Reduced Food Waste
Roughly one-third of the world’s food is never eaten. By reducing loss and waste, we can reduce the need for land and resources used to produce food as well as the greenhouse gases released in the process.
Introduction
Roughly one-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted. Where income is low, waste is generally unintentional and occurs on farms or during storage or distribution. In regions of higher income, food waste dominates further along the supply chain. Retailers and consumers reject food based on bumps, bruises, and coloring, or simply order, buy, and serve too much.
When food is wasted, all the energy, resources, and money that went into producing, processing, packaging, and transporting it are wasted, too. Producing uneaten food squanders a whole host of resources—seeds, water, energy, land, fertilizer, hours of labor, financial capital—and generates greenhouse gases at every stage. The food we waste is responsible for roughly 8 percent of global emissions.
Project Drawdown’s Reduced Food Waste solution involves minimizing food loss and wastage from all stages of production, distribution, retail, and consumption. It replaces current reported trends in food waste by region.
We can reduce waste in many ways. In lower-income countries, improving infrastructure for storage, processing, and transportation is essential. In higher-income regions, major interventions are needed at the retail and consumer levels. National food-waste targets and policies can encourage widespread change. Beyond addressing emissions, these efforts can also help to meet future food demand.
If measures are taken to reduce food waste by improving storage and transport systems, generating public awareness, and changing consumer behavior, this solution could lead to substantial reductions in waste and carbon emissions.
Project ideas to get started
An awareness campaign that promotes a city's food waste initiative
Brand a company that uses food waste in their product
Brand a restaurant that uses (safe to eat) food waste for it's ingredients
Food rescue app where businesses can sell or donate excess food
Create a VR experience that walks people through our current food production system
Infographic showing how far food has traveled
Infographic on current food supply chains along with betters alternatives
Visualization showing the amount of resources dedicated to wasted food
