International Conference

Envisioning a Future without Food Waste and Food Poverty: Societal Challenges

(University of the Basque Country, Bilbao, 17-18 November 2015)

Food insecurity and hunger are growing problems in the world. The combined consequences of the financial crisis, market instability and increasing food prices severely aggravate the situation. That is also happening in the wealthy developed world. According to Caritas-Europe, 79 million people are food insecure in the EU (Caritas Report, 2014).  That happens while up to half of world food production is wasted (see, among other: FAO, Global food losses and food waste. Extent, causes and prevention, 2011). According to the EU Parliament the current wastage in EU27 is 179kg per capita (89 million tones per annum) and if nothing changes it will get worse, with a major impact in environmental and economic terms as well as ethical implications. MEPs called on the Commission to implement a coordinated strategy combining EU-wide and national measures to improve the efficiency of food consumption chains sector by sector and to tackle food wastage as a matter of urgency (EU Parliament, 2011). When developing strategies for a more efficient food chain, we must take into account that the reasons for the waste are not always the same.

This academic conference is designed as a multidisciplinary deliberation forum. It aims to provide us with an opportunity to discuss significant challenges facing the global food system in the 21st Century.  The University of the Basque country is hosting the Conference at its Paraninfo, the Bizkaia Aretoa (in front of the Iberdrola Tower and the Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao City Center).

Researchers will be able to share their knowledge, stimulate collaborations with colleagues from across the disciplines and expand their networks. Some of the fields of inquiry include: rural development, agronomy, engineering, environmental sciences, human nutrition, law and governance, sociology and philosophy. All presentations will be in either English or Spanish and there will be simultaneous translation in the plenary sessions and most of the parallel ones.

Organized by:

URBAN ELIKA group. Cross-Disciplinary Studies for Food and Society. University of the Basque Country (Spain).