lowering food waste benefits the environment and business
Chicago During a panel discussion at IFT FIRST, held July 16–19, a group of specialists on food waste and upcycling revealed some startling statistics, such as the fact that up to 25% of produce grown on farms worldwide is wasted.
“The majority of the food waste issue is caused by on-farm food loss,” stated Christine Moseley, founder and CEO of Full Harvest, a business that aims to automate the produce food sector and lessen this loss. “Food waste, more so than cars and cows, is the primary contributor to climate change.”
Panelists from businesses committed to reversing food waste and upcycling ingredients participated in the session, “Reimagining Food Waste to Put the P in Profit and Loss.”
The produce industry is currently over 90% offline, which makes it extremely inefficient and has prevented businesses and farms from accessing the data and transparency they need to save time and money, according to Ms. Moseley. In order to encourage growers to sell more and, in essence, provide them with an additional source of income, we are digitizing it through the marketplace. This will allow them to access the up to 25% of perfectly edible food that is unsold worldwide.
According to Dan Kurzrock, CEO of Upcycled Foods Inc., the market need to be based on ensuring that every meal produced is consumed.
“As it stands now, food businesses are choosing the easiest route rather than the one with the most potential for their waste,” he stated.
Selecting the appropriate uses for each item is essential to making the most of them.
According to MGM Marketing Inc.’s procurement specialist Kyle Parker, “many of these applications already exist.” “The issue is that we’re choosing the easy route and disposing of them instead of connecting with them,” In reality, not all of these materials are valued by us.
Speaking from a report, Mr. Kurzrock mentioned that while many organizations are dedicated to achieving the UN’s sustainable goals related to decreasing food waste and hunger, very few believe they are on pace to do so.
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“Both the tools and the desire are present,” he remarked. To genuinely achieve the result that we are all hoping for, we just need to combine them. Although it’s not always simple, there are ways to do it thatdoes not also have to exist in a silo.
The panelists talked on developing effective messaging to educate customers and businesses about the importance of upcycling for the environment and the worth of these wasted ingredients.
“How do we determine which language is appropriate?” questioned S2G Ventures senior managing director Chuck Templeton. Several of our businesses are considering how to convey the correct message to customers in a way that is both positive and not regarded as bad. Customers back then, in my opinion, were far more knowledgeable about the science underlying food and certain items. The science behind nutrition and other aspects of health is crucial, but what about the environmental impact of food these days?