Online Training Series on Sustainable Food in Tourism: Waste Management
This online training session raises awareness for the problems surrounding food waste, highlights the main causes for food waste in tourism and focuses on providing practical solutions to reduce food waste in hotels and restaurants.
Research indicates that currently one third of all global meals goes to waste. This is highly critical from an ethical and social point of view considering there are more than 800,000 malnourished people in the world. Studies in hotels have shown that 20-60% of all food purchased to provide the culinary experience is thrown away. These figures are alarming – but it has also been proven that at least 30 % of the food loss in the tourism industry can be avoided through systematic measures along the value chain. Reducing food waste means saving CO2 emission, saving precious water resources and – last but not least – saving considerable operating costs.
Online Training Series: Sustainable Food in Tourism
Sustainable food production and consumption is one of the most important levers to protect planet and people. One reason for this is the constantly and rapidly growing demand for food in a world whose population is expected to grow to over 9 billion people by 2050. At the same time, food producers around the world often do not receive a fair share of the global food trade and in many cases work under poor conditions. Additional pressure comes from greenhouse gas emissions caused by food production, which play a crucial role in climate change. Furthermore, the health aspect of food is a major concern, especially in modern societies, and rapid socio-cultural change raises the issue of protecting food cultures and traditions. While food consumption is considered by most tourists to be an important part of their trip, unsustainable food consumption can cause harm to tourists, locals, and destinations in general. Overuse of scarce resources, excessive food waste, and poor working conditions are some examples of areas where tourist food consumption has negative consequences for a destination. This online training series promotes the understanding and management of food in a holistic, sustainable way to ensure the future success of tourism businesses around the world.
SDG 12 Targets
Value Chains:
