By: Berta Redondo
From: Europatat
Despite Europe’s ambitious targets to halve food waste by 2030, Southern Europe continues to face disproportionately high levels of food loss across its agri-food systems. A new report by EIT Food South and 21gramos paints a vivid picture of the region’s food waste realities, offering a roadmap toward meaningful change—from farm to fork.
The report, which spans seven countries—Türkiye, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Malta, and Cyprus—highlights a complex landscape where culture, regulation, and economic pressures collide. While some nations like Spain and Italy have taken bold regulatory steps, others still struggle with fragmented systems and limited public discourse.
Main insights from the report:
- Food loss in primary production remains a hidden and underreported crisis, with farmers often leaving crops unharvested due to economic unviability or market-driven aesthetic standards. “Everything that is lost in the field is not accounted for; it becomes an invisible problem,” an expert from Spain notes in the report.
- Household consumption represents the single largest contributor to waste, especially in countries like Malta and Cyprus, where awareness campaigns are scarce and modern lifestyles have severed the link between consumers and food production.
- As a major economic force, tourism in Southern Europe contributes significantly to food waste, yet holds untapped potential to lead sustainability efforts. Buffet-heavy hospitality practices generate excessive waste, but targeted interventions like portion control, staff training, and regenerative tourism models could transform the sector into a driver of change.
Among the report’s most actionable recommendations is the need for scalable upcycling initiatives. From “ugly” produce marketplaces to biofuel generation, the opportunities for circular economy models are rich—but underfunded. Stronger collaboration between academia, startups, and industry is critical to turning pilot projects into mainstream solutions.
Crucially, the report underscores that food waste is not just an environmental issue. It is a matter of ethics, economics, and equity. In Spain, for instance, 79% of consumers say they would choose a brand that actively avoids food waste—a powerful signal to businesses across Europe.
At WASTELESS, we believe sharing such insights is vital to shaping policy, empowering citizens, and inspiring action. The EIT Food South report is a timely reminder: tackling food waste requires not only data and regulation, but also empathy, innovation, and systemic collaboration.
Read the full report here.