COMCEC
Reducing Food Waste
In the 01CMember Countries
INTRODUCT ION
The Standing Committee for Ecenemic and Commercial Co-operation ef the Organization ef
Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC] has been working to enhance ecenemic and commercial
cooperation among its 57 Member Countries since 1984 (See Annex 1]. As one ef the co­
operation areas ef the COMCEC, the agriculture sector has great potential for the socio-economic
development ef the Organization ef Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member Countries. However, this
potential has net been fully realized due to various reasons and constraints. COMCEC therefore
aims to help Member Countries to overcome the challenges faced in agriculture.
The heed and Agriculture Organization ef the United Nations (hAO) (2011] estimates that each
year approximately one-third ef feed produced for human consumption in the world is lest or
wasted. According to a European Union (EU) FUSIONS report, EU-28 countries produce 88
million tonnes ef feed waste on average every year. About 65% ef this is generated from
households and the feed service sector. This equates to a person throwing away, on average,
113kg ef feed per year in the EU (FUSION, 2016). This waste represents a missed opportunity
to improve global food security, but also to mitigate environmental impacts and resource use
from food chains.
This food waste is set within the context of many OIC Member Countries facing structural and
dynamic challenges which impact on feed security, supply chains and scale ef feed waste. These
include:
Structural - for example, high population growth, increasing urbanization, a scarce and
fragile natural resource base, limited capacity to expand food production, and high
exposure to climate change (hAO, 2014], and
Dynamic - for example, changing feed preferences and rising incomes, double burden
of malnutrition, food price volatility, exposure to international food markets and
conflicts and political instability, etc (hAO, 2014).
In terms ef feed security, OIC Member Countries are net unique in this regard, with feed security
becoming an increasing concern globally, particularly in developing and poorer countries
(Aljamal and Bagnied, 2012). heed security is inextricably linked to feed waste. When feed is
scarce, this scarcity could be alleviated by reducing food waste not only post-harvest, but also
through the consumer feed demands. In countries where feed is scarce, there are also often
issues with feed poverty, with many millions ef people going hungry - as highlighted by the
former Director General of Pakistan’s Environment Protection Agency (Anon., 2014). This
linking ef the two issues has been represented by UNEP. See higure 2.
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