Calorie cap helps mitigate food and packaging waste, flags Circle Economy

26 Jan 2021 --- A new report from non-profit organization Circle Economy delves into in-depth circular economy solutions to transform global food systems, including slashing excess food consumption. These actions, alongside transformations in other major sectors, can altogether cut global emissions by 39 percent.

In its “Circularity Gap Report 2021” roadmap, slashing excess consumption implies keeping caloric supply under 3,000 kcal per person, per day, reducing packaging in the food supply chain by 55 percent, and reducing household food waste and losses along the supply chain.

The report further outlines the differences in dietary trends between countries and how these significantly impact agricultural emissions.

“Food waste is responsible for a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions, and it’s an entirely inefficient use of resources and therefore inherently not circular. Our report notes that priorities in reducing food waste will differ by country profile,” Laxmi Adrianna Haigh, scientific writer and in-house journalist at Circle Economy, tells FoodIngredientsFirst.

“The priorities for a Build country’s food system, such as Pakistan or Nigeria, are different from that of a Grow country, such as Brazil or Mexico, or of Shift countries, such as the US or the Netherlands,” she details. “It is very clear from our research that the diets of people in Shift countries impact unsustainable practices in Grow and Build countries – such as deforestation and monocropping.”

“In Shift countries, we encourage social and corporate responsibility for the impacts their diets have on Grow and Build countries. This could take the form of educational campaigns to promote awareness, as well as encouraging ethical purchasing from consumers to food corporations. At the end of the day, higher-income countries produce the vast majority of global greenhouse gases with their lifestyle choices.”

The more calorie intensive diets could consist of out-of-season, imported foods that have travelled across the globe, or high levels of animal protein, Circle Economy highlights.Diet disparities between Build, Grow and Shift communities
Animal protein-intensive diets in Shift countries particularly affect agricultural emissions ascribed to Grow countries, with over 16 percent of the carbon footprint of the average EU diet attributable to deforestation, notes Haigh. “As disposable incomes rise across the globe, the pressure to safeguard our earth’s natural carbon sinks – forests – from deforestation in Build and Grow countries mounts, as well as moving toward more regenerative agricultural practices.”

“We encourage a move away from unsustainable agriculture, which is often undertaken to quench the hunger for animal-protein-rich diets in high-income countries with a mixture of legislative action and rethinking the business model. [This includes, for instance] promoting a market for sustainably and responsibly produced goods in Shift countries, as well as encouraging Shift countries to drastically reduce their consumption of animal products. This could, in turn, reduce deforestation,” she continues.

“Meanwhile, in countries where unsustainable monocropping is practised, we encourage a move toward fully circular regenerative farming, where all waste from agricultural processes is fed back into the loop.”

The new Circle Economy analysis reveals that food waste at retail and household stages amounts to approximately 88 million metric tons per year in the EU, or 173 kilograms per person per year.

“Preventing losses at farm-stage, rather than household stage, is the primary challenge. In Brazil for instance, logistical issues hinder sufficient food storage, which results in post-harvest losses of a mammoth 45 percent,” the authors outline.

On a global scale, food loss and waste are responsible for around 8 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, flags Circle Economy. All countries have a role to play in minimizing this figure.

Mitigating excess caloric supply
In Circle Economy’s roadmap, footprint-per-calorie reductions which can be achieved through changes in diet, which is largely the uptake of vegan and healthier options. This is in line with Innova Market Insights’s Top Trend for 2021, “Plant-Forward,” which is expected to continue shaping the F&B landscape this year.

Given this focus on consistent caloric and protein intake levels, a move away from foods with low nutritional value, such as sugary beverages and refined, heavily processed food can be impactful, notes Circle Economy.

“Unprocessed food is championed, alongside an ongoing decrease in consumption of all meat, fish and dairy, with a target of 100 percent eradication of unhealthy high-sugar, high-salt products,” it underscores.

Tackling food shortages and scarcity starts first with optimizing how we use the food we already have at our disposal, before looking to increase production.Although a healthy diet requires 2,000 kcal per day for a typical female, the intake in some countries may be far higher, while malnutrition persists in others. 

The more calorie intensive diets could consist of out-of-season, imported foods that have travelled across the globe, or high levels of animal protein, Circle Economy highlights.

“Calling to reduce consumption here may be appropriate and even ethical, but less so in cases where access to basic nutritious food is limited,” it concedes.

Social benefits must entertwine with regenerative practces
In Build and Grow countries where the implementation of more regenerative practices is needed, circular strategies must engage with those that they affect on a deep level, or the long-term uptake and success of those strategies will dwindle, flags Haigh.

“Social co-benefits of the proposed interventions must be highlighted: for example, farmers are generally eager to use food waste as feed because it reduces their costs by up to 60 percent,” she notes.

Curbing resource-intensive food production
Innova Market Insights also highlighted “Transparency Triumphs” as the Top Trend for 2021. Meanwhile, industry giants including Nestlé and Arla Foods Ingredients aim to uphold these principles, in targets to either slash or fully eliminate net carbon emissions in the years ahead. 

Current climate pledges will see a global temperature rise by 3.2°C this century, resulting in a significant increase in extreme weather events with devastating social, environmental and economic consequences. 

Sustainable food production reduces the need for hot-housing vegetables, which equates to a reduction in fuel inputs and lower transportation impacts.According to the UN, to ensure global warming is kept below 2°C, global emissions must fall by 15 billion metric tons. 

Tackling food shortages and scarcity starts first with optimizing how we use the food we already have at our disposal, before looking to increase production, notes Circle Economy. Food products have short life cycles in our economy, being consumed quickly after production.

Sustainable food production includes a more widespread uptake of fresh, regional, local and seasonal options on the menu. This reduces the need for hot-housing vegetables, which equates to a reduction in fuel inputs, plus fewer food miles and lower transportation impacts.

“Urban, organic and precision farming models would also eliminate synthetic fertilizer use,” note the report authors.

The use of food waste and losses as feed for livestock will further support growth of secondary markets, helping to cycle flows. “In a regenerative agriculture model, animal husbandry is balanced with crop cultivation, allowing waste products to be cycled into inputs: manure becomes fertilizer and crop trimmings and waste become fodder,” outlines Haigh.

In a previous report, Circle Economy called for raised incentives to commercialize upcycled ingredients. Residual materials found in food processing surplus streams – often categorized as “waste” – can be reused as upcycled ingredients if fair pricing can be ensured. 

By Benjamin Ferrer