Reducing Food Waste for Climate and Air Quality

In Europe, 89 billion kilos of food are lost every year. This food waste goes hand in hand with an unnecessary consumption of resources. For example, more than 15 billion kilos of nitrogen are used unnecessarily as fertilizers. Harmful ammonia emissions released by the use of these nitrogenous fertilizers could simply be avoided if less food was thrown away. Food waste is a logistical, ecological and ethical challenges. The contribution to climate change is most impressive: if food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of climate-damaging greenhouse gases. Thereby, the environmental footprint of food waste depends on what we throw away. The production of animal food produces a particularly high level of emissions. However, the equivalent of 230,000 head of cattle ends up in the garbage every year in Germany, uneaten.

EU-wide all Member States set the goal to halve food waste by 2030. To achieve this goal, different actions are needed. Consumers can contribute to a considerable reduction in ammonia and methane emissions from agriculture by simply throwing away less food. Here, activities contributing to more awareness rising for the topic are needed. Food losses also occur in food trade and industry, even if the amounts are smaller. Nevertheless, there is still a great need for improvement in these areas, as the avoidance potential is very high.

The project focuses on different activities to address the main areas where unnecessary ammonia and methane emissions could be avoided. Information materials provide consumers with support for a more conscious and low-emission handling of food. By disclosing legal barriers for food donations,  food losses can be prevented on food trade and industry level. At the same time, political demands will be developed and the responsibilities of the various actors will be made visible in order to effectively push for a halving of food waste by 2030.

Since 2021, as a member of the EU Platform for Food Waste and Loss, DUH advises the European Commission on future legislative proposals as part of the Farm to Fork strategy.

2 May 2022: Deutsche Umwelthilfe and foodsharing e.V. make a statement against food waste with crooked vegetables in front of the Ministry of Agriculture (Link GER)

26 January 2021: Ban unfair trade practices: Deutsche Umwelthilfe calls for determined fight against causes of food waste (Link GER)

28 May 2020: Deutsche Umwelthilfe und foodsharing criticise Food Minister Klöckner: Instead of ensuring legal certainty for food saving herself, she relies on volunteer initiatives (Link GER)

9 April 2020: Food saving made more difficult by Covid-19 crisis: Deutsche Umwelthilfe and Foodsharing demand immediate legal certainty (Link GER)