Perdas e desperdícios de alimentos no Brasil: efeitos da redução na colheita e pós-colheita

Abstract

Reducing food losses is an important goal in ensuring food security, as it impacts on food availability, the environment and economic development. In the world it is estimated that about a third of the food produced is lost or wasted. Only by reducing half of the losses in food crops would food be available for another 1 billion people. The amount of food lost and wasted in Brazil would be sufficient to achieve food security in the country. In this context, the objective was to identify the effects of losses and food waste in Brazil. In order to meet this, Chapter II sought to identify methodologies that quantify, estimate and measure data on the production of food losses and waste in the country. The searches were carried out from the search in the Google academic bases, Scientific Electronic Library Online and Periódico Capes, using specific keywords. It was verified that there are a few studies that quantify the losses and waste of food in Brazil. The highest concentration of these studies is in the distribution and consumption stages of the food supply chain. In chapter III we analyzed the economic impacts, the effects of the policy on land allocation and its consequences in terms of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil. For this, a Computable General Equilibrium model was used, and the reduction of food losses in the production and post-harvest processes was evaluated. From the results it was verified: an increase in practically all the analyzed macroeconomic variables; changes in land use, such as growth in native vegetation; and the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases associated with the agricultural sector.