DOI: 10.11118/978-80-7509-820-7-0198

THE FOOD LOSSES AND FOOD WASTE IT´S IMPACT AND INITIATIVES ON ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT IN THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Zuzana KAPSDORFEROVÁ, Petronela ŠVIKRUHOVÁ, Mária DOBIŠOVÁ, Mária MEDVEĎOVÁ

Although there are no accurate data in the world on food losses and waste, according to the FAO, globally about one third of the food produced is lost or degraded as waste along the food chain, from production to consumption. The large scale of food losses and waste leads responsible politicians and strong economic players not to see this as a coincidence, but as an integral part of food systems. Successful reduction of food losses and food waste will save natural resources for future generations and has the potential to improve food security and nutrition by meeting the goals of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goal n. 2: No hunger and Goal n. 12: Responsible consumption and production. We are witnessing a growing support for methods of sustainable agricultural production, which include e.g. also agroecology, sustainable intensification, climatefriendly agriculture, or smart technologies. Sustainability means the long-term ability of food systems to provide current food security so as not to threaten the environmental, economic and social ecosystems that generate food security and nutrition for present and future generations.
Purpose: Goal of the article is to point out on sustainable agriculture, food losses and waste in terms of environmental requirements in relation to food safety and nutrition. Sustainable agriculture and sustainable access to natural resources play an important role in securing current and future generations of food production.
Design: In order to obtain primary data there were 5 surveys were carried out in the Slovak republic. Surveys were carried out in agricultural enterprises, food processing enterprises, retail, distribution and catering establishments and in Slovak households in the period from September 2019 to August 2020.Based on results of the surveys article presents overal summary of obtained data.
Findings: Climate change is affecting agriculture, including lower yields and productivity, drought and water scarcity, extreme temperature stresses, lower forest productivity, weed growth and new diseases caused by viruses and foodborne diseases. All this leads to rising prices, has a negative impact on health, food security and nutrition. Increasing weather variability and natural disasters associated with climate change have multiplier effects on agricultural production, which significantly affects food trade and food consumption.

Klíčová slova: food waste, food losses, sustainability, food systems, environmental management

stránky: 198-209, Publikováno: 2021, online: 2021