The first International Conference on Food Loss and Waste was held in Jinan, Shandong, closed on 11 September. The conference attracted 300 attendees and achieved 10 consensuses.
Attendees included government officials, scholars from over 50 countries and regions, ambassadors of 16 countries, Ministers of Agriculture from 24 countries, Deputy Ministers of Agriculture from 6 countries, addressed through live or video connections. 70 guests delivered speeches.
The conference set 10 consensuses listed below:
- Taking actions to reduce loss and waste: The conference released “Jinan Initiative of the International Conference on Food Loss and Waste”, proposing key areas and cooperation directions.
- Establishing a mechanism to promote international cooperation: The conference was the first milestone of global cooperation in reducing food loss and waste. The second International Conference will be held at an appropriate time.
- Setting up the platform: The conference announced the establishment of an international food loss and waste R&D platform in Weifang, Shandong, to promote the innovation and experiment of relevant science and technology.
- Advocating sustainable production practices: The conference agreed to encourage and build high-standard farmlands to prevent drought and flood, to promote precision sowing, and to improve the level of mechanized and standardized operation.
- Preventing food loss in the harvest process: Promotion of fine harvest methods, strengthening integration, encouraging socialized machine harvest services, and “Bring in every single grain”.
- Preventing storage losses: Extending new storage technologies and improving the construction of facilities and loading, applying new technologies for safe, efficient, and energy-saving storage and logistic systems.
- Preventing grain processing losses: Promoting moderate processing and improving standard systems, while adopting comprehensive utilization of byproducts of grain.
- Logistic losses reduction: Improving transportation logistics systems, developing modern technologies and devices, building a special platform for grain loading and unloading, and carrying out logistics standardization.
- Consumption waste reduction: Encouraging food saving and healthy food consumption, advocating dining systems, healthy diets, and Clean Place activity.
- Raising awareness of food saving: Efforts of enhancing legislation, regulation, and long-term mechanisms for food saving as a systematic project.
