Changing the Story of Food Loss and Waste

 

 

Changing the Story of Food Loss and Waste

virtual celebration of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

Carla Mucavi, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations in New York

 

I want to start with a round of “thank yous” for such an inspiring conversation.

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is happening thanks to the engagement of a group of countries that rallied international support for this celebration. They are represented today by the Permanent Representatives of Andorra and San Marino to the UN, Ambassadors Elisenda Vives and Damiano Belleffi.

FAO is co-facilitating this celebration with UN Environment. Food loss and waste is a critical area of a much vaster cooperation to restore ecosystems, ensure the sustainable use of natural resources and transform food systems.

I want to thank all our speakers, including our panelists for their insights into what we can do individually and collectively to address food loss and waste, and Danielle for skillfully guiding us through this conversation.

I want to thank director Nari Kye, and the team behind the documentary Wasted, that brought such an important issue to a vast public.

And finally thank every one of you that joined us today, because tackling food loss and waste requires a collective effort.

I will not try to summarize this meeting, but I want to mention five ideas that will stay with me:

First, ending food loss and waste is an ethical imperative. The COVID-19 pandemic makes this even more urgent. Let’s make this celebration a wake up call and be bold in our actions.

Second, we need to rethink our relationship with food. Education is key. Understanding and respecting the food we eat, is also respecting people and the planet.

Third, we need innovation in processes and technologies along the food chain. And we need institutional and policy innovations to be more efficient and sustainable.

Fourth, we need partnerships. Different stakeholders must cooperate to identify and implement solutions that respond to different contexts and realities.

And, finally, ending food loss and waste is part of a much needed transformation of food systems and of the effort to reach the SDGs. This is a conversation we will continue in the context of the SDG Decade of Action and the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.

I for one leave today’s re-energized with new ideas and with the passion that all of you brought to this virtual table. And I hope the same is true for you.

Thank you.