What matters most in cooking isn't taste or nutrition, but "not wasting ingredients." Changing attitudes toward "food loss."

This series explores emerging food trends based on survey results from the Dentsu Inc. Food Lifestyle Lab (hereafter referred to as the Food Lab). This installment focuses on "food loss," an issue gaining greater attention through news about panic buying during the pandemic and food waste.

The food loss issue is actually linked to climate change. This article discusses the growing awareness of food loss among consumers revealed by the survey results and reports on various initiatives aimed at reducing food loss.

<Table of Contents>
▼Over 80% of Consumers Believe the "Food Loss Problem" Should Be Solved

▼Is "Food Loss" Different from "Food Waste"?

▼When Cooking, "Not Wasting Ingredients" Is More Important Than Taste or Nutrition

▼Seven Initiatives to Reduce Food Loss

▼Toward a Future Without "Food Waste"

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Over 80% of consumers believe the "food loss problem" should be solved

According to a Shokurabo survey, over 80% of respondents answered that "the food loss problem should be solved." Furthermore, nearly 70% of people said they have "become more concerned about discarding ingredients and food" in the past year or two.

*Percentage figures are rounded to the nearest hundredth, so totals may not always add up to 100%.

Furthermore, a survey by Dentsu Inc. Team SDGs found that awareness of the term "food loss" exceeds 90%. Among 15 sustainability themes presented, "food loss" ranked highest in both awareness and understanding. These results indicate that "food loss" is a strongly recognized issue among consumers.

The 15 themes presented include, in addition to the one mentioned above: food scarcity/protein crisis, reskilling, well-being, ESG investing, circular economy, digital inclusion, and DEI.

Discarding food means using energy to process items that were already produced and distributed using finite resources and energy. The impact of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide emitted during food production and disposal is said to be significant, contributing to global climate change and warming.

Furthermore, food loss leads to economic losses. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimated food loss for fiscal year 2021 at 5.23 million tons annually. Japan, with its low food self-sufficiency rate, relies heavily on imports for most of its food supply. Yet, it faces the contradiction of discarding vast quantities of this imported food.

Is "food loss" different from "food waste"?

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) defines the disposal of food, including inedible parts, as "food waste," while the disposal of edible food is termed "food loss."

Meanwhile, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) refers to food waste as "Food Loss and Waste." Incidentally, "Waste" translates to "無駄" (muda) in Japanese.

In Japan, both "food loss" and "food waste" are often used to mean food that is discarded despite being edible. However, looking at the English terminology used globally, "Food Loss" typically refers to food discarded before reaching consumers (losses occurring during production, manufacturing/processing, or distribution), while "Food Waste" refers to food discarded after reaching consumers (edible food that is needlessly thrown away).

Common actions individuals take to reduce food loss, like "not leaving leftovers" or "buying only what you can eat," align more closely with reducing Food Waste in English. Personally, I feel the term "waste" used internationally conveys a stronger sense of responsibility placed on consumers' awareness and actions compared to "loss" ( ).

When cooking, "not wasting ingredients" is more important than taste or nutrition

In a Shokurabo survey asking about "important things when cooking," "not wasting ingredients" was chosen by about 47% of respondents—by far the most popular choice among 26 options including "personal or diners' preferences," "quantity," "recipes," and "balance."

This result likely reflects the current situation, where people have witnessed panic buying and food loss issues during the pandemic and are significantly impacted by rising food prices.

Furthermore, in their daily eating habits, two out of three respondents stated they "consciously take actions to prevent food waste," with 85% saying they "finish all their meals and avoid leaving leftovers." These figures clearly show the growing awareness among consumers regarding "food waste."

Meanwhile, according to a survey by Dentsu Inc. Team SDGs, "food waste" was the most frequently cited sustainability theme that people want companies to actively promote, exceeding a majority. This suggests that, alongside individual actions, there is also a growing desire for companies to address this issue.

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Seven Initiatives to Reduce Food Loss

Numerous companies, organizations, and governments have initiated various initiatives regarding food loss. We have categorized these efforts into seven types.

① Zero Waste / Reduce
These initiatives focus on using ingredients entirely or reducing waste. In recent years, food brands have emerged that process ingredients without discarding parts like vegetable peels or cores. Innovations like developing soft white bread where the crust is soft enough to avoid trimming when making sandwiches have also occurred.

② Utilizing Discarded/Abandoned Ingredients
This involves finding clever uses for items previously discarded as inedible. Examples include product development using underutilized fish. Another case is from Kanagawa Prefecture, where cabbages damaged beyond shipment were fed to purple sea urchins with underdeveloped bodies unsuitable for human consumption. This resulted in the growth of delicious branded sea urchins.

③ Rescue and Remake of Surplus Food
Various companies, including food manufacturers, are proposing recipes that utilize vegetables and other ingredients often left unused in refrigerators and discarded, as well as tips for transforming leftover dishes into new menus. Such initiatives are sometimes recognized with awards like PR Awards.

④ Regeneration/Upcycling
Regeneration means "regeneration" or "repeated creation." This involves processing discarded ingredients or food to enhance their value as products or add value. Upcycled beers, which transform easily discarded daily items like bread and leftovers into beer, have become increasingly common recently.

⑤ Freshness Preservation and Shelf Life Extension
The idea is that if ingredients and food last longer, the frequency and likelihood of them being discarded decrease. This includes packaging materials that extend the shelf life of vegetables and safe, reliable quality preservation technologies. Efforts are also underway to change best-before date labeling from year-month-day to year-month.

⑥ Dynamic Pricing / Food Sharing
Dynamic pricing, simply put, involves price reductions based on factors like approaching expiration dates. Food sharing is a system that reduces food loss and waste by matching products that would otherwise be discarded with consumer demand. While primarily implemented in distribution and retail settings before, websites and apps connecting consumers with food nearing expiration dates have now emerged. Additionally, vending machines that control selling prices based on factors like expiration dates and time of day are being developed.

⑦ Utilizing AI and Digital Technology
There are distribution cases where AI-based demand forecasting adjusts procurement, reducing inventory through optimized sourcing. Combining the initiatives from ① to ⑥ with AI and digital solutions is also a possibility.

As consumer awareness of food waste continues to rise, dynamic action from governments and businesses is increasingly essential.

Toward a Future Without Food Waste

Much of what we eat daily is essentially "life." However, if it is unintentionally lost during production, manufacturing, or distribution, or if it is discarded as waste due to human convenience despite being perfectly edible, it becomes mere "garbage."

Government collects and processes this "waste." The annual cost for processing general waste is approximately 2.2 trillion yen (Ministry of the Environment, "Status of General Waste Discharge and Processing (FY2021)"). This cost is often covered by taxes. If waste were reduced, collection volumes and the energy required for processing would decrease, potentially lowering the burden on government and, ultimately, our tax burden.

Food waste, in particular, contains a lot of moisture. Incinerating it requires significant energy and produces carbon dioxide. Considering this, establishing rules and systems to reduce food loss would be beneficial not only for local governments but also for consumers and the global environment. In France, an environmental law incorporating 46 items, including consumption and food-related measures, was formulated based on policy proposals from citizens.

For businesses, industrial waste disposal fundamentally costs money. While sustainability initiatives often inevitably involve additional costs, if waste is reduced and previously discarded items can be turned into valuable business opportunities, it might be seen as an investment that pays off in the long run.

Moreover, consumer surveys show that companies tackling food loss and other SDGs gain a stronger positive image, increased favorability, and greater trust – making people more inclined to support them.

When speaking with food industry professionals, I often hear statements like, "Even if a company makes efforts to reduce food waste, it's difficult to take action if customers don't actually want it." They also say things like, "If products don't sell, the company goes out of business," or "If customers buy items with longer best-before dates first, the remaining expired products inevitably have to be discarded."

However, consumer attitudes and behaviors are changing. According to Shokurabo research, nearly 80% of people "buy vegetables regardless of appearance or shape," and about 40% "want to buy environmentally conscious food even if it costs a bit more."

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, while business-related food waste generated through business activities increased by 40,000 tons from fiscal year 2020 to fiscal year 2021, household-related food waste decreased by 30,000 tons. These figures clearly show consumers' actions regarding food waste.

October is Food Loss Reduction Month. October 16th is UN World Food Day, the 20th is Recycling Day, and the 30th is Food Loss Reduction Day.

Whether we receive "life" as "food" or discard it as "waste." The time has come for everyone to step on the accelerator towards a future where "food waste" no longer exists.

[Survey Overview]
Consumer Survey on Eating Habits (Dentsu Inc. Food Lifestyle Lab)
・Target Area: Nationwide
・Respondent criteria: Men and women aged 15–79
・Sample Size: 1,300
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Survey Period: September 29 - October 1, 2022
・Research Agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

Consumer Survey on SDGs (Dentsu Inc. Team SDGs)
・Target Area: Nationwide
・Respondent Criteria: Men and women aged 10 to 70
・Sample Size: 1,400
・Survey Method: Online survey
・Survey Period: February 7–10, 2023
・Research Agency: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.

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*Percentage composition (%) is rounded to the second decimal place, so the total may not always add up to 100%.

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