This is Food Waste Action Week and the federal minister of Agriculture says over half of Canada’s food supply is wasted.

Marie-Claude Bibeau says the wastage happens at every stage of the food supply chain, harvesting, storage, processing, transport, distribution, retail and at home.

She says if food waste were a country, it would have the third largest carbon footprint after the U.S. and China.

The theme this week is Food waste feeds climate change, and is a reminder that food waste contributes an estimated eight percent of all greenhouse gases worldwide.

Bibeau has launched a food waste reduction challenge, calling it a pillar for food policy in Canada.

She says taking action on food waste saves money, protects the environment and creates new business opportunities for agri-food enterpreneurs.

Some suggestions to reduce food waste include improving inventory management, and exploring new uses for food waste like animal feed, biofuels and new products.

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