Announcing FAO e-conference on ‘Utilization of Food Loss and Waste as well as Non-Food Parts as Livestock Feed’ from 1 to 30 October 2015

FAO invites all the interested participants to join the FAO e-conference titled ‘Utilization of Food Loss and Waste as well as Non-Food Parts as Livestock Feed’ from 1 to 30 October 2015.

This e-conference is being hosted by the Livestock Production Systems Branch of Animal Production and Health Division, FAO as part of the ‘Save Food’ initiative.

A ‘Background Document’ containing a draft framework and an action plan on ‘Food Loss and Waste plus Non-Food Part to Livestock Feed’ will be posted on 15th September 2015, which will provide detailed information on how the conference will be run and participants can contribute to the conference. This will set the scene for this e-conference. This Background Document and contributions from participants will be available only to those who have joined the e-conference by subscribing to the FAO-FoodLoss2AnimalFeed-L list by following the procedure given below. Further only the registered participants will be able to contribute to the e-conference.

Background
Approximately 1.3-1.6 Gtonnes of food is lost or wasted globally every year, which is estimated to have enormous environmental (ca 3.3 Gtonnes of CO2 eq. greenhouse gas emission/year, 305 cubic km water/year, 1.5 billion ha land to grow food that is wasted), social (936 billion US$) and economic (1055 billion US$) costs. Also the food loss and waste has an impact on food security, natural resource availability, and local and national economies. FAO through the “Save Food” initiative is working with partners to develop, plan and implement initiatives for efficient use of resources and harmonization of methodologies, strategies and approaches. Globally many plant resources are being used either as food or as animal feed. This dual purpose use raises questions how to consider a change of utilization of plant resources from food to animal feed within the context of food losses and waste. Similarly if food gets lost or wasted a part of these losses can be converted to animal feed.

FAO is in the process of developing a framework and an action plan on ‘Food Loss and Waste plus Non-Food Part to Livestock Feed’ with the objective to develop criteria for setting the boundaries between dual purpose use and food loss, and to enhance animal feed availability without compromising animal health and welfare and animal product safety and quality, and meeting legislative requirements.

Aim
The aim of the e-conference is to seek guidance on: a) the aims, scope and boundaries of the framework; b) implementation of the framework, and c) role of different stakeholders, from academia, feed and food industries, civil societies, policy makers, extension workers to farmers in the implementation.

How to join
The e-conference is open to all persons interested in the topic, is free (there is no registration fee) and will be moderated.

To join the e-mail conference, send an e-mail to listserv@listserv.fao.org leaving the subject blank and entering the following text in the body of email: subscribe FAO-FoodLoss2AnimalFeed-L

After sending the email, participants will receive an email containing a link, which must be clicked to complete the subscription.

For any further clarifications or problems faced during the subscription, kindly contact the undersigned:
Dr. Harinder Makkar
Livestock Production Systems Branch
Animal Production and Health Division
FAO, Rome, Italy
Email - Harinder.Makkar@fao.org

Related Reading:
Food losses and waste in the context of sustainable food systems, A report by The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, June 2014
Available at: http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3901e.pdf

Save Food: Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction – Definitional Framework of Food Loss - Working Paper, February 2014
Available at: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/save-food/PDF/FLW_Definition_and_Scope_2014.pdf

Global food losses and food waste: Extent, causes and prevention, 2011
Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/mb060e/mb060e.pdf