Abstract
ABSTRACT The growing need for solving the problem of food waste for tackling the survival of the planet and humankind is encouraging researchers to seek sustainable operations that alter the conventional methods that are currently in use in the food industry. Lean thinking has been used in this study to propose sustainable operations that incorporate social, economic, and environmental aspects and to handle the multidisciplinary and complex nature of reducing food waste. The value stream mapping methodology has been employed to explain food waste and generate drivers and to observe the end-to-end system flow. Since most of the waste is observed in upstream operations in emerging economies, one of the biggest meat-processing companies in Turkey is studied for illustrating the proposed methodology. As a result of the model, lean and sustainable food operations are suggested considering social, economic and environmental aspects.
Highlights
The world population is expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2075, which is motivating researchers to investigate sustainable operations for social, economic, environmental and political issues (Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2013)
Food waste starts with initial agricultural production for consumption by end-users and losses are high both in industrialized and emerging economies
In the United Nations’ sustainable development plan for 2030, ending hunger by providing sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food, and reducing food waste starting from the production stage through to consumption are two main objectives for the welfare of humanity and the planet
Summary
The world population is expected to reach 9.5 billion by 2075, which is motivating researchers to investigate sustainable operations for social, economic, environmental and political issues (Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2013). Food waste starts with initial agricultural production for consumption by end-users and losses are high both in industrialized and emerging economies. In third world and emerging economies, food losses occur mostly in the farming, post-harvest and processing stages, whereas in industrialized countries waste occurs predominantly on the retail and customer sides (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2011a; Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 2013). In the United Nations’ sustainable development plan for 2030, ending hunger by providing sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food, and reducing food waste starting from the production stage through to consumption are two main objectives for the welfare of humanity and the planet. It is understood that sustainable operations in food waste management are a crucial instrument for transforming sustainable societies and for the well-being of humans (Ingrao, Faccilongo, Gioia, & Messineo, 2018)
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