This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
The availability of freshwater is one of the biggest limitations and challenges of food production, as freshwater is an increasingly scarce and overexploited resource in many parts of the world. Therefore, the concept of water footprint (WF) has gained increasing interest, in the same way that the generation of food loss and waste (FLW) in food production and consumption has become a social and political concern. Along this line, the number of studies on the WF of the food production sector is currently increasing all over the world, analyzing water scarcity and water degradation as a single WF indicator or as a so-called WF profile. In Spain, there is no study assessing the influence of FLW generation along the whole food supply chain nor is there a study assessing the different FLW management options regarding the food supply chain’s WF. This study aimed to assess the spatially differentiated WF profile for 17 Spanish regions over time, analyzing the potential linkages of FLW management and water scarcity and water degradation. The assessment considered compliance and non-compliance with the Paris Agreement targets and was based on the life cycle assessment approach. Results are highlighted in a compliance framework; the scenarios found that anaerobic digestion and aerobic composting (to a lesser extent) had the lowest burdens, while scenarios with thermal treatment had the highest impact. Additionally, the regions in the north of Spain and the islands were less influenced by the type of FLW management and by compliance with the Paris Agreement targets.
Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Cristina Campos; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Rubén Aldaco; Paula Quinteiro. Water Footprint Assessment of Food Loss and Waste Management Strategies in Spanish Regions. Sustainability 2021, 13, 7538 .
AMA StyleDaniel Hoehn, María Margallo, Jara Laso, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Ana Fernández-Ríos, Cristina Campos, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Rubén Aldaco, Paula Quinteiro. Water Footprint Assessment of Food Loss and Waste Management Strategies in Spanish Regions. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (14):7538.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Cristina Campos; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Rubén Aldaco; Paula Quinteiro. 2021. "Water Footprint Assessment of Food Loss and Waste Management Strategies in Spanish Regions." Sustainability 13, no. 14: 7538.
There is a growing debate surrounding the contradiction between an unremitting increase in the use of resources and the search for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the concept of sustainable degrowth is emerging aiming to introduce in our societies new social values and new policies, capable of satisfying human requirements whilst reducing environmental impacts and consumption of resources. In this framework, circular economy strategies for food production and food loss and waste management systems, following the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, are being developed based on a search for circularity, but without setting limits to the continual increase in environmental impacts and resource use. This work presents a methodology for determining the percentage of degrowth needed in any food supply chain, by analyzing four scenarios in a life cycle assessment approach over time between 2020 and 2040. Results for the Spanish case study suggested a degrowth need of 26.8% in 2015 and 58.9% in 2040 in order to achieve compliance with the Paris Agreement targets, highlighting the reduction of meat and fish and seafood consumption as the most useful path.
Daniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Francisco Amo-Setién; Rebeca Abajas-Bustillo; Carmen Sarabia; Ainoa Quiñones; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Alba Bala; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy. Sustainability 2021, 13, 3379 .
AMA StyleDaniel Hoehn, Jara Laso, María Margallo, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Francisco Amo-Setién, Rebeca Abajas-Bustillo, Carmen Sarabia, Ainoa Quiñones, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Alba Bala, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rubén Aldaco. Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (6):3379.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; María Margallo; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Francisco Amo-Setién; Rebeca Abajas-Bustillo; Carmen Sarabia; Ainoa Quiñones; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Alba Bala; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. 2021. "Introducing a Degrowth Approach to the Circular Economy Policies of Food Production, and Food Loss and Waste Management: Towards a Circular Bioeconomy." Sustainability 13, no. 6: 3379.
The United Nations has adopted 17 sustainable development goals for 2030 with environmental sustainability being one of the main pillars. A key point to address this pillar is the proper management of waste generation. Within the broad spectrum of waste types, food loss and waste is produced worldwide in large quantities. In this framework, the development of composite indexes is recommended to measure the level of compliance of any context with Sustainable Development Goals. This work presents a novel composite index for food loss and waste generation and management systems, the so-called sustainable development goals-food (SDG-Food) index, aiming to determine the level of compliance of any concrete national, regional, or local context regarding five different sustainable development goals with a water-climate-food nexus thinking. The pilot case study of Spain is presented by analyzing the environmental performance between 2015 and 2040 in a context of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the Paris Agreement targets. Additionally, four different diets are assessed. Results suggested a numerical index score of 13.79, highlighting the categories of eggs, cereals, meat, and vegetables, and the stages of agricultural production and consumption, as the furthers ones for compliance with the five SDG assessed. Moreover, the scenario of compliance with the Paris agreement targets presented better values for all stages, and a vegan diet was highlighted as the one with the best index score.
Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. A Novel Composite Index for the Development of Decentralized Food Production, Food Loss, and Waste Management Policies: A Water-Climate-Food Nexus Approach. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2839 .
AMA StyleDaniel Hoehn, María Margallo, Jara Laso, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rubén Aldaco. A Novel Composite Index for the Development of Decentralized Food Production, Food Loss, and Waste Management Policies: A Water-Climate-Food Nexus Approach. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (5):2839.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rubén Aldaco. 2021. "A Novel Composite Index for the Development of Decentralized Food Production, Food Loss, and Waste Management Policies: A Water-Climate-Food Nexus Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2839.
The generation of food loss and waste (FLW) is a global problem for worldwide politics. About one-third of the food produced ends up in the rubbish before it is consumed. For this reason, it is essential to design and implement new strategies along the food supply chain (FSC) with the aim of reducing this FLW at each stage. However, not only mass quantification should be considered, but also economic and nutritional performance. The novelty of this study is the definition of a methodology based on the “distance to target” approach by means of multi-objective optimization to evaluate the economic and nutritional cost produced by this FLW. This methodology was applied to the Spanish food basket in 2015. The results revealed that 80% of the total FLW generated in economic and nutritional terms is concentrated in the agricultural production (53.3%) and consumption (26.3%) stages. In the first stages of the FSC, fruits (Dn eq.= 0.7), cereals (Dn eq.= 0.61), and vegetables (Dn eq.= 0.57) were the furthest from the distance target due to the great amount of FLW generated. Moreover, according to the normalized weighted distances obtained from the minimization of economic and nutritional cost, pulses (Dn eq. = 0.05–0.03) and eggs (Dn eq. = 0.02) were the more efficient food categories. The methodology described in this study proposes a single index to quantify the economic and nutritional cost of different food categories to facilitate the decision-making process. This index makes possible the definition of reduction strategies focused on specific food categories and depending on the FSC stage.
Jara Laso; Cristina Campos; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Daniel Hoehn; Andrea del Río; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Ainoa Quiñones; Francisco Amo-Setién; María Ortego; Sergio Tezanos; Rebeca Abajas; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco; Ricardo Abejón. Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach. Sustainability 2020, 13, 125 .
AMA StyleJara Laso, Cristina Campos, Ana Fernández-Ríos, Daniel Hoehn, Andrea del Río, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Jorge Cristobal, Ainoa Quiñones, Francisco Amo-Setién, María Ortego, Sergio Tezanos, Rebeca Abajas, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Rita Puig, María Margallo, Rubén Aldaco, Ricardo Abejón. Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach. Sustainability. 2020; 13 (1):125.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJara Laso; Cristina Campos; Ana Fernández-Ríos; Daniel Hoehn; Andrea del Río; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Jorge Cristobal; Ainoa Quiñones; Francisco Amo-Setién; María Ortego; Sergio Tezanos; Rebeca Abajas; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Rita Puig; María Margallo; Rubén Aldaco; Ricardo Abejón. 2020. "Looking for Answers to Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain from a Holistic Nutritional and Economic Approach." Sustainability 13, no. 1: 125.
Food loss and waste (FLW) has become a central concern in the social and political debate. Simultaneously, using FLW as a bioenergy source could significantly contribute to closing the carbon cycle by reintroducing energy into the food supply chain. This study aims to identify best strategies for FLW management in each of the 17 regions in Spain, through the application of a Life Cycle Assessment. To this end, an evaluation of the environmental performance over time between 2015 and 2040 of five different FLW management scenarios implemented in a framework of (i) compliance and (ii) non-compliance with the targets of the Paris Agreement was performed. Results revealed savings in the consumption of abiotic resources in those regions in which thermal treatment has a strong presence, although their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a scenario of compliance with climate change targets are higher. In contrast, scenarios that include anaerobic digestion and, to a lesser extent those applying aerobic composting, present lower impacts, including climate change, suggesting improvements of 20–60% in non-compliance and 20–80% in compliance with Paris Agreement targets, compared to the current scenarios.
Daniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; Jorge Cristóbal; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Isabela Butnar; Aiduan Borrion; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Rubén Aldaco; María Margallo. Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach. Foods 2020, 9, 1765 .
AMA StyleDaniel Hoehn, Jara Laso, Jorge Cristóbal, Israel Ruiz-Salmón, Isabela Butnar, Aiduan Borrion, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Rubén Aldaco, María Margallo. Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach. Foods. 2020; 9 (12):1765.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Hoehn; Jara Laso; Jorge Cristóbal; Israel Ruiz-Salmón; Isabela Butnar; Aiduan Borrion; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Rubén Aldaco; María Margallo. 2020. "Regionalized Strategies for Food Loss and Waste Management in Spain under a Life Cycle Thinking Approach." Foods 9, no. 12: 1765.
Recently, important efforts have been made to define food loss management strategies. Most strategies have mainly been focused on mass and energy recovery through mixed food loss in centralised recovery models. This work aims to highlight the need to address a decentralised food loss management, in order to manage the different fractions and on each of the different stages of the food supply chain. For this purpose, an energy flow analysis is made, through the calculation of the primary energy demand of four stages and 11 food categories of the Spanish food supply chain in 2015. The energy efficiency assessment is conducted under a resource use perspective, using the energy return on investment (EROI) ratio, and a circular economy perspective, developing an Energy return on investment – Circular economy index (EROIce), based on a food waste-to-energy-to-food approach. Results suggest that the embodied energy loss consist of 17% of the total primary energy demand, and related to the food categories, the vegetarian diet appears to be the most efficient, followed by the pescetarian diet. Comparing food energy loss values with the estimated energy provided for one consumer, it is highlighted the fact that the food energy loss generated by two to three persons amounts to one person's total daily intake. Moreover, cereals is the category responsible for the highest percentage on the total food energy loss (44%); following by meat, fish and seafood and vegetables. When the results of food energy loss and embodied energy loss are related, it is observed that categories such as meat and fish and seafood have a very high primary energy demand to produce less food, besides that the parts of the food supply chain with more energy recovery potential are the beginning and the end. Finally, the EROIce analysis shows that in the categories of meat, fish and seafood and cereals, anaerobic digestion and composting is the best option for energy recovery. From the results, it is discussed the possibility to developed local digesters at the beginning and end of the food supply chain, as well as to developed double digesters installations for hydrogen recovery from cereals loss, and methane recovery from mixed food loss.
Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Isabel García-Herrero; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Angel Irabien; Rubén Aldaco. Energy Embedded in Food Loss Management and in the Production of Uneaten Food: Seeking a Sustainable Pathway. Energies 2019, 12, 767 .
AMA StyleDaniel Hoehn, María Margallo, Jara Laso, Isabel García-Herrero, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Angel Irabien, Rubén Aldaco. Energy Embedded in Food Loss Management and in the Production of Uneaten Food: Seeking a Sustainable Pathway. Energies. 2019; 12 (4):767.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Jara Laso; Isabel García-Herrero; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Angel Irabien; Rubén Aldaco. 2019. "Energy Embedded in Food Loss Management and in the Production of Uneaten Food: Seeking a Sustainable Pathway." Energies 12, no. 4: 767.
Feeding the world’s population sustainably is a major challenge of our society, and was stated as one of the key priorities for development cooperation by the European Union (EU) policy framework on food security. However, with the current trend of natural resource exploitation, food systems consume around 30% of final energy use, generating up to 30% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Given the expected increase of global population (nine billion people by 2050) and the amount of food losses and waste generated (one-third of global food production), improving the efficiency of food systems along the supply chain is essential to ensure food security. This study combines life-cycle assessment (LCA) and data envelopment analysis (DEA) to assess the efficiency of Spanish agri-food system and to propose improvement actions in order to reduce energy usage and GHG emissions. An average energy saving of approximately 70% is estimated for the Spanish agri-food system in order to be efficient. This study highlights the importance of the DEA method as a tool for energy optimization, identifying efficient and inefficient food systems. This approach could be adopted by administrations, policy-makers, and producers as a helpful instrument to support decision-making and improve the sustainability of agri-food systems.
Jara Laso; Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Isabel García-Herrero; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Angel Irabien; Rubén Aldaco. Assessing Energy and Environmental Efficiency of the Spanish Agri-Food System Using the LCA/DEA Methodology. Energies 2018, 11, 3395 .
AMA StyleJara Laso, Daniel Hoehn, María Margallo, Isabel García-Herrero, Laura Batlle-Bayer, Alba Bala, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, Angel Irabien, Rubén Aldaco. Assessing Energy and Environmental Efficiency of the Spanish Agri-Food System Using the LCA/DEA Methodology. Energies. 2018; 11 (12):3395.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJara Laso; Daniel Hoehn; María Margallo; Isabel García-Herrero; Laura Batlle-Bayer; Alba Bala; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; Angel Irabien; Rubén Aldaco. 2018. "Assessing Energy and Environmental Efficiency of the Spanish Agri-Food System Using the LCA/DEA Methodology." Energies 11, no. 12: 3395.
Reducing food losses (FL) has been identified as an essential means of increasing food security, while reducing pressure on natural resources. To assess the reliability of future strategies to reduce and manage FL along the food supply chain (FSC), not only their quantification but also the ‘qualification’ in both economic and nutritional terms must be considered. The methodology proposed in this work allows to quantify FL at the distinct stages of the FSC (agricultural production, postharvest and storage, processing, distribution, households and extradomestic consumption). In addition, economic and nutritional FL are estimated. A Nutritional Food Losses Footprint (NFLF) index is proposed to assess and balance the variables described. This index is used to define food recovery strategies focused on those food categories and stages of the FSC with lesser efficiency. NFLF distinguishes between food losses from cradle to gate (FL-ctog) and food losses from gate to grave (FL-gtog) depending on the scope of the analysis. The former provides information to producers, while the latter creates awareness among consumers. Furthermore, the potential for FL reduction is estimated through the quantification of avoidable and unavoidable FL. Our study is focused on the Mediterranean region, in particular on Spain. Almost 20% of the national food production is estimated to be lost or wasted. Vegetables, fruits and meat result the food categories less efficient. Household consumption is the main responsible of FL generation, followed by agricultural production. Each Spanish citizen is estimated to throw away around 180€ per year, while a 76% could be saved.
Ruben Aldaco Garcia; Daniel Hoehn; M. Margallo; J. Laso; A. Bala; L. Batlle-Bayer; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; M.J. Gonzalez; M.J. Durá; C. Sarabia; R. Abajas; F.J. Amo-Setien; A. Quiñones; A Irabien; R. Aldaco. On the estimation of potential food waste reduction to support sustainable production and consumption policies. Food Policy 2018, 80, 24 -38.
AMA StyleRuben Aldaco Garcia, Daniel Hoehn, M. Margallo, J. Laso, A. Bala, L. Batlle-Bayer, Pere Fullana-I-Palmer, Ian Vázquez-Rowe, M.J. Gonzalez, M.J. Durá, C. Sarabia, R. Abajas, F.J. Amo-Setien, A. Quiñones, A Irabien, R. Aldaco. On the estimation of potential food waste reduction to support sustainable production and consumption policies. Food Policy. 2018; 80 ():24-38.
Chicago/Turabian StyleRuben Aldaco Garcia; Daniel Hoehn; M. Margallo; J. Laso; A. Bala; L. Batlle-Bayer; Pere Fullana-I-Palmer; Ian Vázquez-Rowe; M.J. Gonzalez; M.J. Durá; C. Sarabia; R. Abajas; F.J. Amo-Setien; A. Quiñones; A Irabien; R. Aldaco. 2018. "On the estimation of potential food waste reduction to support sustainable production and consumption policies." Food Policy 80, no. : 24-38.