Published by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences a new book deals with the reduction of food loss and waste globally. It includes an article that sums up results of the EU research project REFRESH, and in particular the work on policies to reduce consumer food waste, lead by the Ecologic Institute. The book is available for download.

The book "Reduction of Food Loss and Waste" [pdf, 2.3 MB, English] developed in a follow up of the Vatikan's Food Waste reduction Conference held at Casina Pio IV, Vatican City, 11 and 12 November 2019.

The article written by Toine Timmermans, Stephanie Wunder and Erica van Herpen "A European Approach for Reducing Consumer Food Waste; Putting Insights in Practice" summarizes the REFRESH findings on the causes and potential solutions to cut consumer food waste. It concludes that policy makers should set up more social norm campaigns to change consumer behaviour, as the evidence does not support the common assumption that providing information is sufficient to induce behavioural change. It also provides insights on how a social norm campaign was implemented in the Netherlands.

Finally, efforts to combat food waste at the household level, which focus on individual behaviour, need to be accompanied by a systems-perspective: Policies and projects against food waste need to develop a more general shift towards a more sustainable and resilient food system.