Food waste and the effects of waste reduction in China's catering industry

Reducing food waste is crucial for combating hunger. With economic development and rising income levels, more Chinese people are dining out, which may lead to an increase in the amount of food wasted in the catering industry. However, efforts to reduce food waste are hindered by a lack of accurate data. On the basis of nationwide survey data from 1957 restaurants across China, we critically assessed food waste and its impacts on resources, the environment and ecology in China's catering industry. Moreover, we conducted scenario analysis to evaluate the effects of waste reduction with reference to the survey and the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. We also used an econometric model to analyze macrofactors affecting food waste in China's catering industry. The results show that, food waste in China's catering industry averages 74.16 g per capita per meal, and that restaurants in the Northeast China, large-scale restaurants, and dinner restaurants are more likely to produce large amounts of food waste. The total amount of food waste in China's catering industry has reached 23.73 million tons of food, which is equal to 47.33 million tons (CO₂e) of carbon footprint, 40.3 billion m³ of water footprint, and 31.56 million hectares of ecological footprint. If the Sustainable Development Goal of halving food waste by 2030 is achieved, reducing food waste in China's catering industry could save 11.87 million tons of food, and reduce the carbon, water, and ecological footprints by 23.66 million tons (CO₂e), 20.15 billion m³, and 15.78 million hectares, respectively. Econometric analysis revealed that the provincial macrofactors affecting food waste in China's catering industry are the gross domestic product (GDP), the average annual GDP growth rate, grain production, and the ratio of grain consumption to total food consumption. Strategies should be developed by the government and stakeholders to increase the community's awareness of food savings and conservation.