Foodrus: Pioneering Circular Solutions to Reduce Food Loss and Waste Across Europe

By establishing resilient food systems throughout nine European regions, Foodrus is attempting to combat food loss and waste. In order to do this, the project will test 23 circular solutions using a variety of collaborative innovation approaches. These approaches include technological (using blockchain technology to manage food losses and waste), social (promote sustainable consumption habits through educational materials and citizen science activities), organizational (use last-mile networks to encourage local consumption and donation), and financial (new “Pay As You Throw” schemes).

By empowering and involving all participants in local food systems—from farmers to end users and all points in between—these creative ideas will create a multi-actor alliance that will address the problem of food loss and waste.

These approaches will be evaluated by Foodrus at three different demonstration sites:

Denmark:

The Danish government advised cutting back on weekly meat consumption from 500 grams to 350 grams.

This pilot aims to assess the degree of social preparedness for a shift in diet toward a more plant-based diet by providing substitutes and use a novel weighting system to track changes in food consumption habits and preferences.

In order to fully understand their choices and preferences both before and after being exposed to new meat alternatives, this will be complemented with focus groups and seminars to increase awareness about the environmental footprint connected with meat and food waste in general.

Actions will be made at the system level after all pertinent actors throughout the whole food chain and across sectors have been identified with the following objectives as end goals:  (1) Optimizing the production of seafood and meat by preventing and minimizing food losses and waste,  (2) Encourage people to choose healthier diets and meat substitutes, (3) Encourage the valuation of food waste, (4) Boost the recycling of plastics.

West Slovakia:

Since bread is Slovakia’s national symbol, it shouldn’t rank among the foods that are wasted the most in the nation as a sign of pride in national identity.

Therefore, in order to make food loss and waste socially unacceptable, the Slovakian pilot, which will be implemented in the Western areas, will aim to increase awareness about these issues. This will necessitate educating people so that they can see that food waste is not the only issue, but also that there are financial and environmental resources lost in the process. It also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, which have an adverse effect on climate change and the environment.

A waste hierarchy will be established, with a focus on preventing food waste and promoting food

Spain:

Fresh fruits and vegetables account for 80% of food waste in Spain, the seventh-most food-wasting nation in the EU. Households are accountable for over a fifth of this food waste, with primary production producing nearly a third of it.

This demonstrates how numerous inefficiencies exist across the fruits and vegetables food value chain. The food flow in the Spanish pilot is covered from the farms in Navarre to the Basque country waste bins in the municipality of Zamudio for its eventual composting. It is a cross-regional demonstration. The goal of the pilot is to reduce food loss and waste along the value chain by improving the handling and eating habits of prepared salads.