Day 22

Humans are great at consuming food… however, we’re even better at wasting it. Globally, we throw away 1.4 billion tons of food every year. Meanwhile, 924 million people around the world experience hunger. Food intersects with environmental issues and social injustices, and hunger transcends borders, backgrounds and identities. 

Food waste has massive environmental consequences. In the United States alone, 40% of food goes to waste. So, how can we shift our culture to prioritize waste reduction without sacrificing our love of food? Who better to ask than our food providers and innovators: our local chefs and organic farmers? 

Dan Barber, award-winning New York chef, author, and changemaker with food as his tool, has some suggestions. “The first step to shifting food culture is to get people cooking more. When you’re the one at the stove, you understand what you’re eating.” Every ingredient on a plate must have a purpose and meaning. And all of it loops back to farmers, lands, and whole ecosystems. Jereth Mills, a Londonhead chef, says, “Stop peeling your veggies!” Mills reduces waste by using vegetable peels for innovative dishes like soups made from otherwise discarded leek and potato peels. Check out these ideas and recipes from the BBC Good Food team to use your food scraps instead of creating more waste.

Farmers also have fantastic advice for shifting food culture. Bev Flatt of the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action says that while, “most retailers, restaurants and consumers prefer foods that are completely unblemished,” Flatt encourages grocery stores to sell produce that may have been bruised, sliced or slightly damaged during handling, since these “ugly” fruits and vegetables are just as safe and nutritious as all others.

Over one-third of all food worldwide goes to waste. Food waste occurs at each step of the supply chain. Inefficient production practices, poor systems for storing and transporting food, mismanaged packaging facilities, cumbersome retail standards, and wasteful household habits all contribute. This occurs while millions of people are faced with hunger and food insecurity, on the rise in 2022, as food retailers in many countries face shortages of common food supplies as a result of the war in Ukraine, drought, flooding, and post-pandemic upheaval. 

It’s not just people who lose when food is wasted. Food waste also has a negative environmental impact, as it ends up in landfills, where it emits large amounts of methane gas as it breaks down. Methane has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over twenty years. Organic food waste in landfills does nothing but release methane, while organic food waste that’s composted can turn into the healthy soil we need to feed the global population and next generations! Wasting food wastes everything that went into making it, from the hours of labor to the raw materials to production resources and on and on.

There is good news in the movement to combat food waste! In addition to policy working to close the gap between food waste and food access, companies are fighting food waste by “upcycling” food that would normally be wasted. Companies like Misfits Market and Imperfect Foods sell blemished foods at a lower price to redirect and reduce what ends up in landfills. In the United States, over 6 billion pounds of produce is thrown out each year because it fails to fit the size, color, or shape that is viewed as ‘acceptable’ for sale. Many college campuses host chapters of the Food Recovery Network, a nonprofit focused on putting wasted food into the hands of those who need it, particularly food insecure students. 

At Turning Green, we are proud to partner with organizations and companies leading the charge to reduce food waste. Klean Kanteen offers solutions to properly store food, as to avoid food waste in your day-to-day life, as well as many tips on sustainable living.  FoodPrint is a nonprofit partner that educates about the benefits of sustainable food production, and helps us opt for food choices that do less harm to the environment, animals and people. Food Tank is another partner that raises consumer and institutional awareness to inform and propose actionable steps to reduce food waste and heal our broken food system.

A good place to start reducing food waste is through your own diet and purchasing habits. How often do you throw away food that you don’t finish? What goes bad in your fridge before you eat it? Check out these resources from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on how you can reduce food waste. Buy what you need. Save leftovers. When you do have excess or spoiled food, try composting instead of sending organic material to landfills. Studies show that composting directly leads to carbon sequestration in the soil, which helps combat the effects of climate change. Check out this resource to start composting at home. Together, we can challenge injustices in our food system and work for larger, lasting systemic change.

• $50 gift card code to our partner, Klean Kanteen, to shop at their online store. Klean Kanteen is a B Corp committed to sustainability and to making high-quality, durable, reusable stainless steel insulated water bottles, mugs, cups, tumblers, food containers and steel straws.
• A food or food waste related book from our Turning Green Book Collection. Each winner will receive a different (surprise!) book!

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