Social responsibility in reducing food losses and waste in the Slovak Republic: the role of policies – the responsibility of all

Abstract

The study aimed to point out the calls of the European Commission to the social responsibility of the solution of food losses and waste, to evaluate the current state of the researched issues in the Slovak Republic, to point out the trends, and propose measures to improve the situation of the food losses and waste on the poultry meat market in the Slovak Republic. The scientific hypotheses were established. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain primary data. The research object was households and agricultural enterprises of broiler chicken farming (poultry farms) in the Slovak Republic. Data from questionnaires completed by households and poultry farms were examined and processed by the sorting method. Cumulative totals, intervals, and percentage ranges were calculated in each response class. The obtained data for individual objects of research were processed by sorting using Microsoft Word tables – Excel, Office 2016. The chi-square test (χ2 test) with a contingency table according to the procedure of Social Science Statistics was chosen for hypothesis testing. The SAS program was used for statistical evaluation of the results and answers of the respondents from the questionnaires.  The research shows that food losses in Slovak households were up to 40% and on poultry farms at 6.8%. Mould and rot were the most common causes of food degradation.  Mortality during breed has been recorded as a cause of food waste in poultry farms. A statistically significant difference (p ≤0.001) was found in the quantity of food losses between gross household income per family member and month. Statistically, no significant difference (p ˃0.05) was found between the numbers of family members. The proposals were recommended to improve the solution of reducing food losses and food waste in households and poultry farms. Based on the application of a practical approach of households and poultry farms to reduce food losses and support innovative solutions, it is possible to achieve gentle practices in ensuring the security of nutrition, food production, social and economic sustainability as well as environmental protection in the Slovak Republic.