Overview

In alignment with the global call to action under Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12), Target 12.3, which aims to halve per capita global food waste and reduce food losses along production and supply chains by 2030 (United Nations, 2019), efforts are being intensified worldwide to promote sustainable consumption and production practices. Guidelines for Food Waste Prevention and Reduction: Insights from the Fruit and Vegetable Sector offers a concise and urgent discussion of strategies to reduce food waste, with broader implications for agricultural sustainability, food security, health, social equity, and resource use. This brief engages a wide range of stakeholders – including farmers, retailers, processors, transporters, waste collectors, policymakers, and consumers – through interviews that interrogate inefficiencies in the food waste system. By synthesizing these diverse perspectives, the researchers develop a comprehensive definition of food waste and propose a nuanced framework for measuring it, developing reduction strategies, and outlining best practices. This collaborative approach among food chain members within the circular economy paradigm aims to increase public acceptance of food waste prevention and reduction strategies and policies, such as the adoption of abnormally shaped fruits and vegetables. Systems thinking is thus used to address gaps in policy, research, and practice and to develop guidelines that are valuable to and implementable by food system stakeholders.

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9783032145055

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This book is authored by Iulia Ajtai, Dacinia Crina Petrescu, Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag et al. (11 co-authors). Dr. Dacinia Crina Petrescu is the corresponding author for this book proposal. Iulia Ajtai (ORCID: 0000-0002-8267-461X) holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. She works as a research assistant at the Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babes-Bolyai University. Her research interests include flood risk assessment, water resource management, sustainable agricultural practices, and social aspects regarding environmental sustainability and resource management. Dacinia Crina Petrescu (ORCID: 0000-0002-5716-9793) is a professor at the Faculty of Business, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. She holds a PhD in Economics (Babes-Bolyai University, Romania), a Habilitation in Business (Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Romania), and a master in Marketing (Complutense University, Spain). Her research interests include behavior change and sustainable production and consumption, mainly related to food, agricultural practices, land use, and waste management. Ruxandra Malina Petrescu-Mag (ORCID: 0000-0001-7048-4598) is an associate professor at Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania, affiliated with the Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering and the Doctoral School of International Relations and Security Studies. Her academic background includes a bachelor’s degree in Law, master’s degrees in European Union Law and Environmental Engineering, and doctoral and postdoctoral qualifications (PhD and Habilitation) in International Relations and European Studies. Her research focuses on the ethical, social, and behavioral dimensions of sustainability transitions, particularly within the contexts of environmental governance, food systems, and responsible innovation. Other authors: Ioana Pistea, Carmen Andreea Roba, Oana Adriana Gica, Ancuta Tenter, Valentin Toader, Adina Letitia Negrusa, Daniel Malutan, Nicoleta Bican-Brișan.

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