Chapter 3 - Sustainable development of food supply chains toward food security managing and reducing losses

Abstract

Whilst the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc, the debate about how food security can be ensured despite disruptions and global issues (e.g., climate change) intensify. Food security challenges are escalating as demand for foods continuously rises while the majority of resources are put into containing the pandemic. Food loss and waste (FLW) is a problem that has received considerable attention from scholars for a long time. It becomes a moral issue as at the same time some people are struggling with hunger, and a huge amount of edible for-consumption foods are wasted globally. The FLW also has economic implications since assets that have been invested in foods result in no return as many of them disappear along with the waste. Moreover, GHG emissions because of food processing activities become one of the environment's critical issues. The FLW occurs along the food supply chain (FSC) stages, therefore, efforts for reducing it should involve all players within the FSCs network. The integration and coordination among actors while managing foods flow across the FSCs could be one of the important strategies for FLW reduction. Continuously improving the collaborative approach by involving more participants (including consumers) may lead to a more sustainable FSC.