSim Model: Documenting Its Use in Analyzing Global Commodity Markets," Technical Bulletins 129359, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark & Andrews, Margaret & Carlson, Steven, 2011. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2010: Statistical Supplement," Administrative Publications 292116, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark & Andrews, Margaret S. & Carlson, Steven, 2011. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2011," Economic Research Report 134715, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Somwaru, Agapi & Dirkse, Steve, 2012. "Dynamic PEATSim Model: Documenting Its Use in Analyzing Global Commodity Markets," Technical Bulletins 129359, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Muhammad, Andrew & Meade, Birgit Gisela Saager, 2011. "International Evidence on Food Consumption Patterns: An Update Using 2005 International Comparison Program Data," Technical Bulletins 120252, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Johannes Schrank & Aphinya Hanchai & Sahapob Thongsalab & Narakorn Sawaddee & Kirana Chanrattanagorn & Chavis Ketkaew, 2023. "Factors of Food Waste Reduction Underlying the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior: A Study of Consumer Behavior towards the Intention to Reduce Food Waste," Resources, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2021. "Does dietary knowledge affect household food waste in the developing economy of China?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Xiujuan Chen & Linhai Wu & Lijie Shan & Qiuxia Zang, 2018. "Main Factors Affecting Post-Harvest Grain Loss during the Sales Process: A Survey in Nine Provinces of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, March.
    4. Daniel Faibil & Martin Agyemang & Owusu Amponsah & Himanshu Gupta & Simonov Kusi-Sarpong, 2021. "Assessing drivers of post-harvest losses: tangible and intangible resources’ perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 15785-15829, November.
    5. Muslima Zahan & Alessandro Bonadonna, 2020. "The food insecurity and the young generations? perception: A systematic review," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 22(3), pages 1-22.
    6. Cameron Hepburn & Brian O’Callaghan & Nicholas Stern & Joseph Stiglitz & Dimitri Zenghelis, 2020. "Will COVID-19 fiscal recovery packages accelerate or retard progress on climate change?," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 36(Supplemen), pages 359-381.
    7. Sasanuma, Katsunobu & Hibiki, Akira & Sexton, Thomas, 2022. "An opaque selling scheme to reduce shortage and wastage in perishable inventory systems," Operations Research Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 9(C).
    8. Manoj Dora & Joshua Wesana & Xavier Gellynck & Nitin Seth & Bidit Dey & Hans Steur, 2020. "Importance of sustainable operations in food loss: evidence from the Belgian food processing industry," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 290(1), pages 47-72, July.
    9. Durba Kashyap & Tripti Agarwal, 2020. "Food loss in India: water footprint, land footprint and GHG emissions," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(4), pages 2905-2918, April.
    10. Mohamad G. Abiad & Lokman I. Meho, 2018. "Food loss and food waste research in the Arab world: a systematic review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 311-322, April.
    11. Johnson, Lisa K. & Dunning, Rebecca D. & Gunter, Chris C. & Dara Bloom, J. & Boyette, Michael D. & Creamer, Nancy G., 2018. "Field measurement in vegetable crops indicates need for reevaluation of on-farm food loss estimates in North America," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 136-142.
    12. Abdelrahman Ali & Chunping Xia & Moustafa Ismaiel & N’Banan Ouattara & Irfan Mahmood & Dessalegn Anshiso, 2021. "Analysis of determinants to mitigate food losses and waste in the developing countries: empirical evidence from Egypt," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 26(6), pages 1-26, August.
    13. Pilar Campoy-Muñoz & Manuel Alejandro Cardenete & María del Carmen Delgado & Ferran Sancho, 2021. "Food Losses and Waste: A Needed Assessment for Future Policies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-11, November.
    14. Dániel Fróna, 2024. "The state of agricultural digitalisation in Hungary," Research in Agricultural Engineering, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 70(1), pages 1-12.
    15. Wolfgang Britz & Hasan Dudu & Ilaria Fusacchia & Yaghoob Jafari & Roberto Roson & Luca Salvatici & Martina Sartori, 2019. "Economy-wide analysis of food waste reductions and related costs," JRC Research Reports JRC113395, Joint Research Centre.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhong, Danruo & Gunnar, Megan R. & Kelly, Aaron S. & French, Simone & Sherwood, Nancy E. & Berge, Jerica M. & Kunin-Batson, Alicia, 2022. "Household food insecurity and obesity risk in preschool-aged children: A three-year prospective study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    2. Debra L. Brucker & Sophie Mitra & Navena Chaitoo & Joseph Mauro, 2015. "More Likely to Be Poor Whatever the Measure: Working-Age Persons with Disabilities in the United States," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 96(1), pages 273-296, March.
    3. repec:mpr:mprres:8084 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Millimet, Daniel L. & McDonough, Ian K. & Fomby, Thomas B., 2015. "Financial Literacy and Food Security in Extremely Vulnerable Households," IZA Discussion Papers 9103, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P & Gregory, Christian A & Singh, Anita, 2021. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2020," Economic Research Report 327186, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Craig Gundersen & Emily Engelhard & Elaine Waxman, 2014. "Map the Meal Gap: Exploring Food Insecurity at the Local Level," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 36(3), pages 373-386.
    7. Brent Kreider & John V. Pepper & Craig Gundersen & Dean Jolliffe, 2012. "Identifying the Effects of SNAP (Food Stamps) on Child Health Outcomes When Participation Is Endogenous and Misreported," Journal of the American Statistical Association, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(499), pages 958-975, September.
    8. Nord, Mark, 2012. "Assessing Potential Technical Enhancements to the U.S. Household Food Security Measures," Technical Bulletins 142549, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Vicka Kharisma & Naoya Abe, 2020. "Food Insecurity and Associated Socioeconomic Factors: Application of Rasch and Binary Logistic Models with Household Survey Data in Three Megacities in Indonesia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 148(2), pages 655-679, April.
    10. Gao, Xiang & Ishdorj, Ariun & Higgins, Lindsey M., 2012. "Impact of the National School Lunch Program on Children’s Food Security," 2012 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2012, Birmingham, Alabama 119778, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    11. Peter Jacques, 2015. "Civil society, corporate power, and food security: counter-revolutionary efforts that limit social change," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(3), pages 432-444, September.
    12. McGuire, Julia, 2014. "Social ecological food systems: Lessons from Maine dairy networks," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170130, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Deokrye Baek, 2013. "The Effect of Public Transportation Accessibility on Food Insecurity," Departmental Working Papers 2013-02, Department of Economics, Louisiana State University.
    14. James Mabli, "undated". "SNAP Participation and Urban and Rural Food Security," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 99ba5f92f8434d3084c34a7d9, Mathematica Policy Research.
    15. Arturo E. Osorio & Maria G. Corradini & Jerome D. Williams, 2013. "Remediating food deserts, food swamps, and food brownfields: helping the poor access nutritious, safe, and affordable food," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 3(4), pages 217-231, December.
    16. Sanjay Basu & Hilary Seligman & Jay Bhattacharya, 2013. "Nutritional Policy Changes in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," Medical Decision Making, , vol. 33(7), pages 937-948, October.
    17. Thibault Fally & James Sayre, 2018. "Commodity Trade Matters," 2018 Meeting Papers 172, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    18. Onil Banerjee & Martin Cicowiez & Marcia Macedo & Žiga Malek & Peter Verburg & Sean Goodwin & Renato Vargas & Ludmila Rattis & Paulo M. Brando & Michael T. Coe & Christopher Neill & Octavio Damiani, 2020. "An Amazon Tipping Point: The Economic and Environmental Fallout," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0292, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    19. Karen Thome & Birgit Meade & Stacey Rosen & John C. Beghin, 2016. "Assessing Food Security in Ethiopia with USDA ERS's New Food Security Modeling Approach," Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) Publications 16-wp567, Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at Iowa State University.
    20. Seale, James L. & Solano, Alexis A., 2012. "The changing demand for energy in rich and poor countries over 25years," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 1834-1844.
    21. Gerval, Adam & Hansen, James, 2022. "COVID-19 Working Paper: Single Commodity Export Dependence and the Impacts of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa," USDA Miscellaneous 323866, United States Department of Agriculture.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Food losses and food waste; Food insecurity; Natural resources; Greenhouse gas emissions; Agricultural trade model; I30; Q17; Q18; Q24; Q25; Q54;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • Q17 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agriculture in International Trade
    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy
    • Q24 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Land
    • Q25 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Renewable Resources and Conservation - - - Water
    • Q54 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Climate; Natural Disasters and their Management; Global Warming

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:envpol:v:17:y:2015:i:1:p:43-77. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.