Resource type:
Reports and discussion papers
In this article, the USDA ERS explores the reasons behind unharvested food:
- Price volatility
- Labour cost and availability
- Cold chain infrastructure
- Aesthetic standards and customer preferences
- Quality based contracts
- Policy constraints
- Challenges to estimating food loss on the farm and in pre-retail stages
The article cites evidence from a peer review report, Economic Drivers of Food loss at the Farm and Pre-retail Sectors: A Look at the Produce Supply Chain in the United States. These results have important implications for public private engagements – collaboration across the value chain can alleviate some of the root causes for unharvested crops.
This resource presents evidence or data but has not been peer reviewed