Every year, about a third of all food produced in the world —about 1.3 billion tonnes— is wasted in consumers' homes and retail businesses, according to the United Nations (UN). The food sector also accounts for around 30% of the world's total energy consumption and 22% of greenhouse gas emissions. The most serious environmental impacts occur during the food production phase —i.e. agriculture and processing— but households also have an influence through dietary habits and choices, which affect the environment through food-related energy consumption and waste generation.

The aim of a study that has just been published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition was to find out what the UB community's perception of food sustainability is and what knowledge they have about it. It has been developed by a multidisciplinary team led by the researchers M. Carmen Vidal-Carou, professor of Nutrition and Bromatology at the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences and director of the Torribera Campus, and Montserrat Puig-Llobet, professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and vice-rector for Equal Opportunities and Gender at the University of Barcelona. The study was also carried out by Mari Aguilera Ruiz, from the Faculty of Psychology.