UK’s Food System at Risk if Farm to Fork Waste Not Addressed : WRAP Report: Cutting Food Waste Key to Security of Supply

A new report from the UK’s Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has outlined risks to the country’s food system over the next ten years if a “business unusual” approach to the way we manufacture, sell and consume food is not embraced including the reduction of farm-to-fork food waste.

The ‘Food Futures’ report assessed 15 topics in the UK food system from farm to consumer and outlined recommendations for actions by industry and government.

According to WRAP increasing global demand for food and the pressure on the environment of meeting that demand, using traditional methods and ingredients, is unlikely to be sustainable. Ensuring the UK has a diversified, sustainable supply of protein is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century.

Some of the risks and opportunities identified in the report that affect the whole industry, are external including climate risks to food resilience and deep environmental and societal challenges like reducing food waste or tackling diet-related ill health.

The report found that for the food chain the ability to realise future opportunities will depend on building skills to meet future food challenges, new supply chain collaborations and how quickly the benefits of new digital technology opportunities can be realised.

Three key trends are expected to shape the food system and reframe these issues; increasing challenges to food system resilience; an explosion in data-enabled technology and the alignment of public health and environmental sustainability agendas.

The next ten years could see changes in farming such as a growing appreciation of the benefits of adopting precision agriculture and other data-enabled technologies.

For the supply chain technology will be key. For example, WRAP said that businesses could use a suite of technologies and practices for intelligent temperature control during manufacture and transportation, minimising carbon impact while improving quality, freshness and product life.

However, the report added that not all solutions are technology-based, making lifestyles choices has a role to play. Consumers will help set the pace of change as they seek to have a healthier and sustainable diet.

By embedding the recommendations from the report, WRAP said that the industry can take a “business unusual” approach to the challenges and become more flexible, intelligent and transparent (FIT) to meet the 21st century demands. The biggest of which, was said to be to feed the growing population which is why one of the recommendations in the report is to drive down farm-to-fork food waste.

The authors noted that globally one third of all food grown globally goes to waste, but that applying FIT principles will tackle food waste along the value chain.

According to WRAP its Courtauld Commitment 2025 will play a leading role in bringing together the whole food system, helping to safeguard the UK’s food supply and respond to consumer’s changing needs over the next decade.

“In the next ten years we will be faced with challenges around feeding a growing population and nutritional security. Our ‘Food Futures’ report highlights how governments, businesses and we, as consumers, can turn these challenges into opportunities,” commented Dr Liz Goodwin OBE, CEO at WRAP.

“We need to be 21st Century ‘FIT’ to meet this challenge. By embracing the growth in data enabled technology and aligning healthy and environmentally sustainable diets we can nourish both the individual and the planet,” she concluded.

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