LibGuides: VCE Food Studies: Environmental sustainability in food processing, manufacturing, retail &amp; consumption

War on Waste - Food Waste

War on Waste Season 2 Episode 3 - looks at excess supermarket plastic packaging and retail food court waste (2018, 57 min).

Food Packaging

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation website
APCO is a not for profit organisation partnering with government and industry to reduce the environmental impact of packaging in Australian communities and achieve the 2025 National Packaging Targets. See the Resources section for statistics, information reports and strategy documents relating to packaging, including food service and food retail packaging.
Eat your food, and the package too (article) – National Geographic
Article about a range of innovative food packaging ideas, prototypes, designs and delivery systems as alternatives for plastic and single-use packaging.

The role of packaging for Australian produce (Report) – Australian Fresh Produce Alliance
Comprehensive report on the nature and type of packaging, how it can minimise food waste and maximise fresh food quality, and the role of the consumer
The role of packaging in minimising food waste in the supply chain of the future (report) - RMIT
Report which considers where and why food waste is generated, and opportunities to use packaging in containing and protecting food as it moves through the supply chain from production to wholesale and retail distribution in order to reduce waste

Food Waste - Strategy and Policy

Fight Food Waste Co-operative Research Centre website
Research centre bringing together industry, research and the community to capitalise on Australia’s food waste opportunities with the aims to reduce food waste across the supply chain, transform unavoidable waste into high-value co-products and engage with industry and consumers to create change. There are many projects supporting these aims and information about these are on the website.
National food waste strategy: Halving Australia’s food waste by 2030 - Commonwealth Government
How Australia will contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development target. Includes background information and statistics about food waste and its stakeholders, with sections for policy support, business improvements, market development and behaviour change.
Waste and resource recovery – food waste – Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (Cth)
Further departmental information about the National food waste strategy, including the National Food Waste Baseline, the 2019 report which quantifies food waste in Australia from primary production to consumption to waste/recovery.

Ugly vegetables are a major cause of food waste

Ugly vegetables are a major cause of food waste (article) - The Independent
Reports show that 25 per cent of apples, 20 per cent of onions and 13 per cent of potatoes grown in the UK are still wasted on cosmetic grounds

Plastic Waste - Four Corners investigation

Four Corners investigation detailing how 'big plastic' used clever marketing campaigns to persuade consumers and environmental groups to carry the burden by recycling rather than reducing the amount of plastic manufactured, allowing exponential growth. (2020, 43 mins.)

2019 Report on Food Loss and Waste Reduction

2019 The state of food and agriculture: moving forward on food loss and waste reduction (report)
Report of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Food Waste in Hospitality and Retail

10 ways to reduce food waste in restaurants – Australian Institute of Food Safety
Food waste opportunities within the food wholesale and retail sectors (report) – Institute for Sustainable Futures
A report on the opportunities and barriers to reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill from the wholesale, logistics and retail sector, with recommendations
How large food retailers can help solve the food waste problem (article) – Harvard Business Review
How to cut food waste in a hospitality business – Sustainability Victoria
Part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign

OzHarvest website
Includes information on how OzHarvest rescues excess perishable food from hospitality, encourages food waste minimisation, protecting the environment and assisting charities to provide food relief and redirect cost savings to other programs

Food Waste - Consumers

Food Waste – Australian Household Attitudes and Behaviours National Benchmarking Survey – Fight Food Waste CRC
Results of a survey to benchmark how much food – edible or inedible – is disposed of in Australian households, how food is managed in households (planning, shopping, storing, preparing) and attitudes towards waste reduction.
Reducing food waste: How to ensure food is tasted, not wasted – CHOICE.com
Household Food Waste - Foodwise
Statistics and educational resources for reducing food waste in planning, shopping, food preparation and storage.
Love Food Hate Waste campaign (Sustainability Victoria)
Consumer campaign to help households reduce their food waste.