Food waste in Barcelona

Barcelona is a coastal city located in Catalonia, Spain, and it is a major contributor to food waste. Every year, tons of perfectly good food is discarded or thrown away by consumers and businesses, often ending up in landfills and contributing to environmental problems such as greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

Food loss vs food waste

Food loss and food waste both refer to food that is discarded or not consumed, but they have different meanings and implications.

Food loss refers to the decrease in quantity or quality of food that occurs along the food supply chain from production to retail. This can be due to a variety of factors such as poor harvesting techniques, inadequate storage facilities, transportation problems, and market inefficiencies. Food loss typically occurs in developing countries where the infrastructure for food storage, transportation, and processing is inadequate.

Food waste, on the other hand, refers to food that is discarded or thrown away by consumers, retailers, and food service providers. This can occur due to a variety of reasons such as overproduction, expiration dates, and cosmetic imperfections. Food waste typically occurs in developed countries where there is an abundance of food and a culture of over-consumption.

While both food loss and food waste have negative environmental and economic impacts, food waste is generally considered to be easily preventable and less justifiable. This is because food waste occurs mainly due to consumer behavior and decisions, whereas food loss is often caused by factors outside of the consumer's control.

Global food waste

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food waste as food appropriate for human consumption being discarded. The FAO reported that around one-third of all food produced for human consumption (1.3 billion tons) is lost and wasted across the entire supply chain every year, with an estimated value of US$936 billion. The amount of FLW varies between countries and is influenced by factors such as level of income, urbanization, and economic growth. In less-developed countries, FLW occurs mainly in the post-harvest and processing stage, while in developed countries, a significant portion occurs in the consumption stage, driven mostly by consumer behavior, values, and attitudes. FLW has serious environmental, economic, poverty, and natural resource impacts, including contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and decreased availability of food for human consumption. FLW reduction initiatives could improve food prices, efficiency in the supply chain, and access to nutritious foods for vulnerable households.

National governments and international entities are introducing policies to reduce food waste. The United Nations has set a target to cut food waste in half by 2030, and the European Commission has committed to achieving this goal as part of its Circular Economy Action Plan. To support this, the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste was established to help prevent food waste and share best practices. In order to reduce food waste, it's important to accurately account for it throughout the food supply chain. However, there is currently no standardized way to do this. The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission organized a workshop to discuss how to harmonize and improve food waste accounting methodologies. Experts identified several research gaps, such as the need for clear and consistent definitions and terminology, improved data quality, and identifying drivers of food waste. These improvements will help policymakers better design policies to reduce food waste.

Food waste in Barcelona

In Catalonia, people consume 3.74 million tonnes of solid food every year, which amounts to 499 kg per person. However, 1.18 million tonnes of food are discarded as waste. 920,577 tonnes include unavoidable waste such as vegetable peels, coffee grounds, and fish bones. The remaining 262,471 tonnes is classified as food wastage. This is equivalent to 7% of the total solid food products acquired by homes, restaurants, and shops in Catalonia, which is 34.9 kg per person per year. This amount of food wastage is enough to feed over 500,000 people for a year. Home kitchens are responsible for the majority of food wastage, around 58% (151,800 tonnes), followed by supermarkets and grocery stores (16%), bars and restaurants (12%), retail food sector (9%), institutional catering and restaurant services (4%), and municipal markets (1%).

Barcelona's comparative position

2010 estimates show that Spain had about 135 kg of food waste per capita, the 17th highest in Europe. However, these numbers have changed significantly in the last decade. According to a 2020 report by the European Union, the average amount of food waste generated per capita in Europe is around 131 kg per year. Comparatively, Spain was estimated to have 77 kg of food waste per capita, the 18th highest in Europe. However, there is significant variation within Spain, with some regions and cities generating more food waste than others. A 2011 study by the Autonomous University of Barcelona, found that Catalonia is responsible 14.8% of Spain's total food waste.

Causes

The main causes of this food waste in Barcelona are overproduction and overconsumption. Restaurants often overproduce food, leading to a surplus of food that goes to waste. For example, set menus at restaurants do not offer choices for the sizes of portions which means consumers may occasionally acquire too much food which goes to waste. In market settings, the majority of food waste is a result of poor management and storage processes. Factors such as inadequate employee training, difficulties in sales forecasting, and duration of fresh products all contribute to food waste in Barcelona's markets.

Additionally, consumers often buy more food than they need, and end up throwing away food that goes bad before they have a chance to eat it. Researchers have found that there are a wide range of factors contributing to consumers' behavior regarding food waste in Barcelona including: lack of awareness of the volume of food waste, percentage of income invested in food, family structure, and expiration date norms.

Waste prevention

In a way to prevent food waste, a goal of waste prevention procedure has to be a priority. Waste prevention relates to actions taken before the product becomes wasted, which reduces the quantity of waste. The waste prevention hierarchy is the order to reduce the amount of waste being contributed. The preventative measures in order are: prevention; reduction at source; re-use; recycle; energy recovery; disposal. In the recycle section, there is a hierarchy of subsections: source reduction, feed hungry people, feed animals, industrial uses, composting and finally landfill incineration.

Environmental impact

Food waste has a significant environmental impact, as it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and other environmental problems. When food is wasted, the resources used to produce, transport, and process it, such as land, water, and energy, are also wasted. This leads to unnecessary environmental impacts, such as:

• Greenhouse gas emissions: When food waste is sent to landfills, it decomposes and releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Methane is about 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of its global warming potential. Additionally, food production, transportation, and processing require energy, and when food is wasted, the energy used to produce it is also wasted. This leads to unnecessary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The emissions generated by food waste in Barcelona has been calculated to be 520,700 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, approximately the emissions equivalent to 20,300 cars throughout their useful life.
• Land use: The production of food requires land, and when food is wasted, the land used to grow it is also wasted. This leads to deforestation, soil erosion, and loss of biodiversity.
• Water use: Food production also requires water, and when food is wasted, the water used to grow it is also wasted. This can lead to water scarcity and depletion of freshwater resources.

Reducing food waste can help to mitigate these environmental impacts, as it can conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and promote sustainable food consumption. This can be achieved through various strategies, such as improving food storage and handling practices, promoting sustainable agriculture and production methods, and changing consumer behavior through education and awareness-raising campaigns.

Current initiatives

The Spanish government has implemented several initiatives to tackle food waste, such as the establishment of the Circular Economy Spanish Strategy which aims to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030. Additionally, the government has passed recent laws such as a law created in June 2022 to promote taking home leftovers and discounting soon-to-expire food stock. Since 2015, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDs) has been working on goal 12. The goal is to live in a way that helps the environment and doesn't harm it. Including using natural resources wisely and not wasting them. Universities can play an important role in promoting this by teaching students and encouraging healthy habits that support sustainability. This can help create a generation of professionals who are committed to protecting the environment.

In addition to combat food waste in Barcelona, several initiatives have been put in place on a city level. For example, the city's Waste Prevention Plan for Barcelona 2012–2020 strived to reduce the amount of food waste generated by restaurants and supermarkets, promote the donation of surplus food to food banks, and encourage consumers to buy only what they need. Additionally, the city supported initiatives to reduce food waste such as home composting and the prevention of food waste in education center dining rooms.

There are also several organizations in Barcelona that work to reduce food waste. One example is Rezero, a non-profit organization that aims to create a zero waste society by promoting sustainable consumption and production practices. In addition, some restaurants in Barcelona have taken steps to reduce food waste by offering smaller portion sizes, using leftover ingredients creatively, and composting food waste.

One solution at a smaller scale that has been used in many cities across the globe is the app, Too Good To Go. Too Good To Go is a mobile application that connects consumers with local food businesses that have surplus food at the end of the day, such as restaurants and grocery stores, and offers the surplus food at a discounted price to reduce food waste. The app enables consumers to browse and purchase surplus food from local businesses, reducing food waste while also saving money. The app is available in several countries and has been successful in reducing food waste while also increasing revenue for local businesses. Overall this app aims to benefit both the consumers and businesses, and it has a positive impact on reducing the amount of food waste.