Invisible “Upstream” Food Waste
We tend to focus on the food waste we can see in our operations. It’s dramatic, and often deeply disappointing. What we can’t see as clearly is the food wasted before it ever reaches us: at the farm, during processing, during transit.
We only get to see the food which survives the supply chain. Whenever we or our guest throws something away there may have been 1-10X+ the weight of that item in “invisible” waste upstream from your operation.
To help understand the amount of upstream climate impact embedded in every food item, Sweden is now experimenting with climate labeling. They are printing climate impact information on lables - just like nutrition content. The data is based on lifecycle analysis so it addresses systemic issues including production inputs, transportation, and upstream waste.
The NY Times reports that using climate change data to to adjust diets and menus would make a significant difference on greenhouse gas emissions:
Yet if the new food guidelines were religiously heeded, some experts say, Sweden could cut its emissions from food production by 20 to 50 percent. An estimated 25 percent of the emissions produced by people in industrialized nations can be traced to the food they eat, according to recent research here. And foods vary enormously in the emissions released in their production.
Read the full NY Times Article: To Cut Global Warming, Swedes Study Their Plates
