Approximately one-third of all food produced globally never gets eaten and is thrown away! Food waste has grave negative consequences that can be traced to poverty, inequality, and climate change.

 

UN CC:Learn and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency have joined forces to make available the new “Food Waste Prevention” e-course, your go-to source of information, tips, and ideas on how to prevent food waste.

 

Read on to find out more!

Did you know that if food waste was a country, it would be the third-biggest greenhouse gas emitter on the planet, just after China and the United States? This dramatic example shows the scale of the problem and the urgent need for action. Governments, companies, and individuals have to dramatically accelerate efforts to meet target SDG 12.3 aimed at halving food loss and waste by 2030. Against this backdrop, UN CC:Learn and the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency have developed the Food Waste Prevention e-course to help everyone – from individual consumers to food producers – save food at all stages of the food chain.

This newly crafted, video-based, interactive e-learning course has 5 modules. Each module focuses on a specific stage of the food chain, including food manufacturing and retailing, food services, and household consumption. At each stage of the food chain, steps can be taken to target, measure, and act to stop food wasted. Practical tools and case studies help learners turn knowledge into actions in their everyday lives and business practices.

This e-course is open to everyone – from beginners to an expert – but it is particularly geared toward learners from emerging economies, such as China, Brazil, South Africa, and India, where consumption habits are quickly changing and setting up food waste prevention systems can have a great impact in the short and long run. Upon completion of the course, participants should be able to: 

  • Define the role key stakeholders play in food waste prevention.
  • Identify ways to measure and account for food waste at various stages of the food chain.
  • Describe effective measures to prevent food waste throughout the food chain.
  • Outline measures to minimize food waste wherever prevention is not possible.

After going through all five modules, learners will be asked to take a quiz and participate in a role-playing game to assess their knowledge. An official UN CC:Learn certificate will be granted to those who complete the course. 

Take the course in English and Portuguese!