Food Wastage in Australia - Outline Example

Running Head: Critical Policy Review Critical Policy Review Name Course Tutor Institution City Date Abstract The problem of food waste is a global issue that affects a great number of countries all over the globe. This paper therefore sets out to conduct a critical policy review and this will be done by a description of the below headings in details Name of the Intervention Description of the Problem Outline of the policy objectives Outline of the Options Consultation taken or undertaken Likely impact on businesses or individuals Is your proposal likely to have any regulatory impacts? If so, please specify and Is your proposal likely to affect compliance costs? If so, how? Name of the Intervention Based on the fact that food waste have been identified as a major problem in the Australia and in other countries there seems to be an urgent need for countries to come up with a review of the already existing policies. This will be done with the aim of checking aspects that needs to be changed to ensure that food wastage is a thing of the past and that it is reduced by considerable levels. Thus, the need for policy prescriptions aimed at achieving consistent as well as sustainable food waste management regime. Description of the Problem The main problem here is the food wastage in Australia and it is estimated that food wastage in Australia is significant. Based on the global estimates one third of the food that is mainly produced for human consumption is usually wasted. The aspect of food wastage as well as loss usually occurs in all the levels of the supply chain (Parfitt, Barthel & Macnaughton, 2010). Nevertheless, at the same time it can be noted that there exist differences in the food waste distribution levels among the low income, middle income and high-income countries. Based on these it is crucial to note that food waste among the high and the middle-income countries tend to e higher as compared to the low-income countries. Additionally, it can be noted that the waste that occurs in the low-income countries usually takes place in the production and retailing stage while the one that occurs at the consumer level is very marginal. Based on available estimates Australia is able to produce enough fresh food that can feed about 60 million people on a daily basis, but at the same time about 7.5 million tonnes of food that is fit for human consumption is wasted in an year (Mason et al. 2011). This is equivalent to an economic cost of about US$ 750 billion. By engaging in measuring of food that is currently wasted almost 870 million people would be feed all over the globe. In the case of Australia, food wastage mainly occurs at the retail and consumer level and each household is estimated to waste around $616 worth of food in a year (Pearson, Minehan and Wakefield-Rann, 2013). Outline of the policy objectives Like all other policies and activities that are undertake this policy have a number of objectives that needs to be achieved at the end. Thus, the main objectives of the policy are as outlined below To avoid the generation of waste food To reduce significantly the amount of food waste that is generated at the various levels of the supply chain by evaluating the methods of food waste prevention Ensure that the waste food is recovered, disposed and used well To consider the various food waste collection options and ensure that good practice is followed. Outline of the Options Because food waste have been outlined as seen a major issue facing Australia and other countries all over the globe there is a need for measures to deal with the menace. In relation to these references will be made to France since as a country they have been at the forefront of dealing with food waste. One such measure of dealing with the food waste is the waste management enforcement (Mourad, 2015). In this case, every country all over the globe needs to show strong commitments into tackling the issue of food waste. In this respect, Australia need to ensure that they adopt measures put in place by other countries such as France and one of these is by launching laws that reduces considerably the amount of the organic waste in the landfills. Thus, companies need to recycle their waste and more so when they produce waste which exceeds 120 tons (Mourad, 2015). Thus, to deal with the menace recycling needs to be made mandatory for all businesses and more so those in the foodservice and hospitality industry. Another favorable option of dealing with the menace is placing bans on supermarkets about waste food. In this respect, instead of the supermarkets throwing away or at times destroying the high number of unsold food they need to be forced to donate these to food banks and charities (Mourad, 2015). This concept can be adopted in Australia as well and in this regard, the supermarkets need to sign donation contracts with a nonprofit organization of their choice. This makes it very easy and at the same time faster for the players in the retail industry to offer their surplus products and goods to the charities and food banks even before the products “best-before” dates. Another option that can be adopted and which is likely to have a major impact in Australia is the change in consumer’s behaviors. Like in France the household waste disposal services in Australia needs to be run and managed by the local authorities and different and diverse requirements as well as regulations needs to be put in place for the various types of waste (Mourad, 2015). In this regard, Australia need to put in place a recycling initiative with the aim of encouraging a great number of the households to recycle their excess food which could end up as waste instead of throwing it away. The bio-waste recycling bin can be of great help since it is collected and transformed into other uses and products such as fertilizers. Consultation taken or undertaken To make the above recommendation practical and achievable it would be effective to engage with the various stakeholders in the industry. In instances when some of the stakeholders are not consulted, the policy is likely to fail at the initial stages and it may eventually be termed as invalid. Therefore, consolation will be made with all the stakeholders who may be affected in one way or another by the policy and they need to offer their opinions and suggestion on the best way forward (Smil, 2004). These will go a long way in reducing the barriers that exists in relation to effective food management in Australia. Through the consultation with the various stakeholders, there will be a high level of consumer awareness. There will be a clear understanding of the complexity that exists when it comes to food purchasing, production and the consumption patterns and lastly the stakeholders consulted can come up with an established infrastructure and technology which will offer alternative treatment of the food waste (Mourad, 2015). Likely impact on businesses or individuals The issue of food waste is likely to have numerous and significant implications on to the society on various levels. Food waste has direct effects on the environment and it significantly contributes to the aspects of climate change, which is major problem facing individual’s all over the globe. There is also the wastage of economic capital and all the other resources that are used on the production of food and in addition food waste usually increase the food insecurity levels all over the globe (Lin, Huang & Wahlqvist, 2009). One major implication of food waste is on the environment and the climate. When the food waste is disposed in the landfills, they decompose and emit the methane gas. Based on available data 14% of the CO2 emissions are because of the food waste. The food wastes that are also left to rot in the landfills also have an impact on the biodiversity and results ion pollution of the groundwater and the waterways. Another impact relates to food insecurity. However, food insecurity is mainly perceived as an issue that affects the least developed and the developing countries it is also an issue in the developed ones but the only difference is that they are able to conceal it with the country’s economic wealth (Smil, 2004). Based on the above discussions, it is evident of the impact that food waste on various aspects of the society. The policy on food waste will also have a number of implications on the business and individuals. One such implication is that the businesses can benefit from the recycling and make additional money and profits from the sale of the recycled foodstuffs which if not recycled would have gone into waste. At an individual level, individuals will feel obligated not to waste food and thus take all the measures necessary to ensure that they buy and consume what they need at a certain time. This will be of benefit since it is likely to reduce drastically the food waste since people at homes also contributes a lot to the food waste date recorded nationally (Smil, 2004). Additionally, when food waste is reduced to considerable level in Australia and all over the globe, there will be food security and people will have even surplus food to cater even for seasons when crop yields do not perform as expected. Is your proposal likely to have any regulatory impacts? If so, please specify. The proposal on the policy review in Australian about food waste is likely to have a number of regulatory impacts. There needs to be addition on the laws that limits supermarkets and other players in the food sectors from disposing the food items in inappropriate ways (Gustavsson, Cederberg & Sonesson, 2011). Additionally there will be laws that ensure that all people within Australia comply with the set standards of rules about food waste and regulatory measures placed to affirm that. In this respect, there will be statement of the action to take on those who fail to comply for example, the fines and other related aspects such as imprisonment. Is your proposal likely to affect compliance costs? If so, how? In addition to the regulatory impacts outlined above the proposal will also affect the compliance costs. One major way in which this will be affected is that people will not be given an option of whether they want to engage in the reduction of food waste but they will be expected to participate fully in achieving e the goals and objectives of the policy (Mostead, A & Australian Government Department of Environment, n.d). In this respect, companies in the hospitality industry and the supermarkets just to mention a few of them will be expected to sign contracts with the charity organization so supply their surplus food. They may even at times be forced to deliver the excess food products to the food banks and charities and this can in a way be termed as a compliance cost to the reduction of the food waste menace in Australia. Additionally, the proposal will increase the compliance cost by ensuring that all people in the supply chain maintain high level of hygiene and this is likely to come with an associated cost. Nevertheless, it is crucial to note that it will go a long way in reducing food waste that is likely to result from unhygienic practices (EU Fusions, 2016). References EU Fusions (2016). Food Waste Policy Framework, Retrieved from https://www.eu-fusions.org/index.php/about-food-waste/283-food-waste-policy-framework Future Directions International (2014). Food Waste in Australia, Retrieved from http://futuredirections.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/FDI_SAP_13_May_2014_Food_Waste_in_Australia.pdf Gustavsson, J, Cederberg, C. & Sonesson, U. (2011). Global Food Losses and Waste: extent causes and prevention. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Lin, A, Huang, S. & Wahlqvist, M. (2009). Waste management to improve food safety and security for health advancement. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 18, 4, 538–545. Mason, L., Boyle, T., Fyfe, J., Smith, T., Cordell, D. (2011). National Food Waste Data Assessment: Final Report. Prepared for the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. Sydney: The Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology. Mostead, A. & Australian Government Department of Environment (n.d). Working together to reduce food waste in Australia, Retrieved from http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/25e36a8c-3a9c-487c-a9cb-66ec15ba61d0/files/factsheet-food-waste_0.pdf Mourad, M. (2015). France moves towards a national policy against food waste. Retrieved from https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/france-food-waste-policy-report.pdf Parfitt, J., Barthel, M. & Macnaughton, S. (2010). Food waste within food supply chains: quantification and potential for change to 2050. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, 365, 1554, 3065–3081. Pearson. D, Minehan, M and Wakefield-Rann, R. (2013). Food Waste in Australian Households: why does it occur? Locale: The Australasian-Pacific Journal of Regional Food Studies, 3 Smil, V. (2004) Improving efficiency and reducing waste in our food system’, Environmental Sciences, 1, 1, 17–26. Read More