Innovative Ways To Tackle The Food Waste Problem

Food wastage is not simply an ethical issue, but an economic and environmental problem. Globally, 1.3 billion tons of food every year goes to waste. At the same time, 1 in 11 people in the world do not have enough food to live. Economically, the supply chain needs to be improved as many foods go bad for various reasons before reaching the end consumer. Consequently, not only do these foods fail to accomplish their purpose of feeding humankind, the resources and expenses used to produce them, such as labor, natural resources and fertilizers, all go to waste. In 2019 alone, the total monetary value of wasted food came close to US$47 billion.

Many innovative companies have taken on the di­fficult task of turning this problem into business opportunities. These range from developing new technologies to extend the shelf-life of food, and upcycling leftovers and turning them into fashion items, thereby reducing the amount of food sent to landfills. In this issue, we share with readers how various entrepreneurs and non-profit organizations have used cutting-edge methods to extend the utility of food.

• One-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to about 3 billion tonnes per year.
• There are 7 billion people on the planet, of which 925 million are experiencing hunger. Yet annually 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted, that is enough to feed 3 billion people.
• Food waste alone causes 10% of greenhouse gases.