Presented by ReFED, the Food Waste Solutions Summit is the premier food waste event of the year, bringing together food businesses, funders, solution providers, innovators, policymakers, nonprofits, and more to drive the adoption of solutions to reach our collective goal of a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.
Food waste is a problem that can be solved, and that’s what the Food Waste Solutions Summit is all about. Featuring panels, working sessions, field trips, networking events, innovator demos, and more, this is our chance to align efforts and get motivated for the work ahead!
A doctoral project by Swedish researcher Pedro Brancoli found that the global food system is a major driver of myriad environmental impacts, particularly those related to climate change, biodiversity loss, and depletion of freshwater resources, all of which are aggravated by the considerable amount of food wasted throughout the supply chain.
The efficient use of biowaste to decrease environmental pollution is vital for the long-term sustainability of the planet. A study published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering used waste grapefruit peels to synthesize multipurpose nickel nanoparticles ingrained in nitrogen graphene-like carbon nanomaterials (Nix @ NGC) with excellent electromagnetic characteristics.
Between 73 and 152 million metric tons of food gets wasted each year in the U.S., or over over a third of the country’s food supply, according to a new report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The most commonly wasted foods are fruits and vegetables, followed by dairy and eggs. Over half of all waste occurs at households and restaurants. The food processing sector generates 34 million metric tons of waste per year, the agency said.
EPA said that halving food waste in the U.S. — a goal set by policymakers — would save 3.2 trillion gallons of blue water, 640 million pounds of fertilizer, 262 billion kilowatt hours of energy and 92 million metric ton equivalents of carbon dioxide over 75 million acres of agricultural land. Reducing waste of meats, cereals and fresh fruits and vegetables would have the biggest environmental impact, according to the agency.
Over the past decade, total U.S. food loss and waste has increased by 12% to 14%, according to EPA. Based on these findings, in order for the U.S. to reach its goal of halving food waste by 2030, it will require greater effort from consumers, businesses and legislators.
This fall, the Illinois Farm to Food Bank program wrapped up its pilot project with Rendleman and Flamm Orchards in Union County. Nearly 375,000 pounds of peaches and nectarines were distributed to food banks throughout Illinois.
Michelle Sirles of Rendleman Orchards said, “The Farmer to Food Bank Pilot was a HUGE Success. Every single person we worked with went above and beyond to make this a successful pilot year. It could not have come at a better time with the over abundance of peaches nationwide. It prevents a lot of peach dumping. It recouped farmers costs while providing fresh and healthy food for those in need. As a farmer we felt completely supported by Illinois Farm Bureau, our politicians, our state university, and our food bank partners. I truly feel this could be a shining star program for our state.”
The program also connected Roth Countryside Produce, located in Tazewell County, with a Peoria Area Food Bank agency to purchase $1750 worth of sweet corn, green cabbage, red cabbage, green beans, cantaloupe, bell peppers, green zucchini, golden zucchini, and seedless cucumbers.
Fish farming by-products have the potential to increase the sustainability of aquaculture, and contribute to sectors such as food ingredients, diet supplements, animal feed and food packaging, according to a new study.
Brewers’ spent grain may offer a novel source of prebiotics, according to a new study from Anheuser-Busch InBev that found arabinoxylan from the waste may boost bifidobacterial levels in the human gut.
As grocery chains step up their sustainability efforts, Do Good Foods is providing a solution for supermarkets to offload some of their food surplus by taking perishable foods headed to landfill (vegetables, fruit, meat, bakery items) and upcycling the food items into an animal feed ingredient for chickens, which will then go on to become the company’s first retail product: Do Good Chicken.