Sustainable Food System Applications in the European Union: An Appraisal on Food Donation

Abstract

This article discusses food donation as a tool in the sustainable food policy design of the European Union (EU). The absence of a common food policy in the EU and the neglect of environmental impacts in policy-making process are identified as key problems. In the proposed model, it is demonstrated that the implementation of food donation through the regulation of food charities and food banks contributes to social, economic, and environmental sustainability goals. In this context, food donation is an important method to be addressed in food policy design due to its sustainability advantages. Based on selected EU documents and Multi-Criteria Method, the current food policy of the EU, sustainability dimensions and stakeholders in the decision-making process are evaluated and concluded that the EU should form a common food policy by considering all sustainability dimensions, eliminate the gaps in the regulation and pay particular attention to the environmental sustainability dimension of food donation.

This article discusses food donation as a tool in the sustainable food policy design of the European Union (EU). The absence of a common food policy in the EU and the neglect of environmental impacts in policy-making process are identified as key problems. In the proposed model, it is demonstrated that the implementation of food donation through the regulation of food charities and food banks contributes to social, economic, and environmental sustainability goals. In this context, food donation is an important method to be addressed in food policy design due to its sustainability advantages. Based on selected EU documents and Multi-Criteria Method, the current food policy of the EU, sustainability dimensions and stakeholders in the decision-making process are evaluated and concluded that the EU should form a common food policy by considering all sustainability dimensions, eliminate the gaps in the regulation and pay particular attention to the environmental sustainability dimension of food donation.