A new study from the University of Michigan (UMichigan) has concluded that almost half of global food loss — about 620 million metric tons — could be saved if food supply chains were fully refrigerated.
Every year, about a third of global food produce goes to waste, according to a press release from UMichigan. Meanwhile, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 800 million people suffer from hunger.
By completely refrigerating food supply chains — creating "cold chains" — greenhouse gas emissions associated with food waste would decrease by 41% globally, the study said.
"I was amazed at the scale of our opportunity to reduce food loss and waste globally," said Aaron Friedman-Heiman, lead author of the study and a master's student in UMichigan's School of Environment and Sustainability, in a press release said. "Around half of the 1.3 billion tonnes of food that goes to waste every year could be solved by optimizing food supply chains."
Parts of Asia could see a 45% reduction in food loss, as well as 54% fewer associated emissions under optimized refrigeration conditions, the study said. And food losses in sub-Saharan Africa could be reduced by 47%, while their emissions could fall by 66% in an optimized refrigeration scenario.
The researchers said that real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will depend on the efficiency of cold chain technology, as well as the carbon intensity of the electricity grid, as emissions from refrigeration can be significant.
They found that, in many cases, developing less industrialized and more local farm-to-table supply chains can result in food savings comparable to or even greater than optimized cold chains.
The study compared the benefits of farm-to-table food systems with those of technologically advanced and globalized food supply chains.
"Hyperlocalized food systems resulted in lower food losses than optimized global, refrigerated chains," Friedman-Heiman said in the press release. "The results help quantify the value of maintaining and supporting local food chains."
The main conclusions of the study
- Greenhouse gas emissions from food waste: About eight percent of human-made greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste, UMichigan said.
- Study focus: The study focused on losses that occur post-harvest through to retail, rather than losses at home or on the farm.
- Emissions from food production: The study calculated emissions from food production, but did not consider emissions associated with supply chain operations, refrigeration or stored food waste.
- Food losses at household level: Most food is wasted at the household level in Europe, North America and other industrialized regions.
- Impact of the meat product: Food losses of meat have emissions associated with climate greater than any other type of food.
Discoveries about meat
The study found that meat accounts for more than half of greenhouse gas emissions from food waste, even though its weight loss is less than 10% globally. Optimizing meat refrigeration can lead to a 43% reduction in emissions from meat losses.
The study modeled food losses at each stage of the supply chain, highlighting where cold chains can be optimized to reduce emissions and food losses.
