食品ロス―消費者から変わろう

The Asahi Shimbun, August 21, 2013
EDITORIAL: Consumers must change way of thinking to reduce food losses
食品ロス―消費者から変わろう

Of roughly 4 billion tons of food produced globally for human consumption per year, one-third is lost or wasted, according to estimates by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
　人間が食べるために生産される食料は世界で年間ざっと４０億トンで、うち３分の１が失われている。国連食糧農業機関（ＦＡＯ）がそう推計している。

In the estimates, food “losses” and food “waste” are separate categories. The former occurs during the production to retailing stages, while the latter concerns food that is discarded at the consumption stage.
　消費段階で捨てられるものを「廃棄（ウェイスト）」、生産から小売りまでの間を「ロス」と区別している。

Food losses in Japan are estimated at 5 million tons to 8 million tons annually, roughly equivalent to the amount of rice harvested in the country per year.
　日本ではロスが５００万～８００万トンともいわれ、コメの収穫量に匹敵する。

In an effort to scale back losses of processed foods--confectionery, seasonings, drinks, instant noodles and the like--a six-month experiment kicked off this month that involves 35 big companies, including food makers, wholesalers and retailers.
　そこで菓子、調味料、飲料、即席麺などの加工食品を対象にロスを減らす実験を、大手企業３５社が今月から半年間の予定で始めた。

Customarily, retailers refuse to accept processed foods for which one-third of the period from production to best-before dates has passed. Thus, food makers are saddled with growing losses.
　加工食品では、賞味期限までの３分の１を過ぎた商品は、小売店が引き取らない商習慣がある。これがメーカー側でロスを増やす温床になっている。

In the United States and Europe, food makers are able to ship their products until later days of the period. In the experiment, retailers accept processed foods for which up to half of the period from production to best-before dates has passed. This allows the companies to check the level of losses that can be reduced in this manner.
　欧米ではもっと遅くまで出荷できることから、実験では賞味期限の半分まで受け入れ、ロスの減り具合を調べる。

Individual businesses cannot easily change the way they operate in the face of customs that have taken root in the world of commerce. Thus, industry-wide collaboration is necessary.
　商習慣は個々の企業の努力では変えにくい。このため、業界で協調して改善を試みる。

Retailers refusing to accept processed foods for which one-third of the period from production to best-before dates has passed is one problem. But there are others, too. With regard to stocks kept in distribution centers, major retailers often return food items to makers if two-thirds of the period has passed.
　商品の引き取り以外にも課題がある。大手小売店は物流センターの在庫で、賞味期限が残り３分の１を切った品物はメーカーに返品することが多い。

When retailers change goods on their store shelves, they tend to delay placing orders until immediately before making the switch. Because of that, makers tend to hold excessive stocks, fearing they will be unable to supply goods on demand.
　さらに、店頭の商品入れ替えに伴う発注をギリギリまで遅らせるため、メーカーは欠品を恐れて過剰な在庫を抱えがちだ。

We hope the 35 companies involved in the experiment will try to solve those problems.
　こうした問題にもメスを入れて欲しい。

Food banks and other groups that distribute returned food to welfare organizations are becoming more active. We hope to see a transformation in our country's economic and social structures, so that food produced for human consumption is actually eaten as much as possible.
　返品された食品を福祉施設に融通するフードバンクなどの活動が広がっている。いったん作られた食品ができるだけ人の口に入るよう、経済と社会の仕組みを変えていきたい。

We also hope that the experiment will go beyond processed foods to items that have shorter periods until their best-before or expiration dates and are more susceptible to daily supply-demand fluctuations, such as tofu, milk, fresh vegetables, ready-to-eat deli offerings and "bento" box meals.
　加工食品だけでなく、豆腐や牛乳、生鮮野菜、総菜や弁当など賞味や消費の期限が短く、日々の需給変動に左右されやすい分野でも、同様の取り組みに本腰を入れてほしい。

We understand that companies must do their best to satisfy consumer demand for freshness, convenience and variety. But it is also important for them to see the reality of the huge volume of farm produce and other food items that are being trashed to satisfy those demands.
　新鮮さ、便利さ、選択肢の豊富さを求める顧客に応える企業の努力は大切だ。しかし、その代償として大量の農産物や食品が捨てられている現実を直視する必要がある。

Corporations are apparently bound by a sense that it is easier and less costly to discard food items than to create a system to prevent losses. For them to be freed from this spell, we consumers must first change our way of thinking.
　捨てる方が簡単で安上がり、ロスが出ないようにすると売り上げが減る――。そんな呪縛から企業が逃れるには、まず私たち消費者が考えを改めなければならない。

In developing countries, there are many kinds of food that spoil at production sites because of inadequate transportation and storage facilities. To solve the problem, developed countries need to make investments or offer aid.
　途上国では輸送や保存がままならず産地で腐る食料が多い。その対策に、先進国が投資や援助をすることも重要だ。

But more than anything, it is our responsibility as citizens of a developed nation to move away from our distribution and consumption structure that invites losses and waste of precious food resources.
　しかしなにより、資源の無駄遣いを招く流通・消費構造から脱却することが、先進国に生きる私たちの責任である。