Circularity in food systems
The shift from linear processing and consumption of products, to a sustainable economy which is regenerative by design, requires disruptive innovation. It will allow reduced fossil fuel use and food waste, enhanced resource use efficiency, and increased recycling with the aim to retain as much value as possible across the food supply chain.
SPECIFIC R&I BREAKTHROUGH TOPICS
Reduced waste: By using innovative technology and AI to measure the scale and incidence of their food waste, aware and organised consumers and food service providers can take action by adjusting levels of purchase, as well as establishing networks of food donations and exchange. Innovative solutions are also crucial to reduce post-harvest food loss and extend the life of fresh products. This may be through the use of sun-powered climatised stocking sites that protect perishable crops, or producing resistant, bio-degradable packages enhancing vegetables’ resistance.
New uses of waste: Wilting produce can be used in soups, as well as ripe fruit in fresh smoothies. New techniques allow the conversion of food scraps into organic fertiliser, compostable bioplastics, biofuels, and renewable energy. As landfills run out of space, an increasing number of towns are diverting food waste to compost facilities, using the end product to restore depleted soil.
New recycling business models: An increasing number of start-ups are successfully making a business by converting food waste into renewable energy and other products, through a biological process called anaerobic digestion. Innovative companies are integrating worms and larvae into their economic cycles, so as to produce animal feed and organic fertilisers from waste. Entrepreneurs, in areas like coffee and beer brewing, are adding new services to their core businesses, such as the production of organic mushrooms from coffee grains and energy bars from spent cereals.
New structure in food systems: Innovative solutions designed at the consumer and producer/processer/retailer levels require an enabling regulatory environment to produce large-scale positive effects. Policies can make use of incentives, regulation, and co-ordination to address the effects of action against food waste on winners and losers. Food waste reduction priorities are also increasingly integrated into cross-sectorial policies, for example through legislation adding food waste to the list of mandatory recyclables.
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