Investigating the Food Waste Status in the Hospitality Sector of the Emirate of Dubai-UAE
Date
2024
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SpringerLink
Abstract
Saving natural resources to sustain a better future for the generations requires focusing mainly on the three pillars of a sustainable society; the social, economic and environmental. In 2015, the world was united to set international goals to reduce the recent, global problems affecting these pillars; the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal number 12 focuses on making consumption and production reasonable to lower the use of natural resources and decrease the waste generated consequently. The food loss and waste problem has been the focus of individuals and governments in the last few years as it affects the sustainable vision of the countries. Tackling this issue needs the united efforts of the private and public sectors and is considered under goal SDG 12.3. Food loss is defined as the decrease in food amounts before consumption, mostly in developing countries. While food waste focuses on food thrown out after consumption, left intentionally or thrown away, and mostly in developed countries. The UAE has one of the highest per capita amounts of food waste yearly, around 224 kg. Thus, efforts to tackle the problem have to start, this is in alignment with achieving international targets like SDG 12.3 and national ones such as “Zero Hunger” by 2051. Huge efforts and initiatives in the country are established, mainly focusing on recovering food waste through banks, composting and animal feeds. However, source reduction is considered the top priority in solving the food waste problem. This paper suggests topics to fill the theoretical gap, which was confirmed to be lacking in the country, in finding the causes and drivers of food waste in the hospitality sector of Dubai.
Description
This open access book presents contributions on a wide range of scientific areas originating from the BUiD Doctoral Research Conference (BDRC 2023)
Keywords
food waste in UAE, hospitality food, food waste impacts, causes of food waste
Citation
Sadeh, R.Z., Abu Hijleh, B. (2024). Investigating the Food Waste Status in the Hospitality Sector of the Emirate of Dubai-UAE. In: Al Marri, K., Mir, F.A., David, S.A., Al-Emran, M. (eds) BUiD Doctoral Research Conference 2023. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 473. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-56121-4_18