1.1 Million Tons
Rescuing Food: Economic, Social, Health, and Environmental Benefits
The Economic-Environmental Hierarchy of Food Recovery
The European Union’s Waste Framework Directive established a hierarchy of priorities for handling unconsumed food. Each level in the hierarchy highlights a different management strategy for reducing food waste. The clear priority is on preventing food waste and using rescued food to feed disadvantaged populations. These strategies have the greatest environmental, economic, and social benefits, and therefore most effectively address the problem.
There are many policy tools to help disadvantaged populations and address food insecurity. In Israel, the most common policy measures are donations, subsidies, stipends, and relief assistance. Food rescue is unique in that it assists people in need, at a low cost, as it is only necessary to finance the cost of rescuing the food, rather than the full cost of purchasing it.
There is a socio-economic debate, in Israel and around the world, between an approach whose central goal is encouraging growth (“growing the pie”) verses reducing inequality. Rescuing food waste intrinsically combines these approaches. Distributing rescued food to disadvantaged populations increases economic output while reducing inequality.
Additionally, food rescue policies can increase food reserves and promote food security in times of crisis and emergencies that disrupt local and global food supplies, such as the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
There are four main benefits of rescuing food
1. Economic
2. Social
3. Health
4. Environmental
Comparing Food Production and Food Rescue
About half of the total wasted food in Israel is rescuable, representing more than 1.1 million tons. Rescuing it could prevent about 3% of the greenhouse gas emissions in Israel and reduce healthcare costs to the Israeli economy by NIS 5.2b ($1.47b). Most food rescue activities, in Israel and around the world, are carried out by nonprofit social organizations supported by donations. Nevertheless, the main basis for food rescue is not to give charity, but to offer an alternative to producing food, which has direct economic benefits and reduces economic inequalities.
The direct cost of rescuing food is, on average, about NIS 1.6 ($0.45) per kg. The direct value of the saved food is about NIS 5.7 ($1.61) per kg, representing a value multiplier of 3.6. That is, every shekel invested by the food rescue organizations generates NIS 3.6 ($1) worth of food products for the populations receiving the donations. Food rescue in Israel is still in its infancy, and there is great potential for increasing its scope. Taking advantage of economies of scale could reduce the cost of food rescue operations and increase the value of the rescued produce. However, to be conservative, the estimates presented here are based on the current cost structure.
In terms of national economic benefits, the impact on the environment and healthcare must also be considered. Every kilogram of rescued food is estimated to represent a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and waste treatment valued at NIS 1.1 ($0.3) (see Chapter 10), such that every shekel invested in food rescue yields a value of NIS 4.3 ($1.2) to the national economy. Every kilogram of rescued food is estimated to reduce healthcare costs by about NIS 12.5 ($3.54) (see Chapter 8) such that every shekel invested in food rescue yields a value of NIS 11.8 ($3.34)
The scope of food waste in Israel is similar to that of developed countries around the world. In recent years, the Israeli government has taken the first steps in promoting initiatives to reduce food waste (see Chapter 12). However, while many other countries have formulated legislation, national plans, and multi-year goals to encourage food rescue and reduce waste, Israel does not yet have a national policy on this issue.