# A Perspective on Emerging Inter-Disciplinary Solutions for the Sustainable Management of Food Waste
## 2 Food Waste in the Global Context  
Food waste is described by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as food wastage that happens at the end of the food chain, attributable to the actions of both consumers and retailers [53]. The Sustainable Development Target 12.3 intends to significantly reduce the quantity of food waste by 2030. Indeed, there is an urgent need to meet this goal since food waste currently overburdens waste management systems, exacerbates the food insecurity crisis, and places a burden on the environment and economy. The 2021 Food Waste Index of the United Nations Environment Programme indicates that 931 million tonnes of food is wasted annually by households, stores, and the food service industry [1]. To put this into perspective, roughly 570 million tonnes of this worldwide wastage comes from households. In comparison, the food service industry contributes 244 million tonnes, and the retail sector contributes 118 million tonnes, respectively. The total household food waste produced in selected countries is presented in Figure 2. Here, China (91 million tonnes/annum), India (68 million tonnes/annum), Nigeria (37 million tonnes/annum), Indonesia (20 million tonnes/annum), United States (19 million tonnes/annum) were the most significant contributors to food waste. In comparison, Australia (0.25 million tonnes/annum) generates remarkably low amounts.  
It is common knowledge that most food waste in developed countries (e.g., the US and Europe) occurs during the consumer phase of the supply chain [54]. In contrast, in most developing countries (e.g., Asia and Africa) it occurs during packaging and processing [55]. Food waste has a monetary value of approximately USD 936 billion, without considering the social and environmental costs incurred because of this wastage [56]. A country's income, urbanization, and economic growth affect the amount of food waste it generates [57]. Poor practices, technological limitations, labour, financial constraints, and insufficient transportation and storage infrastructure are primarily responsible for food waste in less-developed countries [58]. In any case, the fact that food waste occurs primarily because of consumer behaviour, routines, practices, beliefs, habits, and attitudes is real, even in developed countries where 40% of food waste occurs during the consumption stage [59; 60]. Hence, food waste severely affects the environment, economy, and natural resources [61]. From an environmental point of view, when food waste is dumped into landfills, a significant percentage of it is transformed into carbon dioxide and methane,  
Figure 1: A summary of the sections covered in this review.  
both potent greenhouse gases with direct consequences for global warming [62]. Furthermore, food waste reduction programs might lower food costs [63], increase supply chain efficiency [64], and enhance access to healthy meals for low-income families [58]. Food waste is an interdisciplinary topic that draws on research from various areas, including agriculture, science, environmental studies, logistics, and business [65]. In an attempt to deal with food waste challenges (which this present perspective seeks to contextualize using an integrated approach), many studies have independently looked at the significant causes of food waste at various points of the food supply chain by focusing on research constraints [66; 67], policy implications [61] and sustainable food waste management [65].