The Struggle to Reduce Food Waste

"In the United States, the single largest volume of material sent to landfills and incinerators comes from food waste." Why is there so much? It's a multi-layered question, with even more layers when we try and answer it, and the New York Times recently dove in trying to lay out the data and global efforts being taken to reduce our organic trash. The article focuses on how food waste and climate change are 2 sides of the same coin -- 8-10% of yearly greenhouse emissions come from food waste...and the amount that is thrown out could feed approximately 1 billion people.

It's a staggering amount, and for us in the industry our food waste is not only customer based, but also prep and date based. When we're chopping carrots, where do the peels and tops and trim end up? Are we using it for stock, or compost, or is it straight in the bin? Did we over-order, or did needs change? Did something get forgotten or buried in the cooler? The same can be said for home production (I'm sure a good number of us have opened that crisper drawer to find the forgotten veg shoved all the way in the back, now rotten and beyond saving).

A lot needs to change, starting with our habits. Purchasing only what we truly need, not letting things go to waste, and composting the rest. But of course we have to have outside support. What's the cost for composting -- is it available from your town or county, or is it from a private source? What about mishapen or "undesireable" foods? Companies need to worry less about the aesthetic of the produce when it's perfectly good otherwise. And our growing habits can also change due to altered purchasing habits: "31% of food that is grown, shipped or sold is wasted." It's wasted labor, time, and resources all around.

We also are dealing with food safety concerns in our kitchens. We have to follow strict guidelines for expiration and use-by dates, but places like grocery stores will sometimes have to dispose of massive quantities of product. In California, there are new laws in place to attempt to stem this waste by requiring the donation of edible food that would otherwise be disposed of (ex: when its the day of expiration, instead of throwing out pallets of bananas, cartons of milk, and other produce, it can be used to feed the community). In South Korea, you are charged by the amount of organic waste you dispose of via electronic-sensored waste bins, and in Kenya they are working on getting more solar powered refrigerators into communities to help extend the shelf life of TCS food.

It's an incredible article about a complex series of interconnected problems - food safety, personal and professional food habits, cultural habits and norms, and local/state/federal/global laws.

Source: Inside the Global Effort to Keep Perfectly Good Food Out of the Dump, NYT 10/13/22