Millions of people around the world are starving while the scarcity of raw materials increases and availability of agricultural land decreases. At the same time that the world population is rapidly growing, a third of all food produced for human consumption ends up as waste. The problem of food wastage is complex and can occur anywhere along the food chain from production to retail to consumption.
During production, food waste can result from a lack of agricultural know-how, improper handling, transportation, or storage. On the retail side, supermarket, restaurant, and catering practices can lead to further losses. And in Western countries, consumers tend to over-buy and end up throwing away food worth billions. There stands a lot to be gained from taking on the challenge of food waste. The consumer can help, for example, by asking for a doggy bag in a restaurant. But, consumers also want to see smarter production practices.