Paradigm Shift in the Legal Regulation of Food Waste from a Distributed Governance Perspective

The problem of food waste constitutes a multifaceted systemic challenge, fundamentally stemming from the cumulative effects of uneven distribution of regulatory authority, disproportionate allocation of risks along the supply chain, and neglect of critical factors such as food security. These factors collectively give rise to complex governance dilemma, including the diversity of governance actors, competitive yet cooperative dynamics among subsystems, and iterative convergence challenges within governance processes. Distributed governance, as an innovative model, leverages its parallelism, scalability, and fault tolerance mechanisms to address these issues by reshaping the traditional funnel-shaped organizational structure reliant on hierarchical administrative commands. Through the construction of parallel systems of responsibilities and rights, along with scalable governance tools, distributed governance enables a transformative shift in the legal regulation of food waste, moving from interactional imbalances to structural realignment. This model ultimately fosters a dynamic regulatory paradigm that facilitates collaboration among all stakeholders involved in the food chain, encompassing producers, consumers, and regulators.