What are the food loss measures we can do from today?Familiar Actions to ask researchers -Facing the Food Ross Problem from Ichi [Part 1]

In recent years, I have heard the word "food loss".Food loss (also called food loss) means discarding what you can eat.Attention has been focused on environmental impact and social issues due to the increase in food loss, and as a challenge to be solved throughout the world, various approaches have proposed issues and proposals for solutions.Meanwhile, what can we do now?

In this article, Maki Nonomura, a Tokyo University of Agriculture University, who specializes in food loss, about the current situation of the world, Japan, various actions that solve food loss, and the awareness and action we can do today.I told you.

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野々村 真希（ののむら・まき）先生

Assistant Professor, Department of Food and Economics, Tokyo University of Agriculture, Food and Information.Born in 1986.From Kyoto City.In 2016, he completed a doctoral program at the Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, and was a doctor (agricultural).Incumbent since 2019.We are conducting research on the causes of food loss and how to reduce food loss, especially consumer behavior.Co -authored "Learn the forefront of food and agriculture" (Minerva Shobo), "3 consumers' judgments and selection behavior" (Showa -do).

Tokyo Agricultural University Environmental Economic Laboratory

Why is food loss a problem?

SDGsの目標12「つくる責任 つかう責任」^※1によって、食品ロスが大きく注目を集めるようになりましたが、食品ロスが問題になる理由は何でしょうか。

Food loss is said to be deeply involved in the following problems.

① Global warming

Energy is required to produce and process food and process discarded foods, and carbon dioxide, which is said to be the cause of global warming, is generated.In other words, unnecessary foods increase the amount of carbon dioxide emissions and accelerate global warming.Warming also causes abnormal weather, and agriculture and fisheries are also hit.

② Lack of food

The population of the world is on the rise, and it is expected that the necessary food will increase in the future.On the other hand, it is said that food production does not increase as it supplements it, and it has been pointed out that food may be insufficient in the future.For this reason, it is necessary to consume food efficiently and without waste.

I often hear the words "food loss" and "food waste". What is the difference between these two?

In Japan, the name is distinguished depending on the discarded part.Food loss is to throw away the food that can be eaten.Food waste, on the other hand, is a waste that can be eaten and the parts that cannot be eaten, such as skin and core.

Please tell us about the current state of the world and Japanese food loss.

世界全体で約25億トンの食料が廃棄されているという報告^※2もあります。この量は、世界の食料生産量の約40％に相当するのだとか。日本では2018年度の食品ロス量は年間約600万トンという推計結果が報告されており、約半分が家庭から、残りが食品事業者から出ています。

Source: The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries "Publication of Food Ross (FY2018 Estimated value)" (2021), the Ministry of the Environment's "Japan's Food Waste, etc. and the estimated value of food loss (FY2018)Created from (2021)

It is surprising that the food loss is coming out from home.

Our unconscious behavior can lead to food loss.For example, I just want a product with a long “deadline” and buy something behind a supermarket product shelf.This leads to an increase in products that are approaching the deadline, increasing the food loss coming out of the supermarket.

賞味期限と消費期限はどう違う？

The "expiration date" is a guideline for safety and is displayed in foods within 5 days.On the other hand, the “expiration date” is displayed in foods that last 5 days or more, and is said to be a “dead deadline”.The expiration date is often displayed on a year, month, and day, but if it exceeds three months, the display only for the year and the month is accepted.

In the retail business such as supermarkets, the expiration date is one day before the previous delivery, and it may be forced to discard it.By displaying the expiration date only for the year and the month, the number of cases cannot be delivered due to a slight difference in the date, which will reduce food loss.