SUSTAINABILITY

Food waste. On April 29, representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) participated in the meeting of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino). There, they presented a proposal for the drafting of a Model Bill on Food Losses and Waste. FAO proposes to include provisions to oblige companies to improve the monitoring of these wastes and promote the donation of food in conditions to be consumed. The committee will study the contributions and will move forward with the approval of a model text on the subject in the medium term. Although it would not be binding for the countries of the region, it could guide their legislative work.

Sara Granados and Hugo Muñoz, who attended on behalf of FAO, presented the content that should be included in the model bill. They proposed the inclusion of provisions to promote public awareness campaigns on the subject, and also to include tax incentives for companies that reduce their waste. With respect to donations, it highlights that the delivery of expired food should be prohibited, and that specific criteria should be created to define which entities may receive these products.

These measures would help, according to the international organization, to reduce food waste, which is currently estimated at up to 12% of the products in distribution in Latin America and the Caribbean, equivalent to 220 million tons per year (330 kilos per capita per year). In addition, they stressed that both the increase in poverty and the economic slowdown are aggravating the problem, emphasizing also that healthy diets have a high cost in the region. However, they insisted on the need to promote the consumption of this type of food.

Next steps

The Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries will work over the next few months with the inputs presented by FAO to draft a model law on food loss and waste. This document will have to be approved by the committee before it can be considered by the plenary of the Parlatino. If approved in the latter instance, it could serve as a guide for legislative bodies at the regional level when debating initiatives on the subject.