Food Waste Valorisation: Food, Feed, Fertiliser, Fuel And Value-added Products (Hardcover)

Food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition affect all counties worldwide; one in nine people suffers from starvation and malnourishment. At the same time, one billion tonnes of food (17%) is wasted yearly, and associated environmental problems have become emerging global issues. There is an urgency to treat food waste as a resource. This timely volume comprises eighteen chapters dealing with different aspects of food waste treatment and management in different parts of the world (1). Food waste should be used for urban agriculture and landscaping (2). It is feasible to employ biochemical and thermochemical processes in treating and recovering food waste (3). A case study demonstrated such feasibility in Shenzhen, China's most developed city (4). The fundamentals, trends, and future opportunities for food waste composting and anaerobic digestion are explored (5, 6, 7). Food waste can be converted to single-cell protein (8), animal feeds (9), and fertilizer (via vermicomposting and anaerobic digestion) (10, 11). Various value-added products can be generated: chemicals, synthetic alternatives, nanocellulose, construction materials, and biodegradable fibres (12-16). Chinese herbal residues and brewery waste are examples of very specific wastes that could be valorised into value-added products (17, 18). Fundamental and wide-ranging attention is required towards sustainable food production and consumption through the entire global food supply chain. In the best-case scenario for changed management and behaviours, substantial amounts of surplus food and food waste will remain inevitable. This provides ample justification for this book on food valorisation through conversion to various value-added products. Contributions from a wide range of international experts draw attention to valuable, realistic, and exciting opportunities for science, business, and society that will also provide essential and substantial environmental benefits.