The former CEO of a Fortune 100 company, Carl Casale is an independent director of global agricultural firm Syngenta. Carl Casale delivered a lecture entitled Will and Waste: Sustainably Feeding 10 Billion People in 2050 during the 7th Annual International Symposium of the McDonnell International Scholars Academy in October 2018 in Beijing, China.
The presentation asserts existing agriculture-related technologies can produce enough food to feed close to 10 billion people by 2050, if there is the will to have these technologies adopted worldwide. Yet increasing food production alone will not solve the problem, as one-third of what’s being produced is lost or wasted. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) defines food waste as any food that arrives at the terminal point of sale but is not consumed.
FAO reports a 25 percent reduction in global food waste would be enough to feed an additional 870 million people. In developed countries, people throw away food because they have the means. A study in Brazil revealed people of low income buy food in volume to lower per-unit cost. Lack of storage or cooking too much food (to avoid spoilage) that cannot be consumed results in food waste.
So in both developed and developing countries, food waste is a behavioral issue. What is important is the growing global awareness of this problem. While it will take time to change behavior, solutions are setting in. Nonprofits and large corporations, including Costco, Nestle, and Delta Airlines, have already launched initiatives to eliminate food waste.
The presentation asserts existing agriculture-related technologies can produce enough food to feed close to 10 billion people by 2050, if there is the will to have these technologies adopted worldwide. Yet increasing food production alone will not solve the problem, as one-third of what’s being produced is lost or wasted. The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) defines food waste as any food that arrives at the terminal point of sale but is not consumed.
FAO reports a 25 percent reduction in global food waste would be enough to feed an additional 870 million people. In developed countries, people throw away food because they have the means. A study in Brazil revealed people of low income buy food in volume to lower per-unit cost. Lack of storage or cooking too much food (to avoid spoilage) that cannot be consumed results in food waste.
So in both developed and developing countries, food waste is a behavioral issue. What is important is the growing global awareness of this problem. While it will take time to change behavior, solutions are setting in. Nonprofits and large corporations, including Costco, Nestle, and Delta Airlines, have already launched initiatives to eliminate food waste.
