Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is a critical part of the global solution to the triple challenge of feeding a growing world population, ensuring the livelihoods of households along the agro-food supply chain, and delivering on climate and sustainability commitments. The FAO estimates that about 30% of all food produced is either lost or wasted. Countries have committed to addressing the issue of FLW, notably via meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 of halving global per capita food waste by 2030 per capita global food waste. According to the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook, achieving SDG 12.3 could reduce CO2 equivalent emissions associated to the agricultural sector by 4% and raise 153 million people out of hunger by 2030. OECD analysis sheds light on the FLW policy environment to support cross-country dialogue and accelerate the implementation of more effective evidence-based and context-specific FLW policies.
Food loss and waste
Reducing food loss and waste is a critical part of the global solution to the triple challenge facing food systems. Countries’ commitments under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 12.3 have improved knowledge of the issue and many countries having established reduction targets at national level. Governments must now move from targets to policy action to significantly reduce food loss and waste.
About
Key messages
Only a few countries undertake regular and dedicated FLW policy evaluations, including on cost-effectiveness. Of the policy instruments evaluated by the OECD, most address FLW at the household and food processing stages, leaving out other critical stages. This makes it difficult to identify and scale up effective FLW policy initiatives to maximize benefits for food systems.
Policymakers should focus on three critical priorities. First, strengthen national strategies by setting clear, measurable targets with defined baselines and timelines to drive ambition and accountability. Second, ensure policy coherence by avoiding the layering of new policy instruments over existing ones, fostering stakeholder engagement, and promoting cost-effective solutions. Finally, establish robust monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track the impact of FLW policies on reduction outcomes as well as their economic, social, and environmental benefits.
Context
What is food loss and waste?
Food loss and waste (FLW) is food that is never eaten for reasons such as spoilage, overproduction or simply tossing out perfectly good food. From production to consumption, FLW happens at every stage - at farms, stores and even in our homes. International committments and national policies are key to reducing FLW at a global level.
Level of policy attention varies across stages of the agro-food chain
Household and retail stages receive the strongest level of policy attention, with the implementation of soft policy measures such as awareness raising campaigns and voluntary collaboration initiatives. Mandatory regulations and fiscal measures are not commonly used.
OECD Webinar – Beyond food loss and waste reduction targets: translating reduction ambition into policy outcomes
The OECD hosted a webinar on January 28th, 2025, to launch the report Beyond food loss and waste reduction targets: translating reduction ambition into policy outcomes. During the webinar, OECD experts dove into the report’s findings and were joined by policymakers from Australia, France, and Japan to discuss the accompanying case studies on their own countries’ FLW policies.
