Food waste and losses: initiatives for sustainable development

Rural exodus represents a major cause of urbanization processes in Third world countries. This phenomenon is particularly evident where the failure of markets regulatory mechanisms as well as the lack of governance of the agroindustrial sector on an international scale have brought about several effects on a market where global dynamics prevail over local ones. Global food scenarios show a deep contrast between extreme hunger on one side, and food waste and losses on the other one. Therefore, the real issue to address is not the lack of food but its limited or absent access, especially in less developed countries, as well as the inability of the agricultural sector to play its historical and fundamental role of socioeconomic growth booster. The mentioned subject matter, in particular, has been ignored for a long time, resulting in a current limited availability of data and of specific literature and bibliography. Recently there has been a growing interest in this theme, due to its relevance in facing environmental, economic and social challenges. The considered scale is both international and Italian, through the employment of a territorial approach. The identified initiatives consider the phenomenon of waste and losses in a global aspect and refer to companies, foundations and organizations of the large scale retailer sector. Key words: Sustainable agriculture, Rural development, Food waste, Governance, Food supply chain, Global famine