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Food waste is a chronic and ongoing environmental, economic, and social problem in the European Union. The study will examine trends in food waste from 2021 to 2023, sectoral effects, regional heterogeneity, and socio-economic determinants of waste intensity. Interlinking longitudinal data from Statista and Eurostat, statistical modeling, and cluster analysis are employed by the study to uncover trends in food waste across member states in the EU. The research shows that domestic food wastage remains the leading one, accounting for 50–60% of the total food wastage in the EU. Inefficiencies in manufacturing and retail are identified as important drivers of wastage generation in high-waste nations such as Cyprus and Denmark because inefficiencies in the processes result in increased wastage generation. Spain and Croatia have continued to record low food wastage per capita owing to good wastage management policies and consumer practices. Regression analysis identifies domestic food wastage, manufacturing waste, and retail wastage as the main drivers of total per capita food wastage, with per capita GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and carbon footprint playing weak roles. Cluster analysis places EU countries into three groups: low-waste countries with highly structured food systems, moderately-waste countries where food wastage at domestic levels prevails, and high-waste countries where there is inefficiency at food production, processing, and consumption levels. These findings necessitate specific interventions. Policy needs to address food waste minimization at the household level via consumer awareness and behavior change initiatives and remove inefficiencies in the manufacturing and retail value chains through the simplification of inventory management, redistribution chains, and incentive regulation. Regional, rather than one-size-fits-all, EU-wide policy is required in order to achieve significant progress. Full article

Background: Dietary patterns affect both human health and environmental sustainability. Prior research found a ten-unit course on food systems and environmental sustainability shifted dietary intake and reduced dietary carbon footprint among college students. This research evaluated the impact of a similar, more scalable one-unit Foodprint seminar taught at multiple universities. Methods: We used a quasi-experimental pre-post nonequivalent comparison group design (n = 176). As part of the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative, research was conducted at three university campuses in California over four academic terms. All campuses used the same curriculum, which incorporates academic readings, group discussions, and skills-based exercises to evaluate the environmental footprint of different foods. The comparison group comprised students taking unrelated one-unit courses at the same universities. A questionnaire was administered at the beginning and end of each term. Results: Students who took the Foodprint seminar significantly improved their reported vegetable intake by 4.7 weekly servings relative to the comparison group. They also reported significantly decreasing intake of ruminant meat and sugar-sweetened beverages. As a result of dietary shifts, Foodprint seminar students were estimated to have significantly decreased their dietary carbon footprint by 14%. Conclusions: A scalable, one-unit Foodprint seminar may simultaneously promote environmental sustainability and human health. Full article