Total Cost of Food Waste in Canada |
Introduction
Food waste is a key factor affecting productivity along the supply chain. Reducing food and associated wastes (e.g., energy, labour, transport, etc.) leads to increased productivity. As evidenced by Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) ongoing analysis and work with the Canadian agri-food industry, innovations that lead to increased productivity benefits industry, consumers, and the environment alike.
As part of its efforts to help the Canadian agri-food industry increase productivity, FCC has engaged VCMI to determine a business case to reduce food and associated wastes, by estimating the total cost of food waste in Canada. To date, the primary focus of business-centric food waste efforts has been its measurement and reporting. Little effort has been made to determine the total cost of food waste.
The purpose of this confidential survey is to capture data pertaining to the cost of producing, grading, processing, packing, and distributing eight distinct food products purchased by consumers in retail stores and foodservice operations. Four of the foods are processed. Four of the foods are fresh.
As part of its efforts to help the Canadian agri-food industry increase productivity, FCC has engaged VCMI to determine a business case to reduce food and associated wastes, by estimating the total cost of food waste in Canada. To date, the primary focus of business-centric food waste efforts has been its measurement and reporting. Little effort has been made to determine the total cost of food waste.
The purpose of this confidential survey is to capture data pertaining to the cost of producing, grading, processing, packing, and distributing eight distinct food products purchased by consumers in retail stores and foodservice operations. Four of the foods are processed. Four of the foods are fresh.
| Commodities and Associated Consumer Foods Being Researched | |||
| Processed Foods | Fresh Foods | ||
| Commodity | Consumer Product | Commodity | Consumer Product |
| Potatoes | French fries | Milk (cow) | Liquid milk |
| Wheat | Bread | Chicken | Breast meat |
| Cultivated blueberries | Frozen blueberries | Cultivated blueberries | Fresh blueberries |
| Beef | Beef burgers | English cucumbers | Cucumbers |
We would greatly appreciate your participation in this study by completing this short survey. This will help ensure that the conclusions reached are accurate and have been validated in the context of the Canadian food industry. All of the information that you provide will be treated with the strictest confidentiality. We are not seeking the names or location of people, businesses or organizations. Only the VCMI team will see individual responses and granular research data, both of which will be destroyed at the project’s conclusion.
The survey will take approximately 4 to 5 minutes to complete and will close on Friday, January 30, 2026.
If you have questions about the study, please contact Martin Gooch at VCMI (416-997-7779; martin@vcm-international.com).
We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Regards,
Martin Gooch, PhD
CEO
CEO
Value Chain Management International