Food rescue and donation in socioenvironmental policies on tackling food loss and waste
a systematic review
Abstract
In recent years, there has been an increasing concern among governments about food loss and waste – FL&W and, in this context, the food rescue and donation – FR&D has emerged in the scenario of socioenvironmental policies as a strategic factor for FL&W reduction. Despite FR&D have potential to establish a “win-win” arrangement between the spheres of waste management and demands of food security, it still has been perceived as a less attractive alternative than forwarding the surplus food to the waste treatment system. Thus, to understand what the practice of FR&D consists of, as well as to identify its limits and possibilities for inclusion in socioenvironmental policies, this systematic review was undertaken from January to April 2020, grounded on a research of scientific papers on the Scopus digital platform. Conducted under PRISMA recommendations, 40 articles were scrutinized. The corpus suggests a majority of authors and studies on FR&D from developed countries, although food insecurity is more often present in developing countries. For the objectives of the present review, a conceptual scan was carried out, in order to explain what the practice of rescue is and also to define its object. It was concluded that, despite the aparent “win-win” solution, both integrating FR&D and encompassing food security and solid waste management, it unveils contradictions that deserves further and deeper investigations on its effectiveness as a socioenvironmental policies tool.
References
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Bazerghi, C., McKay, F. H., & Dunn, M. (2016). The Role of Food Banks in Addressing Food Insecurity: A Systematic Review. Journal of Community Health, 41(4), 732–740. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0147-5
Bierma, T. J., Jin, G., & Bazan, C. N. (2019). Food donation and food safety: Challenges, current practices, and the road ahead. Journal of Environmental Health, 81(10), 16–21.
Bilska, B., Wrzosek, M., Ko?ozyn-Krajewska, D., & Krajewski, K. (2016). Risk of food losses and potential of food recovery for social purposes. Waste Management, 52, 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.03.035
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Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2014). Surplus food recovery and donation in Italy: The upstream process. British Food Journal, 116(9), 1460–1477. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2014-0076
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González-Torre, P. L., & Coque, J. (2016). From food waste to donations: The case of marketplaces in Northern Spain. Sustainability (Switzerland), 8(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060575
González-Torre, P., Lozano, S., & Adenso-Díaz, B. (2017). Efficiency Analysis of the European Food Banks: Some Managerial Results. Voluntas, 28(2), 822–838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9814-0
Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., Sonesson, U., Otterdijk, R. van, & Meybeck, A. (2011). Global food losses and food waste?: extent, causes and prevention?: study conducted for the International Congress “Save Food!” at Interpack 2011 Du?sseldorf, Germany. Roma: FAO.
Hecht, A., & Neff, R. A. (2019). Food rescue program evaluations: a systematic review. In press.
Henz, G. P., & Porpino, G. (2017). Food losses and waste: how Brazil is facing this global challenge? Horticultura Brasileira, 35(4), 472–482. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-053620170402
HLPE. (2014). Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems. A report by The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. Roma. Recuperado de www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe
Kinach, L., Parizeau, K., & Fraser, E. D. G. (2019). Do food donation tax credits for farmers address food loss/waste and food insecurity? A case study from Ontario. Agriculture and Human Values, 37(2), 383–396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09995-2
Lee, D., Sönmez, E., Gómez, M. I., & Fan, X. (2017). Combining two wrongs to make two rights: Mitigating food insecurity and food waste through gleaning operations. Food Policy, 68, 40–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.12.004
Lorenz, S. (2012). Socio-ecological consequences of charitable food assistance in the affluent society: The German Tafel. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 32(1998), 386–400. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443331211249011
McIntyre, L., Patterson, P. B., Anderson, L. C., & Mah, C. L. (2017). A great or heinous idea?: Why food waste diversion renders policy discussants apoplectic. Critical Public Health, 27(5), 566–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2016.1258455
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., Altman, D., Antes, G., … Tugwell, P. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Mourad, M. (2016). Recycling, recovering and preventing “food waste”: Competing solutions for food systems sustainability in the United States and France. Journal of Cleaner Production, 126, 461–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.084
Mousa, T. Y., & Freeland-Graves, J. H. (2017). Organizations of food redistribution and rescue. Public Health, 152, 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.031
Mura, G., Castiglioni, I., Borrelli, N., Ferrari, M., & Diamantini, D. (2019). Recycling food to promote social inclusion. An empirical evidence. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 65, 325–337. https://doi.org/10.33788/rcis.65.20
Phillips, C., Hoenigman, R., Higbee, B., & Reed, T. (2013). Understanding the Sustainability of Retail Food Recovery. PLoS ONE, 8(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075530
Porpino, G., Parente, J., & Wansink, B. (2015). Food waste paradox: Antecedents of food disposal in low income households. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(6), 619–629. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12207
Reynolds, C. J., Piantadosi, J., & Boland, J. (2015). Rescuing food from the organics waste stream to feed the food insecure: An economic and environmental assessment of australian food rescue operations using environmentally extended waste input-output analysis. Sustainability (Switzerland), 7(4), 4707–4726. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7044707
Rovati, G. (2015). Envisioning a future without food waste and food poverty: Societal challenges. In Envisioning a Future Without Food Waste and Food Poverty: Societal Challenges (p. 260–264). https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-820-9
Sakaguchi, L., Pak, N., & Potts, M. D. (2018). Tackling the issue of food waste in restaurants: Options for measurement method, reduction and behavioral change. Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 430–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.136
Schneider, F. (2013). The evolution of food donation with respect to waste prevention. Waste Management, 33(3), 755–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.10.025
Sert, S., Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2015). Surplus food redistribution for social purposes: analysis of critical success factors. In L. E. San-Epifanio & M. de Renobales Scheifler (Orgs.), Envisioning a Future Without Food Waste and Food Poverty: Societal Challenges (p. 1–350). https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-820-9
Sert, S., Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2018). Corporate food donations: altruism, strategy or cost saving? British Food Journal, 120(7), 1628–1642. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-08-2017-0435
Tarasuk, V., & Eakin, J. M. (2003). Charitable food assistance as symbolic gesture: An ethnographic study of food banks in Ontario. Social Science and Medicine, 56(7), 1505–1515. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00152-1
Tarasuk, V., & Eakin, J. M. (2005). Food assistance through “surplus” food: Insights from an ethnographic study of food bank work. Agriculture and Human Values, 22(2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-004-8277-x
Thyberg, K. L., & Tonjes, D. J. (2016). Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 106, 110–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.11.016
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375
Vlaholias, E., Thompson, K., Every, D., & Dawson, D. (2015a). Charity starts ... at work? Conceptual foundations for research with businesses that donate to food redistribution organisations. Sustainability (Switzerland), 7(6), 7997–8021. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7067997
Vlaholias, E., Thompson, K. R., Every, D., & Dawson, D. (2015b). Reducing food waste through charity: Exploring the giving and receiving of redistributed food. In L. E. San-Epifanio & M. de Renobales Scheifler (Orgs.), Envisioning a future without food waste and food poverty: Societal challenges (p. 271–277). Wageningen Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/103920978908686820933
Warshawsky, D. N. (2016). Food waste, sustainability, and the corporate sector: case study of a US food company. Geographical Journal, 182(4), 384–394. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12156
Aiello, G., Enea, M., & Muriana, C. (2015). Alternatives to the traditional waste management: Food recovery for human non-profit organizations. International Journal of Operations and Quantitative Management, 21(3), 215–239.
Albizzati, P. F., Tonini, D., Chammard, C. B., & Astrup, T. F. (2019). Valorisation of surplus food in the French retail sector: Environmental and economic impacts. Waste Management, 90, 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2019.04.034
Alexander, C., & Smaje, C. (2008). Surplus retail food redistribution: An analysis of a third sector model. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52(11), 1290–1298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2008.07.009
Arcuri, S. (2019). Food poverty, food waste and the consensus frame on charitable food redistribution in Italy. Agriculture and Human Values, 36(2), 263–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09918-1
Bazerghi, C., McKay, F. H., & Dunn, M. (2016). The Role of Food Banks in Addressing Food Insecurity: A Systematic Review. Journal of Community Health, 41(4), 732–740. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0147-5
Bierma, T. J., Jin, G., & Bazan, C. N. (2019). Food donation and food safety: Challenges, current practices, and the road ahead. Journal of Environmental Health, 81(10), 16–21.
Bilska, B., Wrzosek, M., Ko?ozyn-Krajewska, D., & Krajewski, K. (2016). Risk of food losses and potential of food recovery for social purposes. Waste Management, 52, 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2016.03.035
Busetti, S. (2019). A theory-based evaluation of food waste policy: Evidence from Italy. Food Policy, 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2019.101749
Compagnucci, L., Cavicchi, A., Spigarelli, F., & Natali, L. (2018). A multi-stakeholder attempt to address food waste: The case of Wellfood Action EU project. Economia Agro-Alimentare, 20(3), 503–528. https://doi.org/10.3280/ECAG2018-003012
De Boeck, E., Jacxsens, L., Goubert, H., & Uyttendaele, M. (2017). Ensuring food safety in food donations: Case study of the Belgian donation/acceptation chain. Food Research International, 100(May), 137–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2017.08.046
De Pieri, B., Tallarico, T., Baglioni, S., Soler, U., & Ricciuti, E. (2017). European policy for food security: the surplus food redistribution option. In Foodsaving in Europe: At the crossroad of social innovation (p. 1–164). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-56555-2
Foti, V. T., Sturiale, L., & Timpanaro, G. (2018). An overview of food waste phenomenon: By problem to resource. Quality - Access to Success, 19(S1), 232–240.
Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2014). Surplus food recovery and donation in Italy: The upstream process. British Food Journal, 116(9), 1460–1477. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-02-2014-0076
Gómez Garrido, M., Carbonero Gamundí, M. A., & Viladrich, A. (2019). The role of grassroots food banks in building political solidarity with vulnerable people. European Societies, 21(5), 753–773. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2018.1518537
González-Torre, P. L., & Coque, J. (2016). From food waste to donations: The case of marketplaces in Northern Spain. Sustainability (Switzerland), 8(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060575
González-Torre, P., Lozano, S., & Adenso-Díaz, B. (2017). Efficiency Analysis of the European Food Banks: Some Managerial Results. Voluntas, 28(2), 822–838. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-016-9814-0
Gustavsson, J., Cederberg, C., Sonesson, U., Otterdijk, R. van, & Meybeck, A. (2011). Global food losses and food waste?: extent, causes and prevention?: study conducted for the International Congress “Save Food!” at Interpack 2011 Du?sseldorf, Germany. Roma: FAO.
Hecht, A., & Neff, R. A. (2019). Food rescue program evaluations: a systematic review. In press.
Henz, G. P., & Porpino, G. (2017). Food losses and waste: how Brazil is facing this global challenge? Horticultura Brasileira, 35(4), 472–482. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-053620170402
HLPE. (2014). Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems. A report by The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition. Roma. Recuperado de www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-hlpe
Kinach, L., Parizeau, K., & Fraser, E. D. G. (2019). Do food donation tax credits for farmers address food loss/waste and food insecurity? A case study from Ontario. Agriculture and Human Values, 37(2), 383–396. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-019-09995-2
Lee, D., Sönmez, E., Gómez, M. I., & Fan, X. (2017). Combining two wrongs to make two rights: Mitigating food insecurity and food waste through gleaning operations. Food Policy, 68, 40–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.12.004
Lorenz, S. (2012). Socio-ecological consequences of charitable food assistance in the affluent society: The German Tafel. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 32(1998), 386–400. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443331211249011
McIntyre, L., Patterson, P. B., Anderson, L. C., & Mah, C. L. (2017). A great or heinous idea?: Why food waste diversion renders policy discussants apoplectic. Critical Public Health, 27(5), 566–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2016.1258455
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G., Altman, D., Antes, G., … Tugwell, P. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1000097
Mourad, M. (2016). Recycling, recovering and preventing “food waste”: Competing solutions for food systems sustainability in the United States and France. Journal of Cleaner Production, 126, 461–477. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.084
Mousa, T. Y., & Freeland-Graves, J. H. (2017). Organizations of food redistribution and rescue. Public Health, 152, 117–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.031
Mura, G., Castiglioni, I., Borrelli, N., Ferrari, M., & Diamantini, D. (2019). Recycling food to promote social inclusion. An empirical evidence. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 65, 325–337. https://doi.org/10.33788/rcis.65.20
Phillips, C., Hoenigman, R., Higbee, B., & Reed, T. (2013). Understanding the Sustainability of Retail Food Recovery. PLoS ONE, 8(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0075530
Porpino, G., Parente, J., & Wansink, B. (2015). Food waste paradox: Antecedents of food disposal in low income households. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(6), 619–629. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12207
Reynolds, C. J., Piantadosi, J., & Boland, J. (2015). Rescuing food from the organics waste stream to feed the food insecure: An economic and environmental assessment of australian food rescue operations using environmentally extended waste input-output analysis. Sustainability (Switzerland), 7(4), 4707–4726. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7044707
Rovati, G. (2015). Envisioning a future without food waste and food poverty: Societal challenges. In Envisioning a Future Without Food Waste and Food Poverty: Societal Challenges (p. 260–264). https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-820-9
Sakaguchi, L., Pak, N., & Potts, M. D. (2018). Tackling the issue of food waste in restaurants: Options for measurement method, reduction and behavioral change. Journal of Cleaner Production, 180, 430–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.136
Schneider, F. (2013). The evolution of food donation with respect to waste prevention. Waste Management, 33(3), 755–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2012.10.025
Sert, S., Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2015). Surplus food redistribution for social purposes: analysis of critical success factors. In L. E. San-Epifanio & M. de Renobales Scheifler (Orgs.), Envisioning a Future Without Food Waste and Food Poverty: Societal Challenges (p. 1–350). https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-820-9
Sert, S., Garrone, P., Melacini, M., & Perego, A. (2018). Corporate food donations: altruism, strategy or cost saving? British Food Journal, 120(7), 1628–1642. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-08-2017-0435
Tarasuk, V., & Eakin, J. M. (2003). Charitable food assistance as symbolic gesture: An ethnographic study of food banks in Ontario. Social Science and Medicine, 56(7), 1505–1515. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00152-1
Tarasuk, V., & Eakin, J. M. (2005). Food assistance through “surplus” food: Insights from an ethnographic study of food bank work. Agriculture and Human Values, 22(2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-004-8277-x
Thyberg, K. L., & Tonjes, D. J. (2016). Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 106, 110–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2015.11.016
Tranfield, D., Denyer, D., & Smart, P. (2003). Towards a Methodology for Developing Evidence-Informed Management Knowledge by Means of Systematic Review. British Journal of Management, 14(3), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375
Vlaholias, E., Thompson, K., Every, D., & Dawson, D. (2015a). Charity starts ... at work? Conceptual foundations for research with businesses that donate to food redistribution organisations. Sustainability (Switzerland), 7(6), 7997–8021. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7067997
Vlaholias, E., Thompson, K. R., Every, D., & Dawson, D. (2015b). Reducing food waste through charity: Exploring the giving and receiving of redistributed food. In L. E. San-Epifanio & M. de Renobales Scheifler (Orgs.), Envisioning a future without food waste and food poverty: Societal challenges (p. 271–277). Wageningen Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/103920978908686820933
Warshawsky, D. N. (2016). Food waste, sustainability, and the corporate sector: case study of a US food company. Geographical Journal, 182(4), 384–394. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12156
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2021-12-20
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BIERWAGEN, M. Y., & GONÇALVES DIAS, . S. L. F. . (2021). Food rescue and donation in socioenvironmental policies on tackling food loss and waste: a systematic review. Future of Food: Journal on Food, Agriculture and Society, 9(5). Retrieved from https://thefutureoffoodjournal.com/manuscript/index.php/FOFJ/article/view/409
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