A world population expected to be 9 billion humans by 2050, its growing share of urban citizens and a shift of lifestyles and diet patterns of the rising middle class in emerging economies place considerable strain on the planet’s resources. According to the FAO, food production will need to grow by 70% to feed world population in 2050 (Bruinsma, 2009). Further trends like global warming, declining freshwater resources, biodiversity or loss of fertile land, interconnected and closely linked to global food security, require an integrated and innovative approach to olutionfinding.
Sustainable food consumption and production is on top of political and scientific agendas (Nellemann et al., 2009; World Economic Forum 2009; FAO/OECD 2011; Foresight, 2011; EU ERA-NET SUSFOOD 2012-2014). Food is one of the most important drivers, along housing and transports, of environmental pressures and resource consumption (Tukker et al., 2008).
Environmental impacts occur all along the food chain including waste management. Escalating food prices of recent years have highlighted the already difficult access to food for the most vulnerable ones both in industrialized and in developing countries. In 2011, 18 million European citizens have benefit from food aid initiatives and worldwide, the share of the food insecure population is still scandalously high (FAO, 2010).
Emad Mahgoub