The Catalan horticultural sector wastes 26% of annual production just between the collection process, storage and technical problems, which is equivalent to losing 46.5 million tons of vegetables. This is explained by a study that the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (ICTA-UAB) has promoted on food waste in Catalonia.
Food waste is a critical problem in today's society. Products discarded in the production phase reduce the amount of food available to consumers and increase the economic costs of farmers.
The ICTA-UAB researchers state in their research conclusions that 61% of wasted food is never collected from the field. Farmers do not make any profit from these crops due to the low prices that intermediaries are willing to pay them for these vegetables.
The second reason for food waste has to do with its appearance: those vegetables that do not have the desired color, size or shape are discarded before being marketed. Finally, 17% of wasted food is linked to technical problems or errors in its collection.
Among all the crops produced in Catalonia, eleven foods constitute 80% of horticultural production, which is why they play a fundamental role in managing food losses. These are cabbage, lettuce, watermelon, pumpkin, zucchini, tomato, cucumber, artichoke, cauliflower, green beans and onion.
This food waste not only has a great economic impact on the horticultural sector, resulting in annual losses of 19 million euros, but it also plays an important role in the current climate crisis. The ICTA-UAB researchers explain that it must be taken into account that this food that is never marketed consumes natural resources in vain.
Furthermore, reducing food waste is part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations General Assembly, which plans to reduce food waste figures by half by 2030.
Researchers ask the public administration to allocate more resources to the redistribution of food surpluses. They also highlight the importance of promoting short distribution systems, such as 'agristores' and agricultural cooperatives, and other initiatives that promote seasonal and local consumption.
Likewise, the authors of the research highlight the need to protect farmers from unfair commercial practices and commissions from marketing to wholesalers that reduce profit margins. They also propose a series of systems based on remote agronomic and meteorological sensors so that farmers can plan their annual crops. All these changes, explain the ICTA-UAB researchers, must be accompanied by a promotion of seasonal consumption.
