4 Applying Circular Economy in the Food Systems
The idea of circularity originated in industrial ecology, which aims to reuse or
recycle materials and, in doing so, reduce resource consumption (Jurgilevich et al.
2016). To apply circular economy in food systems, we need certain decisions and
policies at different stages of food systems to prevent food being wasted, while, in
cases where such loss is inevitable, we need policies designed to recover, reuse,
remanufacture, or recycle the food material in question. Shove (2014) notes that, for
such a sustainable evolution, it is essential to change technologies and infrastructures
to maximize the use of regenerative resources like wind and solar energy, instead of
using limited resources like phosphate rocks and land. Additionally, the loss of
resources like nitrogen and phosphorus from food systems should be prevented
using technologies and policies (Van Zanten et al. 2019). Finally these policies
should motivate the actors involved to reuse or recycle resources like human excreta
(Van Zanten et al. 2019). It is not only essential to consider changes in technologies
to move towards a circular direction in food systems, we also need to use different
strategies, including education, to persuade motivate consumers to choose a plantbased diet rather than a meat-based diet (Jurgilevich et al. 2016).
In the following subsections, we discus some of the existing potential policies,
practices, and decisions in relation to circular food systems.
4.1 AgroCycle for a Circular Economy
AgroCycle is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to deliver a sustainable value chain by
using agricultural waste, co-products, and by-products (AWCB) in an efficient
manner. The AgroCycle project includes 25 partners from the EU, Hong Kong,
and China who conduct research in different scientific areas: fruit, animal and dairy
science, horticulture, recycling, sustainable economy, and dairy (AgroCycle 2017).
This project is based on an integral analysis of the entire agri-food value chain by
looking at livestock and crop production, food processing, and the retail sector (see
Fig. 4.2). In fact, the project’s main goal is to use mechanisms to valorize agricultural
waste for other uses (AgroCycle 2017).
Using and extracting animal manures and food waste from agriculture are not
something new. Some of the practices, like composting and anaerobic digestion,
have already been used for many years in traditional valorization technologies. In
addition, there are many traditional and innovative valorization pathways to exploit
the AWCB being produced each year by agriculture, food processing, and domestic
waste generation. However, increasing the value of agri-food chain requires a
holistic approach and framework. To reach that goal, we need to examine the
importance of using AWCB in agricultural systems and the AWCB affect the
environment. More importantly, it is essential to conduct analyses and studies to
determine where it is possible to remove AWCB from the chain without having any
4 Circular Economy in Agri-food Systems
63
The idea of circularity originated in industrial ecology, which aims to reuse or
recycle materials and, in doing so, reduce resource consumption (Jurgilevich et al.
2016). To apply circular economy in food systems, we need certain decisions and
policies at different stages of food systems to prevent food being wasted, while, in
cases where such loss is inevitable, we need policies designed to recover, reuse,
remanufacture, or recycle the food material in question. Shove (2014) notes that, for
such a sustainable evolution, it is essential to change technologies and infrastructures
to maximize the use of regenerative resources like wind and solar energy, instead of
using limited resources like phosphate rocks and land. Additionally, the loss of
resources like nitrogen and phosphorus from food systems should be prevented
using technologies and policies (Van Zanten et al. 2019). Finally these policies
should motivate the actors involved to reuse or recycle resources like human excreta
(Van Zanten et al. 2019). It is not only essential to consider changes in technologies
to move towards a circular direction in food systems, we also need to use different
strategies, including education, to persuade motivate consumers to choose a plantbased diet rather than a meat-based diet (Jurgilevich et al. 2016).
In the following subsections, we discus some of the existing potential policies,
practices, and decisions in relation to circular food systems.
4.1 AgroCycle for a Circular Economy
AgroCycle is a Horizon 2020 project that aims to deliver a sustainable value chain by
using agricultural waste, co-products, and by-products (AWCB) in an efficient
manner. The AgroCycle project includes 25 partners from the EU, Hong Kong,
and China who conduct research in different scientific areas: fruit, animal and dairy
science, horticulture, recycling, sustainable economy, and dairy (AgroCycle 2017).
This project is based on an integral analysis of the entire agri-food value chain by
looking at livestock and crop production, food processing, and the retail sector (see
Fig. 4.2). In fact, the project’s main goal is to use mechanisms to valorize agricultural
waste for other uses (AgroCycle 2017).
Using and extracting animal manures and food waste from agriculture are not
something new. Some of the practices, like composting and anaerobic digestion,
have already been used for many years in traditional valorization technologies. In
addition, there are many traditional and innovative valorization pathways to exploit
the AWCB being produced each year by agriculture, food processing, and domestic
waste generation. However, increasing the value of agri-food chain requires a
holistic approach and framework. To reach that goal, we need to examine the
importance of using AWCB in agricultural systems and the AWCB affect the
environment. More importantly, it is essential to conduct analyses and studies to
determine where it is possible to remove AWCB from the chain without having any
4 Circular Economy in Agri-food Systems
63