Drivers of food waste

This chapter commences with a survey of the international literature on the causes of FLW. It continues with an examination of the drivers of FLW along the FSC, by way of a review of those drivers at the micro-level. The chapter focuses on pre-harvest factors (such as choice of crop varieties; agronomic practices, including the management of fertilizers, soil additives, water management, pest and disease management; climate and environment; and market factors), post-harvest losses, storage, transportation, processing and packaging, wholesale and retail, the hospitality sector, the non-profit institutional food sector and household consumption. The chapter also looks at the meso-level causes of FLW, which include structural aspects of the food chain, such as: lack of support for investment and innovation, lack of coordination among actors and the general lack of adequate infrastructure. The chapter concludes with a description of the macro-level causes of FLW, principally the policy or regulatory framework.