As Earth Day approaches, a startling statistic emerges: Food waste is responsible for a staggering 8-10% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, a significant contributor to climate change often overshadowed by the focus on fossil fuels. In South Africa, the problem is particularly acute, with over 10 million tonnes of food wasted each year.
This Earth Day, FoodForward South Africa (FFSA) is highlighting the crucial role that surplus food recovery plays in combating this often-ignored driver of global warming. Highlighting the urgent need to address the fact that one-third of all food produced globally, ultimately goes to waste.
Food waste ends up in landfills where it decomposes and releases methane gas, which is more potent and detrimental to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
FFSA recovers surplus food from farmers, food manufacturers and retailers and redistributes it timeously to beneficiary organisations across the country to combat food insecurity and malnutrition – ultimately ensuring quality food doesn’t unnecessarily contribute to GHG emissions.
The Global FoodBanking Network (GFN), is piloting a groundbreaking, data-driven methodology that measures the total avoided emissions because of food banking activities. The Food Recovery to Avoid Methane Emissions (FRAME) methodology tracks CO2 and methane emissions avoided by food banks, as well as their role in reducing food loss, improving food access and addressing food insecurity.
In 2021, GFN recovered over 514, 537 metric tons of surplus food, feeding 39 million people, and effectively mitigating 1.695 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalents. Similarly in 2022, FFSA commissioned a report to quantify the reduction of GHG emissions due to their food banking programmes. The study by Greenhouse Consultants found that FFSA saved nearly half a million tonnes of CO2 equivalents emitted into the atmosphere annually. For every ton of food recovered FFSA saves 5.2 tonnes of GHG emissions.
Building on this foundation, FFSA has been selected to participate in phase 2 of the GFN FRAME Methodology Pilot with a view to implementing the FRAME Methodology across its food banking network in South Africa and enabling the accurate tracking of methane avoided from landfill.
“Food producers and retailers must prioritize timeously identifying and donating surplus food to charities and food banks,” says Andy Du Plessis, Managing Director of FFSA. “It’s crucial for reducing food insecurity and malnutrition and reducing the climate impacts of food loss and waste.” With the support of GFN, and data from the FRAME methodology pilots, FFSA aims to propel food banking to the forefront, as an effective mitigation measure in the fight against climate change.