Food Loss and Waste: A Review of Voluntary National and Voluntary Local Reviews of the United Nations

Food loss and waste (FLW) presents a major global challenge and is explicitly referenced in the several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably in Target 12.3. The growing literature on FLW addresses a number of strategies to mitigate the problem; however, much of this work prioritizes technical solutions while studies focused on institutional solutions are less prevalent. Our study offers a systematic review of the FLW solutions discussed in the Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) and Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs) of the United Nations. We apply the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework pioneered by Nobel Laureate, Elinor Ostrom to our analysis of FLW solutions in the VNRs and VLRs to identify prevalent patterns as well as gaps evident in the reviews. We base our systematic review of FLW solutions on the VNRs and VLRs rather than on the peer-reviewed literature since government-reported FLW initiatives play a key role in guiding individual and collective actions toward achieving SDG 12.3. Using a systematic review approach, we identified 165 publicly available VNRs and 116 VLRs that report FLW activities and were published in English between 2016 and 2024. We then applied the IAD framework categories to the 281 identified Reports. Our findings suggest that nearly 60% of the Reports focused on technical solutions while 40% reported socially oriented solutions. The socially oriented solutions were primarily directed toward consumers and less frequently toward businesses and policymakers. These findings suggest that FLW solutions can be meaningfully advanced by placing more emphasis on the role of informal institutions in in advancing awareness and social engagement to address FLW. A stronger emphasis on social rather than technical solutions may also facilitate the development of local and regional partnerships that advance FLW objectives across all levels of governance, from local to global.