Today, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) launches
the Global Farm Loss
Tool
for growers of all sizes to more easily measure and report on-farm food loss.
Developed by WWF and tested with members of the Consumer Goods Forum
(CGF)’s Food Waste
Coalition
and their growers, the tool provides a user-friendly and simplified approach to
help farmers and their buyers identify and address the cause of their on-farm
food loss and its associated impacts — such as scope 3
emissions.
The tool targets the reduction of food loss at one of the most critical points
of the global supply chain: on
farm. Research
from WWF and Tesco shows that as much as 1.2 billion tonnes — around 15
percent of all food produced — is lost on farms during, around and after harvest
worldwide annually. Adding to the challenge, growers and buyers have limited
data on the volume of unharvested products to know how much of what’s being left
behind is marketable, non-marketable (which includes produce that is blemished
or misshapen, but perfectly
edible)
or spoiled.
The Global Farm Loss Tool provides actionable insights for growers and buyers to
map their current loss levels and develop new channels to utilise more of what
is grown. The tool can be used to estimate how much surplus (grown to the point
of maturity) was left behind in field post-harvest and at further stages across
a farm’s operations (such as processing and packhouse). This first public
iteration of the tool can be used for all crops — but especially fruits,
vegetables and tree nuts.
the exciting potential of cultivated, fermented and plant-based protein innovation
Join us as Aleph Farms, the Better Meat Co, the Good Food Institute and Plantible Foods discuss the latest advancements in cultivated, plant-based, and fermentation-derived proteins — and how incorporating alternative proteins can help brands significantly reduce environmental impacts, while conserving natural resources — Tuesday, Oct. 15 at SB'24 San Diego.
“We need visibility to identify food loss hotspots and understand the reason
behind them,” says Pete Pearson,
Senior Director of Food Loss and Waste at WWF. “The Global Farm Loss Tool is
designed to be part of that solution — helping fill the crucial gap of tracking
primary and actionable food loss data at the farm level of global supply
chains.”
The CGF supported the beta testing of the Global Farm Loss Tool through its Food
Waste Coalition — which brings together 18 of the world’s largest food brands,
retailers and manufacturers. The Coalition aims to halve global food loss and
waste by 2030 in line with UN Sustainable Development Goal
12.3. Working with Coalition members, the
CGF and WWF will continue to assess the impact of the new tool — reviewing how
to improve the tool’s user experience, expand its utility in the field and for
more food types across the global supply chain, and promote its usage to new
growers and suppliers.
“Growers are vital to helping ensure a sustainable food system,” says CGF
Director of Health and Sustainability Sharon
Bligh. “The CGF is committed
to supporting our members to help growers in their supply chains to track,
address and ultimately reduce the footprint of agriculture. This data is
essential for accelerating our transition to a more efficient and circular food
system.”
The Global Farm Loss Tool is compatible with existing reporting programmes —
including World Resources Institute’s
10x20x30 and WRAP’s Food Waste
Atlas,
and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s Food Loss
Index.
Endorsed by the food loss experts at Champions
12.3,
the tool will also be integrated into existing farm sustainability reporting
frameworks, such as Sustainable Food Trust’s Global Farm
Metric, and develop new capabilities to
estimate the scope 3 emissions associated with on-farm food loss in the year
ahead.
The tool is now available free of charge to growers and farmers worldwide at GlobalFarmLossTool.org.
Get the latest insights, trends, and innovations to help position yourself at the forefront of sustainable business leadership—delivered straight to your inbox.
Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Apr 16, 2024 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST