The World's Third Biggest Greenhouse Gas Villain - It's Your Kitchen

Editor’s Note: According to Agritecture’s Systems Engineer, Alberto López, given that 35% of household food waste is avoidable, a considerable contribution to food waste minimization can be from consumers themselves. While we should hold producers responsible, it is also in the hands of consumers where food waste can be minimized. Learn more about where and how you can improve energy consumption and wastage in the food supply chain.

CONTENT SOURCED FROM THE FINANCIAL TIMES

Written By Pamela Heaven

One-third of all food produced in the world each year does not get consumed.

We waste a lot of food — a lot.

In fact, one-third of all food produced in the world each year does not get consumed, according to the UN. Research has shown that high-income countries alone waste as much food as sub-Saharan Africa produces.

But throwing away that much food as many in the world go hungry is not the only problem, University of Bradford professors Kamran Mahroof and Sankar Sivarajah point out in a recent piece for the World Economic Forum. 

When that discarded food ends up in landfill sites it rots and produces greenhouse gases. That combined with the energy it takes to produce, manufacture, transport and store the food contributes 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the environment.

“To put that in context, if food waste was a country, it would be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, after the U.S. and China,” said the authors.

It takes a lot of energy to produce food, so when we waste food, we waste that energy too. For example, getting food on the table uses 10% of the U.S.’s total energy budget, 50% of its land and 80% of the fresh water consumed in the country.

Food production and disposal accounts for 14% of America’s greenhouse gas emissions and uneaten food in its landfill sites accounts for almost 25% of its methane emissions, which are much more harmful than CO2.

So how does such a shocking amount of food get wasted?

In high-income countries like Canada where consumers are picky about how food looks, produce that is too ripe, the wrong size or shape gets tossed. Arbitrary sell-by dates also lead to perfectly good food going to waste, said the authors.

Meanwhile, world food production is being stretched by growing population. It is estimated that the global food industry will need to grow by at least two-thirds by 2050 to ensure adequate nutrition for everyone on the planet.

“Yet, despite the dire need to become more resourceful, food waste and loss is at an all-time high. Making it clear that unless prompt action is taken, food shortages will soon become a long-term reality,” they said.

So what can we do about it?

Mahroof and Sivarajah say a big part of the problem is how we shop and view food and what constitutes waste.

A study in London, Ontario, found that the best way to get consumers to reduce waste is not by stressing abstract benefits, but by appealing to their wallets.

“Survey respondents overwhelmingly selected ‘reduce amount of money wasted’ over reducing environmental and social impacts as the key motivator to reducing food waste,” said a report on the study. 

Thus the two-week “intervention” called “reduce food waste, save money” gave participants information on the costs of wasting food, along with tips on efficient food planning, storage and preparation, such as how to use leftovers to create new meals.  At the same time researchers measured how much tossed food was going to the curb.

By the end of the intervention, participants were throwing away 30% less food.

Mahroof and Sivarajah says the same incentive, basically self interest, is working for business too. New technology is helping commercial kitchens reduce food waste by connecting changes to increased profits. IKEA used this AI-powered system to cut food waste by 50% in 2020, saving 1.2 million meals.

Here are few other tidbits for you to chew on:

• About two thirds of household waste is due to spoilage from food not being used in time; about one third is from people cooking too much

• 24% to 35% of school lunches are thrown away

• Between 20% and 40% of UK fruit and vegetables are rejected before they even hit the shops, mostly because of cosmetic standards

• It takes more than 12,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef and 33% of meat products in the U.S. end up in a landfill

• It takes 45 gallons of water to make one glass of orange juice and in the U.S. 15% of wasted food is fruit

Read the full article

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