The food industry needs to do more to tackle food loss and waste throughout the farm-to-fork cycle, says The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Director-General Qu Dongyu.
Speaking at the Fixing the Business of Food: The Food Industry and the SDG Challenge event, the FAO chief said that the food industry and businesses have a “critical role in achieving food security and nutrition as they influence the production, processing, retail and marketing of the food that we eat.” They can also help transform agriculture and food systems for better environmental, social and economic outcomes. Qu Dongyu believes that technology and innovation are the key to making food systems more sustainable and using natural resources more efficiently. Farmers should also be equipped with the tools, knowledge and capacity to improve agricultural output.
The event also saw the launch of a report (pdf) from The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition and partners outlining actions to help the food industry accelerate progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
“Food industry leaders have already taken steps to align with the SDGs and have endorsed sustainable development as a core business concept. But to achieve the SDGs by 2030, we need business actions. The Barilla Foundation and our partners recognize the need for concrete practices, metrics, monitoring, and public education to support the transformation to sustainability. Only by working together can we achieve the SDGs,” said chairman Guido Barilla.
The report, a collaboration between Barilla, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), The Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI) and the Santa Chiara Lab – University of Siena (SCL), showcases best practices and recommendations in four key areas (see pdf):
- Products that contribute to healthy and sustainable dietary patterns;
- Sustainable production practices;
- Sustainable global supply chains;
- Good corporate citizenship