Contexte

ZeroW responds to topic LC-GD-6-1-2020 ‘Testing and demonstrating systemic innovations in support of the Farm-to-Fork Strategy’ and specifically to sub-topic E ‘Reducing food losses and waste at every stage of the food chain including consumption, while also avoiding unsustainable packaging’. With Food Loss & Waste (FLW) broadly estimated at 30% of total food production, and with little to no progress on its reduction achieved in recent years, it is clear that any initiative targeting significant impact in this sector must address the main lock-in effects embedded in the current organisation and operation of the food system.

ZeroW addresses the following main structural and behavioural lock-in effects of the current food system, including:

(i) missing/fragmented FLW data (arduous/inaccurate data collection, largely based on subjective assessments and varied FLW definitions, not supporting effective reduction strategies);

(ii) primary focus at the lower layers of the FLW hierarchy;

(iii) limited food actor capabilities to reduce FLW especially in cases of diverse, seasonal & disruption-generated food surpluses, or in cases of sub-standard products;

(iv) inability to steer consumer buying behaviour towards reducing FLW at the critical point that the purchase occurs;

(v) untapped opportunities for making low-FLW products more consumer-appealing;

(vi) understanding of packaging as an unavoidable secondary waste stream rather than a FLW-reducing opportunity;

(vii) unbalanced (unjust) allocation of FLW innovation cost/benefits among food chain actors.