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International Symposium of Food Waste Reduction and Education was held in corporation with FAO

On June 3rd, the International Symposium on Food Waste and Education was held at Kyoto University. Several keynote speakers involved in the food value chain system were invited to explain their perspectives, and try to build mutual understanding because the issue of food waste is related to all sections. Having established this mutual understanding, the participants explored the contributions they could make.
 
First, the speakers and participants had refreshments together for a meet and greet in the Higashi-Ichijokan community lounge.
 
Dr. Charles Boliko Mbuli, Director of FAO Japan Liaison Office gave opening remarks. Then Professor Yosuke Yamashiki, Vice Dean of GSAIS, focal point at Kyoto University, explained the history of cooperation between Kyoto University and FAO.



Dr. Charles Boliko Mbuli, Director of FAO Japan Liaison Office



Yosuke Yamashiki, Professor, Vice Dean, Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability

The organizer of École de Kyodai and Associate professor Misuzu Asari was introduced and the organizer of École de Kyodai Ms. Chihiro Tanaka gave an introduction of the organization’s activity relating to food waste reduction. The activities are varied, such as food invention, which uses sustainably caught seafood, and a project that uses food scraps to make soup stock.



Misuzu Asari, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, École de Kyodai

Dr. Charles Boliko Mbuli gave us a lecture about the state of food waste in the world. The participating students learned that one-third of world food production is currently thrown away globally, if food waste was a country, the GHG emissions would be the third biggest country in the world. Furthermore, food is being thrown away and yet there are more children who suffer malnutrition than children who suffer from disease. Along with the factual data, he introduced 9 tips for reducing food waste: 1) ask for smaller portions, 2) love your leftovers, 3) shop smart, 4) buy imperfect shaped fruits and vegetables, 5) check your fridge, 6) practice FIFO: first in, first out, 7) understand the dates on your food, 8) turn waste into compost, 9) sharing is caring, give to help. The audience keenly listened to his passionate speech.
 
Next, professor Motoki Akitsu from the Graduate School of Agriculture shared perspectives from the producers’ side. For producers, the beauty/size standard of vegetables is a problem, yet shipping less-standard produce to the market is not profitable compared to the labour and energy used. There is a fear of reducing the market price of standard products if less-standard products are in the market. Moreover, producers have their own pride, a spirit to grow and send their consumers better, quality food, which is also a motivation for them.



Professor Motoki Akitsu from Graduate School of Agriculture

In the panel discussion, Ayaka Nomura, PhD candidate from the Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability gave a presentation on the activities of food banks in Japan and how the recipients utilize the food assistance they receive. The recipients utilize food assistance not only to survive, but also to creatively cook and personalize it, as well as to make bonds by sharing it with one another.



Ayaka Nomura, PhD candidate from Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability

Mr. Takashi Saito, Councilor of Chain Store Japan of Kansai branch, taught us the secret of how the retail sectors manage waste. He explained consumer psychology and tendencies as they shop and encouraged us to be more aware of planning to shop in advance. Planning what to buy in advance can contribute to waste reduction.



Mr. Takashi Saito, Councilor of Chain Store Japan of Kansai branch

Mr. Haruhisa Maeda, General Manager of KU canteen, CO-OP shared the restaurant management perspective on food waste. In Kyoto University CO-OP canteens, there is a detailed calculation which tries to predict the amount they offer in the day. The data that is used to predict the amount food consist of the amount sold in the previous week, previous day, the weather, etc. Also, they take into account student preferences and needs as well as necessary nutrition so the students willingly eat all the food on their plate. All these efforts seem natural to the students who uses the canteens everyday, but these small details lead to reduced food waste on campus.



Mr. Haruhisa Maeda, General Manager of KU canteen, CO-OP

Last but not least, there is a student group called Deco-vege cafe in Kyoto University that is actively working on the issue of food waste, especially regarding imperfectly shaped fruits and vegetables. The student group leader Ms. Sana Konishi introduced to the audience how they are regularly buying imperfect vegetables and cooking them using creative ideas.
 
The Q&A portion enhanced mutual understanding by sharing the management and challenges each sector faces. For example, Mr. Saito answered why it is difficult to sell vegetables by weight not packaged in plastics. According to him, there is a regulation to document where the vegetable come from therefore the packaging is necessary at the current moment. For the issue of dates on food, the best-before date is generally determined by the guideline of shelf-life days times 0.8, thus the dates are not exactly the date of spoilage.
 
After the lecture and panel discussion, the participants utilized the knowledge they gained and created artwork to raise awareness about food waste reduction using watercolors, crayons, and clay. The posters and clay models are displayed in the canteens.


 

The students making their own artwork utilizing the knowledge they gained throughout the symposium

Closing remarks were made by Kaoru Takara, Professor, Dean, Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability.



Kaoru Takara, Professor, Dean, Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability

Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability,
Kyoto University

1 Nakaadachi-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku,
Kyoto 606-8306, JAPAN
TEL +81-75-762-2001 / FAX +81-75-762-2277
MAIL info.shishukan@mail2.adm.kyoto-u.ac.jp