Grown and thrown: Exploring approaches to estimate food waste in EU countries.

National studies on food waste quantification in EU countries present highly discrepant results due to the different quantification approaches adopted. The European Commission has published a delegated act establishing a common methodology and minimum quality requirements for the uniform measurement of food waste generated in Member States. Nevertheless, as EU countries are at different levels of development and implementation of national strategies for food waste quantification, there is a need to develop a harmonized modelling system that enables the estimation of food waste generated by Member States to assess the amounts reported by each country.

Evaluation of the influence on water consumption and water scarcity of different healthy diet scenarios.

A deep understanding of the water-food nexus it is of a paramount importance as an avenue for sustainable development. Water forms the foundation for food production and a sustainable use of this resource is essential to guarantee the long-term productivity and to build resilient capacity in food and agricultural systems. Here we present methodological challenges regarding different water footprint (WF) methods applied to different dietary scenarios.

Unveiling the potential for an efficient use of nitrogen along the food supply and consumption chain.

Ensuring global food security is one of the challenges of our society. Nitrogen availability is key for food production, while contributing to different environmental impacts. This paper aims firstly to assess nitrogen flows and to highlight hotspots of inefficient use of nitrogen along the European food chain, excluding primary production.

Out of sight out of mind? A life cycle-based environmental assessment of goods traded by the European Union.

Ensuring responsible production and consumption is one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to which the European Union (EU) has committed. An increasing body of literature has demonstrated that global trade flows are key contributors to the environmental impacts of consumption. Indeed, very often developed countries import fuels and other resources from developing ones, displacing a large share of environmental burdens related to consumption of goods outside their boundaries.

Quantification of food waste per product group along the food supply chain in the European Union: a mass flow analysis.

In 2015, the United Nations defined the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which include a target (12.3) on food waste. The target requires "by 2030, to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and to reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses".

Food waste accounting methodologies: Challenges, opportunities, and further advancements.

About one third of the food produced globally is wasted along the food chain, representing a burden for the environment and an inefficiency of the food system. Tackling food waste is a priority on the global political agenda to guarantee food security. Defining a methodology for food waste quantification is key to monitoring progress towards the achievement of reduction targets.

Contribution of different life cycle stages to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with three balanced dietary patterns.

In light of the considerable pressure exerted by food production on the environment, the assessment of the environmental burdens of dietary choices has recently gained interest among the scientific community. Several studies based on life cycle thinking approach agreed that a transition from an omnivorous to either a vegan or vegetarian diets would reduce the environmental impact associated with food consumption. The majority of the studies set the system boundaries up to the retail, excluding the consumption phase and generally do not account for uncertainties.

Food waste accounting along global and European food supply chains: State of the art and outlook.

Contributing to environmental pollution and resources depletion, food waste represents a considerable inefficiency of the global food system. Within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, countries committed to halve per-capita food waste generated at retail and consumer levels and to decrease food waste along the food supply chain by 2030.

Quantifying household waste of fresh fruit and vegetables in the EU.

According to national studies conducted in EU countries, fresh fruit and vegetables contribute to almost 50% of the food waste generated by households. This study presents an estimation of this waste flow, differentiating between unavoidable and avoidable waste. The calculation of these two flows serves different purposes.

Techno-economic and profitability analysis of food waste biorefineries at European level.

Food waste represents a potential source to produce value-added materials replacing the use of virgin ones. However, the use of food waste as feedstock in biorefineries is still at an early stage of development and studies assessing its economic viability at large scale are lacking in the literature. This paper presents a techno-economic and profitability analysis of four food waste biorefineries that use wastes from tomato, potato, orange, and olive processing as feedstock.

Systematic analysis of secondary life cycle inventories when modelling agricultural production: A case study for arable crops.

Analysis of agricultural production with life cycle based methodologies is data demanding. To build comprehensive life cycle inventories, secondary datasets are commonly used when primary data are not available. However, different inventory data and modelling approaches are used to populate secondary datasets, leading to different results.