Posts Tagged ‘Food Waste’

Mar14

Readers’ Responses: Curbing Food Waste to Improve Human and Environmental Health

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In our February newsletter, we wrote about the environmental and humanitarian consequences of food waste. Worldwide, 30 to 40 percent of all food produced is either lost or wasted between the stages of production and consumption. We asked readers to send us their ideas on how to curb food waste, and we got many thoughtful and innovative responses.

Many readers responded to our February newsletter about how to reduce food waste. (Photo credit: Zero Waste Europe)

Some of our readers who own or work on farms wrote about their methods of recycling excess organic matter. Jan Steinman of Vancouver, Canada, wrote: “I live on a co-op farm, and nothing is wasted. We have a ‘three bucket’ system in the house. What people don’t want goes in the goat bucket, as appropriate (vegetable trimmings, etc.). If it isn’t suitable for the goats, it goes in the chicken bucket (moldy bread or cheese, cooked grains or legumes, etc.). Finally, if neither humans nor goats nor chickens will eat it, it goes into compost.”

Noting that many readers do not raise their own goats or chickens, Jan added, “If they go to a farmers market, they can surely find someone who will put their ‘waste’ to a higher use.”

For farmers who have more produce than they can sell or eat, organizations are cropping up to help get this food to hungry consumers. Peter Burkard wrote, “Here in Sarasota, Florida we have a food gleaning project run by Transition Sarasota which saves food from the fields that would otherwise go to waste and donates it to the local food bank.”

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Posted by Laura Reynolds in Compost, Conservation, Farmers, Fertilizer, Food, Food Waste, Innovation, Waste

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Feb28

To Combat Scarcity, Increase Water-Use Efficiency in Agriculture

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By Sophie Wenzlau

This blog was originally published as part of an online consultation organized by The Broker  on the role of water in the post-2015 development agenda. Click here to read the original post. 

Photo Credit: World Bank

The South Centre has argued that “as oil conflicts were central to 20th century history, the struggle over freshwater is set to shape a new turning point in the world order.” Water scarcity, which already affects one in three people on earth, is set to increase in magnitude and scope as the global population grows, increasing affluence drives up demand, and the climate changes. According to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), “half the world’s population will be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, including 75 to 250 million people in Africa.” In the Sahel region of Africa, desertification caused by overgrazing, unsustainable farming, and the collection of wood for fuel is already responsible for systemic crop failure, soil erosion, and devastating famine. Failure to act on water scarcity will lead to more of the same.

Though water scarcity will surely play a defining role in the 21st century, the assumption that ‘water wars’ are inevitable is overly deterministic and assumes the worst of people. Historically, the need to manage trans-group or trans-boundary water basins has actually tended to facilitate cooperation between groups with competing interests. In the last fifty years, there have been only 37 incidents of acute conflict over water, while during the same period, approximately 295 international water agreements were negotiated and signed. According to Nidal Salim, director of the Global Institute for Water, Environment, and Health, the potential to peacefully overcome water scarcity does exist; it depends on political will, trust between nations, and real manifestations of cooperation.

To peacefully overcome water scarcity, leaders at all levels must prioritize efforts to cooperatively increase water-use efficiency, reduce water waste, and manage demand.

Increasing efficiency in irrigation—which is responsible for the consumption of 70 percent of the world’s total water withdrawal—would be a sensible place to start. Improved water management in agriculture could increase global water availability, catalyze development, reduce soil erosion, and lead to increased and diversified agricultural yields, augmenting our ability to feed a population projected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

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Posted by Laura Reynolds in Agriculture, Climate Change, Conflict, Development, Erosion, Farmers, Food, Food Security, Food Waste, Policy, Water

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Feb08

Food Waste and Recycling in China: A Growing Trend?

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 By Wanqing Zhou

Note: an earlier version of this article was previously published, in two installments, by Brighter Green.

Waitresses clear tables in Guangzhou, Guangdong province. (Photo credit: China.org.cn)

As household incomes, urban populations, and overall food consumption in China continue to rise, the country faces serious problems of food waste, natural resource scarcity, and overflowing landfills. Currently, over 200 billion Yuan’s (US$32 billion) worth of food is thrown away annually nationwide, even as 128 million Chinese live below the poverty line and often lack sufficient food.

In November 2012, the Rome Film Festival premiered “Back to 1942,” which tells the story of a famine in the central Henan Province during World War II.  The film spurred discussion about the Great Famine, in which 45 million people starved as a consequence of the Great Leap Forward, the country’s modernizing effort back in the late 1950s. Today, the Great Famine still affects the psyche of the average Chinese citizen—higher average incomes have led, in many cases, to overconsumption and waste of food.

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Posted by Laura Reynolds in Conservation, Culture, Diet, Food, Food Waste, Waste

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Oct21

Students Protest New, Healthier School Lunches

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By Carol Dreibelbis

Thanks to the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, schools across the United States are serving healthier school lunches this academic year. School lunches must meet new nutritional guidelines—such as including fruits and vegetables and limiting fats and sodium—for schools to receive extra federal lunch aid. Calories counts are also restricted: high school, middle school, and elementary school lunches must now be no more than 850, 700, and 650 calories, respectively. Although nutrition and health advocates celebrate this change, a recent article in The New York Times indicates that many students feel differently.

Food waste has increased due to healthier school lunches this year (Photo credit: Librado Romero/The New York Times)

Students in districts around the country have responded to the healthier lunches with boycotts and strikes. According to Shawn McNulty, principal at Mukwonago High School in Wisconsin, participation in the school lunch program had fallen 70 percent as a result of student action. “There is a reduction in nacho chips, there is a reduction in garlic bread, but there’s actually an increase in fruits and vegetables,” Mr. McNulty said. “That’s a tough sell for kids, and I would be grumbling, too, if I was 17 years old.” Students are also throwing away more food in New York City and elsewhere.

Food service directors are using a variety of strategies to encourage students to eat fruits and vegetables, including asking teachers to discuss healthy food in class, giving out free samples, and educating students about where their food comes from and how it is produced. But, schools may simply need to wait for students to grow accustomed to new menu options: according to William J. McCarthy, professor of public health and psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, children must be exposed to vegetables 10 to 12 times before they eat them on their own. “If our task is to get young kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, we have to be willing to put up with the waste,” he said.

How would you suggest that we teach kids to eat and value healthy foods? Tell us in the comments below!  

Carol Dreibelbis is a research intern with the Nourishing the Planet project.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Diet, Disease Prevention, Education, Food, Health, Nutrition, Obesity, Policy, School, Youth

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Oct16

21 Awesome Policies Changing the Food System!

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Today we celebrate World Food Day in commemoration of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It is a chance to renew our commitment to sustainable and equitable agriculture as a means of ending world hunger.

Around the world, governments and organizations alike have made huge strides towards achieving the principles on which the FAO was founded. Governments on every continent have taken significant steps to change food systems for the better, making them more sustainable, healthy, and accessible to all. Today, we showcase just 21 of the many recent policies and laws enacted by governments worldwide that are helping to change the food system, promote sustainable agriculture, and eradicate hunger.

1. The Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act was passed in 2010 with a focus on improving the nutrition of children across the United States. Authorizing funding for federal school meal and child nutrition programs, this legislation allows the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make real reforms to school lunch and breakfast programs and promote healthy eating habits among the nation’s youth. Read more about the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act and 15 innovations making school meals healthier and more sustainable on the Nourishing the Planet blog.

2. The Rwanda Agricultural Board (RAB) was founded in 2011 to help improve the provision of services to farmers in the country. It focuses on adapting its policies to local needs, developing sustainable production systems, and providing farmers and consumers with education, techniques, and services to help supply Rwandans with better foods. The RAB has received praise for its efforts from organizations like the Executive Board of the Forum for Agriculture Research in Africa.

3. Beginning in 2008, the Australian government committed $12.8 million for 190 primary schools across Australia to participate in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Hoping to encourage healthy and nutritious eating habits in young Australians, the program works with primary schools to teach students how to grow, harvest, prepare, and share fresh food.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Children, Culture, Diet, disease, Economy, Environment, Farmers, Food, Food safety, Food Security, Food Waste, GMO, Health, Nutrition, Policy, Poverty, Sustainable, Waste, Women, Youth

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Oct02

Tomatoes Bred and Selected in the Industrial Food Production System are Losing their Sweetness

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By Molly Redfield

A recent study published in Science magazine reveals that cosmetic breeding has altered the genetic expression of tomatoes cultivated within the industrial food production system, both decreasing their natural sugar content and making them less tasty.

Cosmetic breeding has altered the genetic expression of tomatoes (Photo Credit: Vegetable Matter)

In industrial agriculture, farmers tend to pick produce before it has the chance to ripen naturally. This ensures that after packaging and transportation food is not rotten when it arrives at its supermarket distributors. For the last 70 years tomato breeders have used uniformly light green tomatoes because farmers can more easily see their lighter color in the trees and, after they are picked, packaged, and transported, these fruits become evenly red on supermarket shelves. Tomatoes that are darker when they aren’t ripe, however, are more difficult for farmers to find. The uniformity of their coloring is also less discernible. For these reasons, breeders avoid selecting darker green tomatoes. In the wild, however, these tomatoes are more prevalent than their lighter green counterparts.

Wild tomatoes that are darker green when unripe have a transcription factor that has been bred out of many cultivated varieties. Transcription factors are important because they are proteins that can turn certain gene sequences on and off. This particular transcription factor, SIGLK2, interacts with the sequence of genes coding for chloroplast production.  Chloroplasts are responsible for photosynthesis, or the process of converting light energy into sugars, and also for the green color in plants. Consequently, when farmers breed for tomatoes that are uniformly light green when unripe, they are inadvertently also choosing tomatoes that will have less natural sugar content and will, ultimately, not taste as sweet.

By inserting SIGLK2 into cultivated varieties, however, scientists found an up to 40 percent increase in both the sugars fructose and glucose. Additionally, lycopene content rose. Lycopene, which is an antioxidant, has numerous health benefits. These health benefits include enhanced bone health and cancer prevention.

In addition, picking fruits from trees before they are ripe decreases the nutrients they would receive as they are ripening. In fact, an estimated 80 percent of the fruit’s sugars are produced in the plants leaves and then later transported to the fruit as it ripens.

Given the findings of this recent study, several questions still remain. What other long-term impacts does industrial agriculture have on the nutritional value and taste of its produce? Furthermore, what alternative types of agricultural practices might lead to more nutritious, better tasting food?

Molly Redfield is an intern with the Nourishing the Planet project. 

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Breeding, Food, Health

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Sep27

Oxfam Action Corps: Growing a Better Food System through Action and Conversation

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By Alyssa Casey

Oxfam Action Corps is a growing group of concerned citizens using local conversation and action to help end global hunger. The Action Corps currently exists in 14 U.S. cities, spreading the mission of Oxfam International. Oxfam International is a confederation of 17 organizations located across North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. As an international relief organization, Oxfam aims to eliminate global injustice by providing immediate aid and improving long-term sustainability. They also distribute a variety of publications including annual reports, books, facts sheets, and the magazine OXFAMExchange.

Oxfam Action Corps volunteers in Indianapolis, IN work to spread the GROW campaign and recruit new Action Corps members. (Photo credit: Indianapolis Oxfam Action Corps)

Oxfam America’s Action Corps aims to enact change by educating people about better living habits, as well as lobbying government on issues such as water conservation, food security, aid reform, and workers’ rights. One of their newest and fastest-spreading campaigns is GROW, a food justice campaign. GROW aims to build a better food system that will adequately feed the world population by promoting a more equitable distribution of resources among the world’s farmers, holding governments and businesses accountable, and helping farmers prepare to cope with climate change and natural disasters.

GROW emphasizes that everyone has a role in the movement towards a healthier, more sustainable food system. With its slogan “feed your family and help 1 billion people feed themselves,” the GROW Method demonstrates that each person can impact the global food system by simply adopting sensible eating habits. The method contains five actions that help eliminate inefficiencies in food habits. Planning meals in advance and incorporating leftovers into recipes helps reduce food waste. Decreasing meat and dairy consumption, and using minimal water and energy while cooking can conserve natural resources. Buying from local farmers markets and eating seasonal foods reduces the amount of energy used in food transportation. On the GROW method’s interactive website, people can learn more about the initiative, browse recipes, and watch videos created by Oxfam to explain how current food systems operate.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Climate Change, Cooperatives, Culture, Development, Diet, Environment, Farmers, Food, Health, Nutrition, Poverty, Sustainable

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Sep18

The Global Food Waste Scandal

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By Carol Dreibelbis

Check out this TED talk on food waste by Tristram Stuart, author of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, founder of Feeding the 5000, and author of Chapter 9 in State of the World 2011, “Post-Harvest Losses: A Neglected Field.” Stuart discusses shocking data on food waste, such as the fact that most European and American countries stock up to two times as much food in stores and restaurants as is nutritionally required to feed their populations; the surplus is either lost as waste or eaten in excess. Stuart explains how reducing food waste could be one of the easiest ways to reduce pressure on the environment.

Click here to watch Stuart’s talk.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Carol Dreibelbis is a research intern with the Nourishing the Planet project.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Food, Waste

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Aug29

Rot Riders Collect Compost on Bikes

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By Eleanor Fausold

In Kirksville, Missouri, a group of college students and volunteers are collecting food scraps and making it easy for area residents to reduce their food waste, nourish their gardens, and even fight climate change. The group, The Rot Riders, travels by bicycle through the neighborhoods of Kirksville, picks up food scraps from residents’ homes, and delivers them to the Truman University Farm, where they are turned into compost and made available for community members to use as natural fertilizer.

The Rot Riders collect compost by bicycle. (Image Credit: Rot Riders)

The founders of The Rot Riders were originally inspired by a Northampton, Massachusetts group called Pedal People, a worker-owned cooperative that delivers farm shares and picks up trash, recycling and compost from people’s homes, all by bicycle. The Rot Riders concept was developed as part of a student-led grassroots environmentalism course at Truman State University, and the group has been making weekly rounds since the spring of 2010.

The group is composed of five core riders and a few volunteers. On Sunday afternoons, the riders gather, split up into pairs, divide the route, and set off on bicycles, trailers in tow, to collect food scraps in Kirksville. The cyclists stop and collect buckets of food waste from the lawns and porches of more than 40 houses and apartments in the Kirksville area, and the number of donors continues to grow.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Climate Change, Compost, Cooperatives, Culture, Environment, Fertilizer, Food, Food Waste, Gardening

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Jun19

People’s Summit: Food Waste and Post Harvest Losses

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By Keshia Pendigrast

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reports that an estimated one-third of all food produced is wasted every year. In the United States alone, retailers and households throw away about 40 percent of all edible food.

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance will co-host a panel on food waste. (Image credit: People's Summit)

In addition, rising global food prices and increasing income inequality are endangering the poor’s ability to feed themselves. But according to Tristram Stuart, a food waste expert and Sophie Prize Winner, salvaging 25 percent of the food waste from the U.S., the U.K., and Europe could rid the world of malnutrition.

In recent years, information on food waste and prevention methods have become more readily available and are beginning to spur responsible consumerism. For example, in the U.K., the Love Food, Hate Waste initiative reaches out to consumers with a user-friendly website with waste-prevention shopping tips, recipes for leftovers, and facts on global food waste.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Food, Food Waste, Waste

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