Transforming Food Waste into a Resource: RSC - Tapa blanda

Acerca del autor

Andrea Segrè is a Professor, Economist and Agronomist. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Bologna and Cornell University and a Masters Degree in Politiques Agricoles et Administration du Développement from the Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier in France. He is currently Dean and Professor of Comparative and International Agricultural Policy and Policies for Agricultural Development at the University of Bologna Faculty of Agriculture. He has published over 200 articles on food policy and the correlation between food waste, distribution, trade, and ethics.  

Professor Segrè is also President of Last Minute Market, an academic spin-off from the University of Bologna which provides innovative services for the recovery and reuse of unsold food and goods. In 2010, he promoted the initiative "One Year Against Waste" sponsored by the European Parliament Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development.

Silvia Gaiani holds a Masters Degree in International Relations and a PhD in International Cooperation and Policies for Sustainable Development from the University of Bologna, Italy. She is currently a Researcher in Agricultural Economics at the University of Bologna Faculty of Agriculture. Dr Gaiani has also conducted applied research in Europe and Asia focusing on food policies and the environmental and socio-economic impact of food waste. She also works as a consultant for the World Meteorological Organization of the United Nations.

De la contraportada

The book represents an easy to read manual on the dynamics of overproduction and overconsumption in the contemporary society. It highlights some alarming global data and discusses the origins/causes of food waste and its correlation with climate change, agriculture, the growing population and the need for a more ethical and ecological society. Following the first two critical chapters, where the current imbalanced global food market is presented, the third and fourth chapters are devoted to the presentation of some virtuous projects from all over the world. Such projects aim at finding practical and efficient solutions to food waste, thus bringing some hope in the current disappointing food waste scenario. In particular, a deep analysis will be dedicated to Last Minute Market, an original initiative that links shops and producers who have unsold products (food in particular) - which would otherwise be discarded - with people and charities in need.

Originated at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bologna (Italy), the project has proved to have economic, environmental and social benefits and, alongside other European initiatives (FareShare in UK, Stop Wasting Food Movement in Denmark, ANDES in France and others), has contributed to a greener economy and a more sustainable world, which is now "hungry" for change. Based on the data and on the initiatives presented in the book, the conclusion will be devoted to the discussion of a new framework, a "new intelligent ecology". The complexity of the waste dynamic processes imposes in fact a dire need to reconsider economic relationships and social values in the light of a new combination between sustainability and eco-efficiency.

De la solapa interior

The book represents an easy to read manual on the dynamics of overproduction and overconsumption in the contemporary society. It highlights some alarming global data and discusses the origins/causes of food waste and its correlation with climate change, agriculture, the growing population and the need for a more ethical and ecological society. Following the first two critical chapters, where the current imbalanced global food market is presented, the third and fourth chapters are devoted to the presentation of some virtuous projects from all over the world. Such projects aim at finding practical and efficient solutions to food waste, thus bringing some hope in the current disappointing food waste scenario. In particular, a deep analysis will be dedicated to Last Minute Market, an original initiative that links shops and producers who have unsold products (food in particular) - which would otherwise be discarded - with people and charities in need.

Originated at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Bologna (Italy), the project has proved to have economic, environmental and social benefits and, alongside other European initiatives (FareShare in UK, Stop Wasting Food Movement in Denmark, ANDES in France and others), has contributed to a greener economy and a more sustainable world, which is now "hungry" for change. Based on the data and on the initiatives presented in the book, the conclusion will be devoted to the discussion of a new framework, a "new intelligent ecology". The complexity of the waste dynamic processes imposes in fact a dire need to reconsider economic relationships and social values in the light of a new combination between sustainability and eco-efficiency.