The food wasted in China in restaurants alone could feed 30-50 million people. Along with food losses from the supply chain and domestic kitchens, this represents a massive waste of resources, plus substantial methane emissions from landfill. But the good news is that the problem is at last being recognised.
China's population of 1.4 billion means that all of its food-related problems are magnified -- including the problem of food waste.
The scale was highlighted late last year, when a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences told a Food Waste Forum in Beijing about the findings of a detailed investigation.
The team surveyed almost 7,000 tables and 366 restaurants in four cities, conducted hundreds of interviews, collated 7,500 questionnaires and weighed 32,000 dishes. They calculated that in total 17-18 million tons of food were wasted every year in China.
The Forum heard from experts that a range of solutions exists that could help reduce the waste, or make better use of it. For example, Big Data approaches can help organisations to track food use and regulate purchasing. But speakers also reported that at municipal level, China and its neighbour Hong Kong lag behind cities in other countries, with virtually all waste still going to landfill.
Read more here in ChinaDaily Asia, and find out more here about Sustain's work on food waste in the UK.
Published Friday 13 January 2017
Sustain: Sustain The alliance for better food and farming advocates food and agriculture policies and practices that enhance the health and welfare of people and animals, improve the working and living environment, enrich society and culture and promote equity.
