Supporting the revision of national legal frameworks for food loss and waste in Latin America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations – Development Law Service
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United Nations / Multilateral body
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#SDGAction33364
Description
Food loss and waste (FLW) are recognized obstacles to sustainable food systems and stand in the way of improving food security and nutrition. SDG Target 12.3 calls for “halving per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food loss along production and supply chains (including post-harvest losses) by 2030”. Responding to this challenge, FAO is actively working on developing policies and regulatory frameworks to reduce FLW. In 2019, FAO, with the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, supported the adoption of the Food Losses and Waste Law in Peru (Law No. 30988, 23 July 2019) and revision of FLW legislation in Colombia
For the adoption of FLW legislation in Peru, the Development Law Service (LEGN) of the FAO, together with the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, supported the development of legislation to prevent and reduce FLW in the region. In 2019, this strategic partnership succeeded in the adoption of the Food Losses and Waste Law in Peru (Law No. 30988, 23 July 2019). The Law aims to tackle food waste at all stages of the food chain, from primary production to human consumption. To achieve this objective, the Law appoints the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation as the authority primarily responsible for its implementation through inter-sectoral coordination. On 13 March 2020, a set of implementing Regulations were approved, which provide details on the institutional coordination and the strategic actions that all actors involved in the fight against FLW should take. In Colombia, FAO directly worked with Colombia in the revision of their FLW related legislation. As a result, in 2019, the country adopted a more comprehensive FLW law that establishes a national overarching policy on FLW prevention in different stages of the food supply chain, with proper institutional arrangements, data collection and monitoring (Ley Nº 1990). The law recognizes that preventing and reducing FLW requires the involvement of all the actors of the food system and prioritizes human consumption as the main goal (Art.1). It also highlights the need for the FLW reduction activities to contribute to the overall realization of the right to food and sustainable food systems.
From its FLW related work, FAO has observed that countries are transitioning from policy measures to regulatory measures in their response to FLW. Particularly when these regulatory measures are framed in the context of food systems as a whole, they are very promising in reducing FLW and contribute to SDG 12.3. In this way, legislation is both a tool for as well as an indicator of progress towards SDGs
Two key innovations guided FAO’s FLW work in Latin America: move from policies to legislation and from scattered regulatory approach to holistic, food systems approach. Key component of success was FAO’s existing relationship with the Parliamentary Front. This partnership helped to bring more holistic approach to legislating FLW, thanks to a greater variety of stakeholder voices. Holistic approach helps to avoid negative externalities that are more likely to emerge when legislating just one part of the food chain, such as when the intervention decreases FLW at the targeted stage but increases it elsewhere in the chain
The main concept applied to FLW - that of holistic legislation that comprehensively covers the food system - can be adopted in different countries and legal traditions. The specifics of the two laws are closely related to their national contexts and may not be equally relevant for other countries, where the main sources of FLW may be different. As such, it is highly recommended to undertake a careful analysis of the existing FLW situation as well as the related legislative framework, before considering whether a revision of legal framework is required. This revision may also show that there is no need for a holistic approach, but that carefully drafted specific revisions may be sufficient. These carry the advantage of being technically easier to draft and adopt. FAO continues to work with countries in Latina America, and increasingly also in Eastern Europe and Central-Asia, to help them analyze their legal frameworks and revise them as appropriate in the individual country context.
FAO 2019 The State of Food and Agriculture 2019 Moving forward on food loss and waste reduction. Rome http://www.fao.org/publications/sofa/2019/en/ Muñoz Ureña H.A 2021 Avances legislativos sobre prevención y reducción de pérdidas y desperdicios de alimentos en América Latina y el Caribe FAO Estudio Legislativo N.o 116 Roma FAO http://www.fao.org/3/cb2889es/CB2889ES.pdf FAO 2020 Mitigating risks to food systems during COVID-19: Reducing food loss and waste Rome http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/ca9056en FAO Food Loss and Waste Database http://www.fao.org/platform-food-loss-waste/flw-data/en/
In Latin America, FAO has entered into a “Joint work plan between FAO and the PARLATINO in the context of COVID-19”. This joint work plan includes the provision of technical assistance on legislation to reduce and prevent FLW to ensure that the good work started prior to the pandemic can continue. COVID-19 has disrupted food supply chains, and lead to overall increase of FLW, especially for perishable agricultural products, such as fruits and vegetables, fish, meat and dairy products. A more robust legal framework for FLW, sensitive to emergencies, can increase the resilience of food systems and food supply chains helping to weather the next storm in the horizon.
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Work on FLW legal frameworks continued FAO’s long collaboration with the Parlamento Latinoamericano (PARLATINO) and especially with the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean. Following FAO’s preferred method of participatory and inclusive legislative drafting, the stakeholder consultations both in Peru and Colombia were extensive.
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BLAISE, Chief - Development Law Service
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