Zeynep Özkan: “When we can’t measure the real data on different parts of the food chain, we can’t set a target to reduce it”

There are successful initiatives that stand out in the fight against food loss and waste, and one of them comes from Türkiye. Our interviewee today is Zeynep Özkan, Head of Department of European Union Harmonization and Save Your Food Campaigning Coordinator, who dives into the heart of these initiatives, revealing objectives, strategies and the collective impact of a holistic approach involving all actors in the food chain. 

You are the coordinator of Türkiye’s projects against food loss and food waste. Can you tell us a little bit more about the work you have started and your objectives?  

In accordance with the international agenda, agriculture ministers of member countries during Türkiye’s G20 Presidency in 2015, emphasized that food systems should become more sustainable and productive in economic, social and environmental terms, and concomitantly agreed upon the need to reduce food loss and waste while pressures on natural resources, biodiversity and climate change increase. As a result of Türkiye’s endeavours, the “Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste” was established under the aegis of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), headquartered in Rome.

At the national level, a key initiative in Türkiye regarding food loss and waste is the “Bread Waste Prevention Campaign”, launched in 2013, with preliminary work dating back to 2008. The campaign aims to increase public awareness about food waste, prevent waste along the supply chain, and promote the consumption of whole wheat bread due to its quality, nutritional properties and role in preventing obesity. Due to its success, FAO recognized the “Bread Waste Prevention Campaign” as a good practice contributing to actions on preventing waste in the world.

Development Plan of Türkiye also states that “Efficient stock management in order to ensure food security, reduce losses in the supply chain, prevent waste and improve the rules and capacities to regulate markets will be ensured”.

In order to adopt a comprehensive strategy on food loss and waste, a core-working group has been regularly convened since 2018 under the coordination of the Directorate General for European Union and Foreign Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, with the participation of representatives from the FAO Subregional Office for Central Asia (FAOSEC) Office and other ministerial departments. Within this framework, focus group meetings have also been organized with the participation of relevant stakeholders, and the Strategy roadmap discussed and developed alongside current issues and proposed solutions.

The most important objective of the National Strategy Document is to ensure that action is taken to prevent food loss and waste through the adoption of concrete solutions drawing on the advice of concerned stakeholders and local perspectives. The success of the National Strategy depends on the cooperation of the public sector, industry, consumers, academia and non-governmental organizations. The strategy has adopted the food use not loss or waste hierarchy.

Which projects do you consider to be the most successful so far?  

Upscaling the 80.000 USD budgeted technical cooperation project (TCP) with FAO “Zero Waste Zero Hunger” to a 1.5 M USD budgeted regional project with FAO is a great success and Türkiye stood out as an example for the Central Asian countries. With this, Türkiye began implementing its action plan on food loss and waste (which was prepared with the TCP project) and in the meanwhile share its know-how with the other beneficiary countries of the regional project.

How has the collaboration with FAO influenced the formulation and implementation of your strategies and what benefits has this organisation brought?  

To have FAO’s technical expertise on board was quite significant for the preparation of the strategic document and action plan and also implementing it. With FAO’s wide network of experts and communication consultants, a great synergy had been established within the team. FAO provided guidance on different examples from different countries which could be adopted to Türkiye.

In your recent visit to València you mentioned the importance of a holistic approach in the fight against food waste, could you explain how this approach is reflected in the actions being implemented in your country?  

Ministry and FAO have organized a series of events with the involvement and assistance of relevant stakeholders to contribute to the planning and implementation of activities to be realized within the scope of the campaign.

Türkiye, in cooperation with all countries and relevant stakeholders, aims to intensify efforts at regional, national and international levels, to reduce and prevent food loss and waste. Within the campaign, “Türkiye’s National Strategy Document on Prevention, Reduction and Monitoring of Food Loss and Waste and Its Action Plan” was prepared.

As food loss and waste is an issue, which everyone is part of the problem and the solution, following a holistic approach and involving every actor in the food chain is crucial to achieve concrete results.

With this motivation, Ministry conducted surveys, events, workshops and conferences with the involvement of different stakeholders (academia, government, private sector, consumers, children and youth, NGOs).

In the meanwhile, Ministry didn’t only focus on one area of the food chain. We also followed a holistic approach with different types of actions for different groups. We have published five guidelines for different actors in the food chain and diversified our activities accordingly.

You have implemented several initiatives such as “Save your food” and cooking workshops while in most countries the focus is more on distribution, could you share why you chose these initiatives? And, could you tell us the most significant results of these projects?   

Within the Save Your Food Campaign, support was received from all food chain actors, from farmers to consumers. In order to prevent food loss and waste, it is quite crucial to follow a holistic approach. With the help of Ministry’s Provincial Directorates, we have conducted food waste-free kitchen workshops with different target groups ranging from children to professionals. Before beginning the practice of food waste free cooking, we have given presentations on food hygiene and tips to reduce food waste. With that increased capacity, the participants had fun in the kitchen their awareness has risen. In order to come over budget issues, we have conducted partnerships with local kitchen workshops belonging to cooking courses and for ingredients with local supermarkets.

Furthermore, we have broken two Guinness world records:

• The record of “Most pledges received for an environmental sustainability campaign” was registered with Guinness with 790,000 pledges to reduce food loss and waste
• The record of “Most pledges received for a campaign” was registered with Guinness with 881,000 pledges to reduce food loss and waste

In order to increase food literacy, brochures and diagrams were designed and distributed to explain the difference between the “Use By” and “Best Before” dates.

In cooperation with the retail sector, ripened fresh fruits and vegetables are being sold with a discount rate to prevent food waste.

In your country it has been considered essential to focus on the participation of children and young people. What has been the reaction so far? And, most importantly, what impact do you hope to achieve in the long term?  

If we want to make a lasting behavioural change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, we have to target children and young adults. Within the partnership of The Ministry of National Education, teachers and students are informed about the Campaign and mobilized the students for the Pledge movement to reduce food loss and waste. With the “Do good save food” activity books of FAO, teachers had conducted activities. As the Ministry, we also went to schools to provide trainings and show animation movies about the journey of the food and why it matters to prevent food waste. With this awareness raising activities, now more children are aware that wasting food is not only wasting food but also wasting water, soil, energy and labour. They are already acquittanced with our mascot CANO and even organize painting competitions on the subject.

What do you think we could learn from your experience and achievements in reducing food waste in other countries? 

Following a multi stakeholder approach is crucial. Having a strategy and an action plan with responsible and relevant actors and coordinating with a positive and creative manner is also important. Many countries have published their national strategies on food loss and waste prevention. The literature and reports of international organizations are also easily accessible. Adopting the existent action plans to a national one and conducting stakeholder review and establishing task forces with a multi-stakeholder approach would bring success. Furthermore, having the private sector would also create visibility and help to overcome budgetary issues. What we had experienced from Türkiye, is that people tackled this issue voluntarily and with great motivation. Therefore, it is important to take one step and see how it evolves.

Furthermore, the 2-day event which the Ministry organized internally and showcasing the successful practices conducted by ministry officers had influenced the other participants greatly. And that event created a domino effect for motivating other team members to create a difference.

Some data suggest that the Turkish National Plan has achieved a total saving of 80 million dollars for consumers’ pockets and a reach of 20% of the Turkish society. What are the next steps Türkiye wants to take in this respect? And what targets have been set for the near future in terms of sustainable food? 

Right now, we are at the verge of planning the second phase of the Campaign. While carrying on usual activities such as preparing guidelines for different actors, training programs for students, gleaning and kitchen workshop activities, we are working on regulations. Spanish draft law on food waste set a great example for us. In the meanwhile, we are looking for ways to measure food loss and waste in terms of quantity and quality with our value chain experts. Measurement of food loss and waste still is an obstacle for a big agricultural producer such as Türkiye. When we can’t measure the real data on different parts of the food chain, we can’t set a target to reduce it.