Food waste has become one of the biggest bottlenecks for sustainable food systems, with over 58 million tons wasted annually across the EU alone. The issue runs through the entire supply chain—starting in agriculture, moving through processing and retail, and ending up in food services and our own kitchens.
In this talk, Dr. Gudrun Obersteiner, deputy director of the Institute for Waste Management and Circularity at BOKU University in Vienna, breaks down both the myths and facts around food waste. She will walk us through how we can systematically measure where and why these losses happen, look closely at the resulting environmental impacts, and outline practical prevention strategies. Together, we’ll explore what effective measures actually work and how policymakers, businesses, and individuals can join forces to build a genuinely sustainable food system.