Food wastage footprint: Impacts on natural resources - Summary report

The Food Wastage Footprint model (FWF) is a project of the Natural Resources Management and Environment Department. Phase I of the project has been commissioned to BIO-Intelligence Service, France. This Summary Report presents the preliminary results of the FWF modeling, as related to the impacts of food loss and waste on climate, land, water and biodiversity. The full technical report of the FWF model is available upon request from FAO. Phase II of the FWF project is expanding the model to include modules on full-cost accounting of environmental and social externalities of food wastage, with also comparison with food wastage reduction investment costs and footprint scenarios for 2050. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO. FAO encourages the use, reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product. Except where otherwise indicated, material may be copied, downloaded and printed for private study, research and teaching purposes, or for use in non-commercial products or services, provided that appropriate acknowledgement of FAO as the source and copyright holder is given and that FAO's endorsement of users' views, products or services is not implied in any way. All requests for translation and adaptation rights, and for resale and other commercial use rights should be made via Executive summary 6 Introduction 8 Context and definitions 8 Scope and methodology 9 Food wastage volumes 11 Carbon footprint 16 Water footprint 26 Land use 36 Biodiversity 47 Economic assessment 55 Cross-analysis and key findings 57 Potential improvement areas 59 References 60 Figure 1: Sources of food wastage and sources of environmental impacts in the food life cycle 10 Figure 2: Total agricultural production (FBS) vs. food wastage volumes 12 Figure 3: Food wastage volumes, at world level by phase …