Keivan is to speak at the Cut Waste, Grow Profit Forum event on the 19th November 2012 in Ontario, Canada. The theme is how to reduce food waste, leading to increased profitability and environmental sustainability.
This is a critical event for farmers, agri-businesses, retailers, food service, government and academia.
Attend this forum to:
- Improve sustainability and financial performance along the entire food chain
- Understand how agriculture and the food industry can start reducing food waste now
- Adapt international programs such as WRAP, Sell More – Waste Less and Plan A, to the Canadian environment
- Measure the effectiveness of waste management initiatives
- Obtain the resources you need to increase your profitability
The forum is not about reinventing the wheel; it is about learning, adapting and improving current approaches to best suit the Canadian environment. It will illustrate that it is only through the implementation of value chain management approaches, the development of strategic alliances between businesses, that waste can be minimized along the entire food value chain.
Food waste is a critically important issue. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that one-third of food produced for human consumption (1.3 billion tons) is wasted along the food chain annually (2011). In Canada alone, an estimated $27 billion of food is wasted annually (Gooch et al, 2010). Its reduction is of vital importance to the Canadian agriculture and food industry, the environment and the economy in general.
People do not purposely waste food. The food waste that occurs in Canada is largely a symptom of current processes and attitudes, primarily of abundance and affluence. Ahead of the forthcoming November 19, 2012, ‘Cut Waste, Grow Profit’ forum, this background document identifies causes of food waste along the value chain. It describes a number of current initiatives aimed at reducing food waste, internationally and in Canada. The report ends by presenting examples of projects undertaken by the Value Chain Management Centre team that have reduced food waste by millions of dollars.
The techniques required to deliver economic and environmental benefits from the reduction of food waste already exist. Proven initiatives include the UK’s ‘Waste and Resource Action Plan (WRAP)’ and ‘Sell More – Waste Less’ program, along with retailer-led programs such as Marks & Spencer’s ‘Plan A’. US initiatives include the ‘Food Waste Opportunities and Challenges’ program, developed by the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Food Marketing Institute. Canadian and USA retailers, along with food manufacturers, are among those participating in the ‘Consumer Goods Forum’s Sustainability Pillar’ led by Tesco and Unilever. Compared to the scale and impact of these initiatives, Canadian efforts to reduce food waste are considerably less.
