Sustainable food supply chain management

Sustainable production and distribution is a pertinent and timely issue in production economics. This is particularly critical for the food industry, which is still the largest manufacturing sector in many developed and developing countries. Although food production and distribution systems have become more efficient in many aspects, the industry consumes large amounts of natural resources and faces ever increasing demands. Sustainable food supply has been constantly a global challenge in the industry. It is estimated that 175 million people in India and 130 million in China are being “fed with grain by over-pumping” of water. 24% of families now have foodless days in India (Brown, 2012). In the mean time, food waste has been a significant challenge to sustainable food supply. It is estimated that “approximately one third of the global food production is wasted or lost annually” (Gustavsson et al. 2011). While the food industry still battles with food security, waste, farming, and public health, new challenges have emerged such as climate change, oil dependency, fair trade and localism. There is a growing concern about social and environmental sustainability of the food industry. Basic questions that had once receded from everyday life are becoming more crucial to debate – whether food can be supplied, distributed and consumed in a more sustainable way without compromising costs; how should standards be set and technologies be used to improve sustainable development, minimise food waste and reduce operating costs together; what will be the impacts of standards and technologies on the way food supply chains are operating? It is essential for stakeholders in the food industry to look beyond their organisational boundaries to develop a sustainable food supply chain involving environmental, regulatory, scientific, market, technology, and social-economic factors.