How Can Countries Ban Food Waste? Pioneers in the Fight Against Food Waste Evaluates Promising Waste Deterrence Policies in South Korea, France, and Peru
A third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, causing corrosive effects on global hunger and climate change. While so much food is squandered, 733 million people are chronically undernourished and a third of the world can’t afford a healthy diet. That wasted food rots in landfills, producing potent methane gas, and is estimated to account for 8-10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
With increasing acknowledgement and consensus on the need to act against food waste in forums like COP29, many countries are looking to food waste deterrence policies — or policies that make it more costly to throw good food in the trash instead of donating or repurposing it. Since disposing of food is often cheaper than donating or repurposing it, food waste deterrence policies aim to change the balance by creating prohibitions or fiscal incentives to keep food out of landfills and encouraging a cultural shift toward treating surplus food as a valuable resource.
South Korea, France, and Peru are viewed as global leaders in this space, as each has their own food waste deterrence policies that provide valuable insights and lessons for a global community seeking to turn the tide on food waste. Here are some of the key takeaways from the research:
The focus should be on reducing and redistributing excess food production over other alternatives (like composting or anaerobic digestion) for their greater environmental and other benefits, such as hunger reduction.
Deterrence policies should be phased in and/or tiered to allow for expansion of waste management capacity, testing of different methods, and building cultural acceptance.
Public investment in planning and infrastructure for food recovery, redistribution, and recycling makes deterrence policies more effective.
Both punitive enforcement (like fines) and incentives (like tax breaks) have proven effective in increasing compliance with food waste deterrence policies.
Countries must set baselines and targets for reducing food waste, but most places still lack basic data on food waste, meaning they need to invest in data to track baseline and progress.
While there is no single deterrence policy that can change the food waste landscape entirely, well-considered suites of policies that have been accompanied by investment and improved over time have proven to be effective in lowering food waste and increasing food donation:
South Korea reports having diverted 96 percent of food waste from landfills since first implementing deterrence policies.
France has observed significant changes in the amount, frequency, and diversity of food donation as a result of its policies.
In Peru, food donations to the Peruvian Food Bank (Banco de Alimentos Peru) tripled in the year after it enacted its food donation law.
Methane emissions in South Korea and France are also trending down since enactment of these policies (although it is difficult to estimate precisely how much of the decrease is attributable to food waste policies).
“Food waste deterrence policies are a relatively new but promising policy tool to reduce the amount of food headed to landfills, and the amount of methane emitted from those landfills,” said Emily Broad Leib, director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School. “Our research looked at three countries chosen for regional and cultural differences, the variations in the policies they have tested, and the length of time that their policies have been in place. By gathering insights from a range of different stakeholders on the ground in each country and sharing what has or hasn’t worked, we hope to equip policymakers and food waste advocates in other countries with the information they need to develop and tailor their own successful food waste deterrence policies.”
“Across the world, we’re seeing more policymakers eager to take action against food waste in a way that can have positive effects on food security, the economy, and the environment,” said Lisa Moon, president and CEO of The Global FoodBanking Network. “Research like this helps us learn from a wide array of experiences and home in on best practices that can feed more people and mitigate emissions from food loss and waste. Food banks across the world are helping drive better policies and leading action against food waste.”
Pioneers in the Fight Against Food Waste provides another valuable resource for countries seeking to reduce food waste, mitigate GHG emissions, and increase food donation to tackle food insecurity.
The Global Food Donation Policy Atlas identifies existing laws and policies that support or hinder food recovery and donation and offers policy recommendations for strengthening frameworks and adopting new measures to fill existing gaps. The analyses featured in country-specific reports and topical policy issue briefs are also encapsulated in aninteractive Atlas tool that allows users to compare policies between countries participating in the project.
Atlas project researchis available for 25 countries on five continents plus the European Union.An interactive map, legal guides, policy recommendations, and executive summaries for each country are available atatlas.foodbanking.org.
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ABOUT THE HARVARD FOOD LAW AND POLICY CLINIC
The Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) serves partner organizations and communities by providing guidance on cutting-edge food system issues, while engaging law students in the practice of food law and policy. FLPC’s work focuses on increasing access to healthy foods, supporting sustainable production and regional food systems, promoting community-led food system change, and reducing waste of healthy, wholesome food. FLPC is committed to advancing a cross-sector, multi-disciplinary, and inclusive approach to its work, building partnerships with academic institutions, government agencies, private sector actors, and civil society with expertise in public health, the environment, and the economy. For more information, visit chlpi.org/food-law-and-policy.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL FOODBANKING NETWORK Food banking offers a solution to both chronic hunger and the climate crisis. GFN works with partners in over 50 countries to recover and redirect food to those who need it. In 2023, our Network provided food to more than 40 million people, reducing food waste and creating healthy, resilient communities. We help the food system function as it should: nourishing people and the planet together. Learn more at foodbanking.org
ABOUT GLOBAL METHANE HUB
The Global Methane Hub is a first-of-its-kind philanthropic alliance to support methane emissions reduction around the world. A super pollutant, methane is responsible for more than 45 percent of recent global warming. To reduce methane pollution for a chance to save our climate within our lifetime, Global Methane Hub organizes and convenes governments, industry leaders, scientists, and nonprofit organizations across the globe to minimize methane pollution through technology and common-sense public policies and regulations. Since 2021, the Global Methane Hub has catalyzed over $10 billion in methane reducing project investments by convening funders focused on addressing climate change, raised $500 million in pooled funds from more than 20 of the largest climate philanthropies to accelerate methane mitigation worldwide, and strategically regranted $200 million to over 100 grantees conducting methane reduction work in 152 countries. To learn more about Global Methane Hub, visit globalmethanehub.org.
