Web conference: How effective can be a green food chain?

Food has large role in the European Green Deal and in the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. The size of the problem and the success of the measures are revealed also by the data on food waste in Slovenia, showing an increased amount of food waste in the entire food chain, especially in households and in food service. In addition, growing awareness of the food poverty and poor people are becoming an important part of the circular economy, where excess food is donated to poor people. An important issue, however, is the social role of donating food to tackle food poverty.

The framework for achieving the sustainable goals in food supply is defined in the strategy set by the Ministry of Agriculture, Economy and Food, how to minimize loosed food and lower food waste. Important elements are also food quality schemes that label genuine and protected products. The food chain uses packaging – and its importance for health is of considerable significance. Production of food packaging includes many constraints - what technological challenges are already solved, but how can they be met in a circular economy? Among the important data for packaging is also its environmental footprint, which should evaluate its impact from the "cradle to the grave".

Various activities are taking place in Slovenia to support the green food chain and to reduce food waste. In the public procurement system, great attention is paid to locally produced food and green public procurement. The database of domestic food providers is growing, allowing for the comprehensive entry of locally grown food into the green food chain. We also participate in the EuroHealthnet, a non-profit association in the fields of public health, disease prevention, health promotion and inequality reduction. The problem of food waste is addressed by two projects, CARE4CLIMATE and EAT-CIRCULAR, and the BioApp project deals with the production of biopackaging from waste raw materials of the food industry. Support for the Slovenian companies to achieve a sustainable business strategic transformation will also be presented.

In general, the food in the chain needs packaging. Particularly important is the one that comes into direct contact with food (primary packaging), which needs to be monitored especially carefully. The challenges for plastic products, paper packaging and bioplastics will be discussed. Sustainable logistics is also extremely important in a green food chain, as only an effective connection of stakeholders ensures food safety and quality in the supply chain.

Preventing food waste is one of the important challenges along the entire food chain. How do they do it and what are the problems? How are food waste handled in the food industry? How do they enforce sustainable food management in different parts of the food chain? Can packaging waste be returned for reuse? An example of the completion of the food chain is a consumer who benefits from a public procurement system. How good is their work? These are individual details in the mosaic of a specific food chain that enable the sustainable management of food, packaging and waste.

The excess of food in the food chain must not become a waste but go to charity. This creates an important link in the circular economy, reducing the amount of food waste and helping to increase the efficiency and “greenness” of the food chain. We will analyse how food donation is organized in Slovenia, how it is carried out and recognize some important actors on the area.

Today, we eat fruits and vegetables that come from thousands of miles away, all year round. At the same time, we throw away a lot of food - in Slovenia, an average of 68 kg of food per capita per year, and in Europe a third of the food. Reducing food waste is one of the main solutions to mitigate climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to find new opportunities for food production and consumption. What is the role of a green food chain? Which of its parts can become greener and what do these changes mean in the countries where the food is produced and for the final consumer? We will try to answer these questions from the point of view of the agrarian economy, monitoring food quality and from the point of view of governmental policy-making.