Food waste is a global problem with serious environmental, social and economic consequences. Over the past year, I have participated in the INFEWS-ER Graduate Food Waste Cohort Program, where I have had the privilege to work with passionate and talented graduate students across the country on the “wicked” problem of food waste. Throughout the year, we have learned from experts in the field of food loss and waste. Knowing that households account for 24% of total food waste in the U.S. (and 39.5% when excluding industrial sources) [1], we decided to launch a 7-day social media campaign centered on raising awareness around food waste prevention and reduction.
It is estimated that between 30-40% of food in the household is wasted [2]. This is a huge amount—imagine buying 3 bags of groceries and just throwing one in the garbage when you get home. This is essentially what we as consumers do every year, costing us somewhere between $1,300 - $1,800 per year [2,3]! Not only does food waste represent lost money, but also the resources that went into it, such as land, water, fuel/transportation and labor. Therefore, the mission of the 7 Day Food Waste Reduction Challenge is to increase awareness of consumer food waste nationally and collectively challenge each other to save money, save resources and save the planet!
In this article, I am going to share: why food waste is considered a “wicked” problem, and why you should join our campaign to reduce your foodprint.
Summary of Wasted Food Generation and Management Flows Including Industrial Sector (EPA 2018) [1]
So what exactly is a wicked problem?
A wicked problem is defined as a challenge that is complex, requires multiple solutions, and has several interdependencies with other issues [4]. For example, food production impacts environmental sustainability, and food waste accounts for 4% of GHG emissions, 14% of all freshwater usage, 18% of all croplands use and 24% of landfill inputs (making it the largest single landfill material) [5]. At the same time, 1 in 6 Americans are food insecure, and recovery of less than one-third of the food we throw out could be enough to feed everyone completely [5,6]. This problem is not unique to the U.S.—it is a global challenge, and the U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 12 calls for reducing global food waste and loss by half by 2030.
But the solutions are not straightforward. Food is lost at every step of the food manufacturing and distribution process. Some edible food never makes it off the farm, potentially due to cosmetic or logistical issues. For example, the pandemic caused many restaurants and school lunchrooms to close, and this unexpected drop in demand led to edible food at the farms to be just thrown away [7]. At the manufacturing level, food byproducts are the main source of waste—the ends of pretzels, potato peels from a french fry plant, etc. [5]. Food waste also occurs in grocery stores, often due to the need to overstock to give the appearance of having plenty (if you walked into grocery stores and their produce aisle looked empty—would you shop there?), produce cosmetic issues and date label concerns [5]. Restaurants are also a source of food waste, most of which is due to large portion sizes [5]. In the home, food is thrown away due to confusion over date labels, food spoilage, over-preparing, over-buying and poor planning [7].
Because there are numerous reasons why food is thrown away, there is no one solution to food waste prevention. Instead, addressing this problem requires action at every level, from the farm to our dinner table.
So what can we as individuals do to limit our food waste? Well, the 7 Day Food Waste Reduction Challenge is an excellent place to start.
We have organized our daily challenges to follow the EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy. The first challenge is a food waste audit, where we examine our plate waste over the course of a week to understand how much and what type of food we throw out. Days 2 through 4 focus on focus on food waste prevention and source reduction. On the second day, we learn more about expiration dates—what different food date labels actually mean and what can safely be eaten after the date on the label! On the third day, we share resources on best ways to prepare for a grocery trip, focusing on buying only what we need (and saving money!). On Day 4, we discover the best ways to prepare and store our food, so that it can have a long enough shelf life that we are able to use it. Next, Days 5 through 7 focus on ways we can reuse or recycle our food waste and scraps. On Day 5, we share some of our favorite zero waste recipes, which utilize parts of fruits or vegetables may otherwise throw away! Day 6 follows this theme by teaching us ways to make new meals out of leftovers. Finally, we end with some DIY cleaning and skincare product made from food scraps.
EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy [1]
Our challenges just a start for reducing your food waste, so follow us on social media and start learning how you can help #cancelfoodwaste!
References
1. “2018 Wasted Food Report: Estimates of generation and management of wasted food in the United States in 2018”. (2018). US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-11/documents/2018_wasted_food_report.pdf
2. Bandoim, L. “The Shocking Amount Of Food U.S. Households Waste Every Year”. (2020). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2020/01/26/the-shocking-amount-of-food-us-households-waste-every-year/?sh=2bb223dc7dc8
3. Berard, A. “Study calculates true cost of food waste in America”. (2020). College of William & Mary. https://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2020/study-calculates-true-cost-of-food-waste-in-america.php
4. “Wicked Problem”. (n.d.) Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_problem
5. ReFED. (n.d.) https://refed.com/
6. “WASTED: HOW AMERICA IS LOSING UP TO 40 PERCENT OF ITS FOOD FROM FARM TO FORK TO LANDFILL”.(2017). Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-2017-report.pdf