IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i6p4757-d1090396.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Global Scientific Literature on Food Waste and Loss

Author

Listed:
  • Selma Mokrane

    (UNESCO Chair “Environment, Resources and Sustainable Development”, Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Isola C4, 80143 Naples, Italy)

  • Elvira Buonocore

    (UNESCO Chair “Environment, Resources and Sustainable Development”, Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Isola C4, 80143 Naples, Italy)

  • Roberto Capone

    (International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, via Ceglie 9, 70010 Bari, Italy)

  • Pier Paolo Franzese

    (UNESCO Chair “Environment, Resources and Sustainable Development”, Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Isola C4, 80143 Naples, Italy)

Abstract

The growing global population and modern dietary patterns are the main drivers of current unsustainable food systems, with one of the most serious consequences being the growing issue of food waste and loss (FWL). FWL is a global problem since one-third of the global food produced for human consumption is wasted or lost yearly. FWL occurs throughout the food supply chain. In this study, the scientific literature on FWL was explored. Social network analysis and bibliometrics were integrated to explore the issue of food waste in relation to environmental impact and food security. The generated network maps displayed the relationships among keywords, authors, and countries dealing with the issue of food waste, highlighting the exponential growth of the studies focusing on food waste since 2010. The results allowed for the understanding of the evolution of food waste scientific research, identifying the most important topics and research paths. In addition, the results also showed a clear research shift from an older approach to food waste, based on the downstream notion of waste, to a more modern approach, based on sustainability, food security, consumer behavior, and the circular economy, addressing the problem of food waste by preventing it with upstream actions and policies. Considering the remarkable ethical, environmental, social, and economic implications of FWL, the outcomes of this study display the need for developing interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies capable of providing a comprehensive understanding of the FWL issue.

Suggested Citation

  • Selma Mokrane & Elvira Buonocore & Roberto Capone & Pier Paolo Franzese, 2023. "Exploring the Global Scientific Literature on Food Waste and Loss," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-17, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:6:p:4757-:d:1090396
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/4757/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/6/4757/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mohamad G. Abiad & Lokman I. Meho, 2018. "Food loss and food waste research in the Arab world: a systematic review," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(2), pages 311-322, April.
    2. Abbade, Eduardo Botti, 2020. "Estimating the nutritional loss and the feeding potential derived from food losses worldwide," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vasiliki Aitsidou & Evangelia Michailidou & Efstratios Loizou & Georgios Tsantopoulos & Anastasios Michailidis, 2024. "Focus Group Discussions on Food Waste: An Empirical Application Providing Insights into Rural and Urban Households in Greece," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Marian Gil & Mariusz Rudy & Paulina Duma-Kocan & Renata Stanisławczyk & Anna Krajewska & Dariusz Dziki & Waleed H. Hassoon, 2024. "Sustainability of Alternatives to Animal Protein Sources, a Comprehensive Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-27, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dalal Aassouli & Ayodele Akande & Ray Jureidini, 2023. "Comparative Analysis of Sustainable Food Governance and the Alignment of Food Security Policies to Sustainable Development: A Case Study of OIC Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-27, November.
    2. Lingfei Wang & Yuqin Yang & Guoyan Wang, 2022. "The Clean Your Plate Campaign: Resisting Table Food Waste in an Unstable World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Abu Elnasr E. Sobaih & Ahmed E. Abu Elnasr, 2024. "From Your Plate to Our Bin: Tackling Food Waste in Saudi Family Restaurants," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-19, September.
    4. Post Lori & Schmitz Andrew & Issa Tariq & Oehmke James, 2021. "Enabling the Environment for Private Sector Investment: Impact on Food Security and Poverty," Journal of Agricultural & Food Industrial Organization, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 25-37, May.
    5. Ali Chalak & Chaza Abou-Daher & Mohamad G. Abiad, 2018. "Generation of food waste in the hospitality and food retail and wholesale sectors: lessons from developed economies," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 10(5), pages 1279-1290, October.
    6. Aleksandra Minajeva & Algirdas Jasinskas & Rolandas Domeika & Edvardas Vaiciukevičius & Egidijus Lemanas & Stanisław Bielski, 2021. "The Study of the Faba Bean Waste and Potato Peels Recycling for Pellet Production and Usage for Energy Conversion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    7. Peter L. Borland & Kevin McDonnell & Mary Harty, 2023. "Assessment of the Potential to Use the Expelled Heat Energy from a Typical Data Centre in Ireland for Alternative Farming Methods," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-32, September.
    8. Kotykova, Olena & Babych, Mykola & Oliinyk, Tetiana, 2020. "Заходи Щодо Скорочення Втрат Продовольства Та Харчових Відходів В Україні," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 6(4), December.
    9. Noora Sirola & Ulla-Maija Sutinen & Elina Närvänen & Nina Mesiranta & Malla Mattila, 2019. "Mottainai!—A Practice Theoretical Analysis of Japanese Consumers’ Food Waste Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-14, November.
    10. Myra Zeineddine & Samer Kharroubi & Ali Chalak & Hussein Hassan & Mohamad G Abiad, 2021. "Post-consumer food waste generation while dining out: A close-up view," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(6), pages 1-13, June.
    11. Ali Chalak & Hussein F. Hassan & Pamela Aoun & Mohamad G. Abiad, 2021. "Drivers and Determinants of Food Waste Generation in Restaurants Serving Mediterranean Mezze-Type Cuisine," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-10, June.
    12. Ali Chalak & Mohamad G Abiad & Mohamad Diab & Lara Nasreddine, 2019. "The Determinants of Household Food Waste Generation and its Associated Caloric and Nutrient Losses: The Case of Lebanon," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(12), pages 1-18, December.
    13. Raquel Diaz-Ruiz & Montserrat Costa-Font & Feliu López-i-Gelats & José M. Gil, 2018. "A Sum of Incidentals or a Structural Problem? The True Nature of Food Waste in the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, October.
    14. Areej Malibari & Ghada Alsawah & Wafaa Saleh & Maha M. A. Lashin, 2023. "Analysis of Attitudes towards Food Waste in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Using Fuzzy Logic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-16, February.
    15. Arkadiusz Dyjakon & Łukasz Sobol & Tomasz Noszczyk & Jakub Mitręga, 2022. "The Impact of Torrefaction Temperature on the Physical-Chemical Properties of Residual Exotic Fruit (Avocado, Mango, Lychee) Seeds," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-16, January.
    16. Noelia S. Bedoya-Perales & Glenio Piran Dal’ Magro, 2021. "Quantification of Food Losses and Waste in Peru: A Mass Flow Analysis along the Food Supply Chain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.
    17. Ilija Djekic & Laura Batlle-Bayer & Alba Bala & Pere Fullana-i-Palmer & Anet Režek Jambrak, 2021. "Role of the Food Supply Chain Stakeholders in Achieving UN SDGs," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    18. Mirza Barjees Baig & Bader Alhafi Alotaibi & Khodran Alzahrani & David Pearson & Ghedeir M. Alshammari & Ashfaq Ahmad Shah, 2022. "Food Waste in Saudi Arabia: Causes, Consequences, and Combating Measures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    19. Fabio Gaetano Santeramo & Emilia Lamonaca, 2021. "Food Loss–Food Waste–Food Security: A New Research Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-7, April.
    20. Tamer Baran & Cristina Lupu & Donatella Privitera, 2024. "Faith and Sustainability: Exploring Religiosity’s Impact on Intentions to Reduce Food Waste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-15, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:6:p:4757-:d:1090396. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.