Food Waste Intelligence

In order to meet the UN goal of reducing food waste by 50% by 2030 we need to accelerate adoption of food waste measurement and behavior change around the world. That means understanding the fears and concerns of companies that have the largest potential impact and responding to them with expertise. The Food Loss & Waste Protocol released a conversational whitepaper identifying top objections to measuring food waste with recommendations on how to move the conversation forward. Here is a summary of the top objections to measuring food ...

The holidays can be tough on the planet. Road trips and flights to visit family. Christmas gifts shrouded in plastic. A lot of consumption and waste. As culinary professionals our focus this time of year is on guests and food. We are in the unique position on the front line to make the changes to combat the global food waste problem and be part of the solution. A lot of food gets wasted this time of year, so what can you do about it?

When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions, all food waste is not equal. Based on its GHG footprint, meat waste contributes the largest amount of emissions by weight. Waste a little bit of beef, contribute a lot of GHGs. But as a recent World Resources Institute report shows, vegetables are actually the biggest contributor to emissions behind beef and seafood, simply because of the sheer volume of vegetables wasted.

Chef Ann Cooper, Director of Nutrition Services for Boulder Valley School District, in Colorado, USA, and founder of the Chef Ann Foundation has worked with Leanpath to reduce food waste across the district. We also recently collaborated on a new curriculum teaching the importance of food waste prevention to elementary school students.

Staff engagement in food waste prevention pays big dividends. When staff are engaged in tracking food waste, a kitchen gets more complete data, which provides greater insight into what a kitchen is wasting and why. But staff engagement in a mission-driven effort like food waste prevention also leads to better retention and job satisfaction.