Collection

Reduced Food Waste

Maren Schermer

Educator (NOT Journalism School)

Approximately one-third of all food produced globally goes to waste.  For many people, reducing food waste might simply mean better shopping and meal planning. But since food waste also occurs from farm to fork, that means there are also systemic opportunities for improvement. According to a study by the Center for Behavior and the Environment, composting and reducing food waste are among the seven most impactful actions that individuals and households in the United States can take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.  Project Drawdown attributes 8 percent of total global emissions to just the food we waste.

The stories in this collection (see below) highlight the new technologies appearing alongside a cultural shift to decrease food waste. In Britain, top chefs have started a movement to cook with "expired" foods. Lawmakers in France and South Korea have passed legislation to fight food waste. New technology has made it possible to track fruits ripening, and then to convert food waste into electricity. Food waste is one of the Drawdown Ecochallenge actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and is featured in the Campus Ecochallenge.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL THE SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM STORY COLLECTIONS RELATED TO PROJECT DRAWDOWN. 

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