Madspild
Hver dag går mere end to tons mad til spilde i Danmark. Der er bred enighed om, at madspild skal forebygges for at bevare ressourcer, både lokalt og globalt. Vores forskningsnetværk "Fighting food waste" undersøger, hvordan vi bedst muligt reducerer madspild i praksis.
Hvert år smider vi i Danmark 814.000 tons mad ud. Det enorme madspild sker på alle niveauer af fødevareforsyningskæden, lige fra leverandører, producenter og forarbejdningsvirksomheder til distributører, detailhandlere, madserviceudbydere og forbrugerne.
En betydelig del af den samlede mængde madspild findes i slutningen af værdikæden. I Danmark tegner detailsektoren sig for cirka 12 % af den samlede mængde madspild, mens forbrugerne står for cirka 30 %. Der er derfor et stort potentiale i at bekæmpe madspildet, der opstår netop mellem forbrugerne og detailhandelen, men der er også behov for at inkludere andre dele af fødevareværdikæden, blandt andet catering.
Vores forskningsnetværk "Fighting food waste" undersøger, hvordan vi bedst muligt kommer madspildet til livs.
Bekæmpelse af madspild som grøn løsning
Diskrepansen mellem de gode intentioner på den ene side og den betydelige mængde madspild på den anden side er et signal om, at madspild er et komplekst samfundsproblem, der skal udforskes og målrettes fra flere perspektiver.
Diskrepansen mellem de gode intentioner på den ene side og den betydelige mængde madspild på den anden side er et signal om, at madspild er et komplekst samfundsproblem, der skal udforskes og målrettes fra flere perspektiver.
Succesfuld bekæmpelse af madspild kræver samarbejde mellem forskere fra forskellige discipliner, herunder humaniora, samfundsvidenskab, miljøvidenskab, landbrugsvidenskab, fødevarevidenskab, økonomi samt juridiske, politiske og styringsmæssige eksperter.
Derudover spiller ikke-akademiske interessenter såsom politikere, offentlige myndigheder, professionelle i fødevareindusttien, landmænd, detailhandlere, forbrugerorganisationer, virksomheder der opcycler mad og håndterer affald en afgørende rolle. Samarbejde mellem disse interessenter er essentielt for en omfattende tilgang til bekæmpelse af madspild, med inddragelse af sociale, miljømæssige, økonomiske, uddannelsesmæssige, reguleringsmæssige og teknologiske dimensioner.
Forskere i netværket
| Janus Mortensen | Centre for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use | Faculty of Humanities |
| Jørgen Dejgård Jensen | Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO) | Faculty of Science |
| Kamilla Kraft | Department of English, Germanic and Romance Studies | Faculty of Humanities |
| Karin Schwarz Revsbeck Rasmussen | Centre for Legal Studies in Welfare and Market | Faculty of Law |
| Bent Egberg Mikkelsen | Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management |
Faculty of SCIENCE |
| Marianne Thomsen | Department of Food Science (UCPH FOOD) | Faculty of SCIENCE |
| Fritz Henglein | Department of Computer Science | Faculty of SCIENCE |
| Subash Rana | Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management |
Faculty of SCIENCE |
| Camilla Falk Rønne Nissen | Centre for Internationalisation and Parallel Language Use | Faculty of Humanities |
Læs hele beskrivelsen (på engelsk)
Aim
This thematic solution aims to help develop ways of preventing food loss and waste along the food supply chain – from the primary production sector to households.
Description
Food waste has received a lot of attention in recent years among consumers, organizations, businesses, and politicians. There is widespread agreement that food waste needs to be prevented in order to preserve natural as well as economic resources, both locally and globally. This ambition is also expressed in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal number 12 on responsible consumption and production and specifically target SDG 12.3: “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses”.
However, according to the latest report from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency (2021), 814,000 tons of food waste are generated annually in Denmark. The discrepancy between good intentions on the one hand and the considerable amount of food waste on the other indicates that food waste is a complex societal problem that must be explored and targeted from multiple perspectives to be addressed effectively.
Food loss and waste occurs at every stage along the food supply chain and therefore involves a wide range of stakeholders, including suppliers, producers, processors, distributors, retailers, food service providers, and consumers. A considerable part of the total amount of food waste is generated towards the end of the value chain. In Denmark, the retail sector accounts for approximately 12 % of the total amount of food waste, while consumers account for approximately 30 %. There is, therefore, significant potential in attempting to combat the food waste that arises precisely between consumers and retailers, but there is a need to also include other parts of the food value chain, including both commercial and institutional catering.
Successfully combating food waste as a complex societal problem requires the collaboration of scholars and scientists from various disciplines, including scholars in the humanities, social scientists, environmental scientists, agricultural scientists, food scientists, economists as well as legal, policy and governance experts. Additionally, non-academic stakeholders such as politicians, government agencies, food industry professionals, farmers, retailers, consumer organizations, food upcycling companies and waste management companies play crucial roles. Collaboration among these stakeholders is essential for a comprehensive approach to combat food waste, considering social, environmental, economic, educational regulatory and technological dimensions.