Understanding Food Waste, Food Insecurity, and the Gap between the Two: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia

Advancing Nutrition and Dietetics Research in Global Food and Nutrition Security: A Roundtable Meeting Report

Food and nutrition security remains a relevant issue globally, impacting nutritional status and other health outcomes. This is further complicated by various environmental factors that impact stable access to, availability of, and utilization of nutritious foods. Nutrition and dietetics practitioners play an important role in the identification and treatment of food and nutrition security and are also well positioned to advance research that can support food and nutrition security solutions. To address this important issue, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' Council on Research convened a Global Food and Nutrition Security Research Task Force (Task Force). To leverage existing information and expertise in this area and identify the need for future evidence, the Task Force hosted a virtual roundtable with key internal and external stakeholders. This 2-day event included discussions on research gaps, potential entry points for nutrition and dietetics practitioners, and important equity considerations in the area of food and nutrition security research. The identified research gaps included the need for standardized terminology for consistent data collection, the need for validated screening and assessment tools that can be used across settings and also assess diet quality, additional translational and implementation science research, multi-sectoral and multi-pronged approaches, interdisciplinary collaboration with community partners, incorporation of research into policy development, and additional evidence on food systems approaches to target food and nutrition security. To more clearly identify the entry points for practitioners, five examples from various countries were included to identify food and nutrition security issues and how nutrition and dietetics practitioners can be involved in research to address food and nutrition security. The Task Force would like this information to inform a research agenda and be leveraged by the larger scientific community to drive future funding and research opportunities for food and nutrition professionals on this topic.

Is food insecurity related to sustainable and healthy eating behaviors?

In this cross-sectional study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between sustainable and healthy eating behaviors such as nutritional insecurity and a healthy and balanced diet, interest in regional and organic food products, consumption of seasonal food and avoidance of food waste, preference for locally produced foods, reduction of meat consumption, preference for eggs from free-range chickens, and sustainable fishery products, and consumption of low-fat food products in adults. The study included 410 adults who were reached through social media applications. Data were collected through an online questionnaire including the Descriptive Information Form, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), and the Sustainable Healthy Eating Behaviors Scale (SHEBS). The proportion of participants determined as mildly food insecure, moderately food insecure, and severely food insecure was 10.2%, 6.6%, and 7.6%, respectively. Linear regression analysis revealed that in Models 1, 2, and 3, there was a statistically significant negative association between food insecurity and the components of sustainable and healthy eating behaviors such as healthy and balanced diet (β - 0.226, p < 0.001), quality labels (β - 0.230, p < 0.001), seasonal foods, which are of avoidance of food waste (β - 0.261, p < 0.001), animal welfare (β - 0.174, p < 0.001), and fat intake (β - 0.181, p < 0.001). In conclusion, food insecurity negatively affects healthy and balanced diet behaviors, interest in regional and organic food products, seasonal food products consumption and avoidance of food waste, consumption of low-fat food products, and the choice of products such as free-range chicken eggs, and sustainable fisheries.

Metabolic Food Waste as Food Insecurity Factor—Causes and Preventions

The Metabolic Food Waste MFW (kg of food) first developed in 2016 as a new indicator by Serafini and Toti, indicates the amount of food consumed above the nutritional requirements, and the impact of this overconsumption on the environment. It is necessary to identify the causes and to develop potential methods to prevent and reduce MFW, at the same time as increasing consumer awareness about unsustainable diets and changing diet habits towards more environmentally conscious consumption patterns. This study was conducted by collecting and analysing existing reports and studies regarding nutritional requirements, consumer behaviour related to food consumption and food waste, environmental impacts of food waste, and the concept of Metabolic Food Waste. The process of data collection involved searching the studies available online, using keywords related to the subject of MFW and overconsumption. The references in the initial studies consulted were also analysed in order to further identify new data relevant to overconsumption and MFW. The materials studied and analysed related to the environmental impact of MFW were published by E. Toti and M. Serafini in 2016 and 2019; additionally, in order to understand the causes of overconsumption numerous studies were reviewed regarding consumer behaviour, the relationship between economic development and overconsumption, mental health and dietary habits, physical context and dietary habits, genetic predisposition, also childhood and early adulthood environment. By analysing and corroborating external data available for food waste, nutritional requirements, and the environmental impact of food waste and consumer behaviour, we identified as primary causes for MFW the lack of nutritional education and little understanding of the nutritional requirements amongst all categories of consumers, poor access to appropriate food resources or reduced availability of fresh produced food. We conclude that for the quantification of the negative impact of MFW on both the environment and human health we need decisive action to raise consumer awareness for healthy and sustainable diets, together with a uniform worldwide distribution system for nutritious food.

Impacts of COVID-19 on the Food Supply Chain: A Case Study on Saudi Arabia

The entire world is suffering from the post-COVID-19 crisis, and governments are facing problems concerning the provision of satisfactory food and services to their citizens through food supply chain systems. During pandemics, it is difficult to handle the demands of consumers, to overcome food production problems due to lockdowns, work with minimum manpower, follow import and export trade policies, and avoid transportation disruptions. This study aims to analyze the behavior of food imports in Saudi Arabia and how this pandemic and its resulting precautionary measures have affected the food supply chain. We performed a statistical analysis and extracted descriptive measures prior to applying hybrid statistical hypothesis tests to study the behavior of the food chain. The paired samples t-test was used to study differences while the independent samples t-test was used to study differences in means at the level of each item and country, followed by the comparison of means test in order to determine the difference and whether it is increasing or decreasing. According to the results, Saudi Arabia experienced significant effects on the number of items shipped and the countries that supplied these items. The paired samples t-test showed a change in the behavior of importing activities by—47% for items and countries. The independent t-test revealed that 24 item groups and 86 countries reflected significant differences in the mean between the two periods. However, the impact on 41 other countries was almost negligible. In addition, the comparison of means test found that 68% of item groups were significantly reduced and 24% were increased, while only 4% of the items remained the same. From a country perspective, 65% of countries showed a noticeable decrease and 16% a significant increase, while 19% remained the same.