ABSTRACT

This comprehensive handbook represents a definitive state of the current art and science of food waste from multiple perspectives.

The issue of food waste has emerged in recent years as a major global problem. Recent research has enabled greater understanding and measurement of loss and waste throughout food supply chains, shedding light on contributing factors and practical solutions. This book includes perspectives and disciplines ranging from agriculture, food science, industrial ecology, history, economics, consumer behaviour, geography, theology, planning, sociology, and environmental policy among others. The Routledge Handbook of Food Waste addresses new and ongoing debates around systemic causes and solutions, including behaviour change, social innovation, new technologies, spirituality, redistribution, animal feed, and activism. The chapters describe and evaluate country case studies, waste management, treatment, prevention, and reduction approaches, and compares research methodologies for better understanding food wastage.

This book is essential reading for the growing number of food waste scholars, practitioners, and policy makers interested in researching, theorising, debating, and solving the multifaceted phenomenon of food waste.

chapter |20 pages

Food Waste

An introduction to contemporary food waste studies

part I|58 pages

Understanding modern food waste regimes

chapter 1|14 pages

After Market

Capital, surplus, and the social afterlives of food waste

chapter 2|18 pages

The Perfect Storm

A history of food waste

chapter 3|10 pages

Food Waste, Religion, and Spirituality

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim approaches

chapter 4|14 pages

Interrogating Waste

Vastogenic regimes in the 21st century

part II|78 pages

Food waste (and loss) along the food supply chain and institutions

part III|96 pages

Overview of regional food waste

chapter 10|13 pages

Food Waste in the UK and EU

A policy and practice perspective

part IV|92 pages

Methodologies in food waste studies

chapter 16|14 pages

Quantifying Food Waste

Food waste audits, surveys, and new technologies

chapter 17|24 pages

Moving Beyond the ‘What’ and ‘How Much’ to the ‘Why’

Researching food waste at the consumer level

chapter 19|15 pages

All My Relations

Applying social innovation and Indigenous methodology to challenge the paradigm of food waste

chapter 20|19 pages

Modelling Approaches to Food Waste

Discrete event simulation; machine learning; Bayesian networks; agent-based modelling; and mass balance estimation

part V|110 pages

Solutions to food waste?

chapter 21|14 pages

Surplus Food Redistribution

chapter 23|19 pages

From Dumpster Dives to Disco Vibes

The shifting shape of food waste activism

part VI|52 pages

Debates in food waste studies and looking ahead

chapter 28|14 pages

Conduits That Bite Back

Challenging the ‘win-win’ solutions of food recalls and redistribution

chapter 29|12 pages

Are You Buying Food Waste?

The roles technologies can play in (re)designing the food retail experience

chapter 30|10 pages

A Brief Overview Of Current Food Waste Research

The what, why, how and future directions

chapter 31|14 pages

Challenging Hegemonic Conceptions of Food Waste

Critical reflections from a food waste activist