ABSTRACT
Food lost in primary production represents an opportunity to increase yield, and potentially profit for growers, but is often overlooked as it has not incurred the environmental and economic costs that have accelerated the effort to reduce food waste. Recently, definitions of food loss have begun to include crops that are intended for human consumption and mature in the field, but are not harvested, rather than tracking losses beginning at the farm gate. Losses of mature, edible produce crops fall broadly into two categories: products that do not meet buyer specifications for quality, and production exceeding demand, or surplus. The drivers that influence the volume of losses in the field can often be found in other portions of the supply chain, such as retail and foodservice distribution. Adding to what is known about losses through qualitative study, studies in the US and other developed countries using measurement in the field show that losses may be higher than previously estimated. Working toward the prevention and recovery of on-farm food losses may hold the potential to improve public health, lessen the environmental burden of farming, and improve the economic resiliency of farms.
