Sockeye salmon are seen swimming at a fish farm. Natalie Fobes / Getty Images
By Peter Beech
Using waste food to farm insects as fish food and high-tech real-time water quality monitoring: innovations that could help change global aquaculture, were showcased at the World Economic Forum's Virtual Ocean Dialogues 2020.
<p>Two young entrepreneurs addressed a breakout session of the event called <em>Harnessing the Power of Innovation to Achieve SDG14.</em> Syrine Chaalala, co-founder of the French-Tunisian company <a href="http://nextprotein.co/" target="_blank">nextProtein</a>, and Charlotte Dupont, co-founder of the French company <a href="https://www.bioceanor.com/products-and-services" target="_blank">BiOceanOr</a>, revealed the ideas that drove their rapidly accelerating startups.</p><p>Chalaala's nextProtein uses food waste to mass-produce insect protein to feed farmed fish in place of fishmeal – the production of which, often from corporate fisheries' by-catch, can lead to the depletion of ecosystems and the collapse of local fisheries. As our demand for farmed fish is growing 8% a year, her innovation could play a vital role in reducing the knock-on impact of aquaculture on the ocean.</p><p>She said that farming insects requires a fraction of the space as animal feed production – 100 square meters (1,076 square feet) of space can produce as much protein as 100 hectares (247 acres) of soy field.</p><p>"Because we wanted to have maximum impact, we wanted to provide solutions to other problems," said Chalaala, naming food waste and land scarcity as two key issues her business tackles. "Here, we can convert 20 kilos (44 pounds) of food waste into 1 kilo (2 pounds) of product."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM2NjM0OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODgwNzI4Mn0.97Q4mo_iOgbdUuiRS35PKdK1-e0QKv8C3-ewjkAmhTg/img.png?width=980" id="e712b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="94432f70b397eba50b44653468421d60" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Fly fishing. nextProtein
<p>The method uses vertical farming, little energy and almost no water – testament, said session host Christian Lim of <a href="https://www.blueoceanspartners.com/" target="_blank">Blue Oceans Partners</a>, to the efficiency of the insects at thriving on low input. The insect nextProtein uses is the Black Soldier Fly, selected due to its high-yield quality, and the ease of processing it into powder, oil and fertilizer. Her business is aiming to produce 100,000 tonnes of insect protein annually by 2025 – or around 10% of the insect meal market.</p><p>Meanwhile Charlotte Dupont and her colleagues at BiOceanOr have developed what they term "the first underwater weather station for real-time monitoring of water quality." One of its many applications is for fish farmers who aren't yet monitoring their water quality in real time.</p><p>She painted a picture of an industry that is only reluctantly changing, with water quality largely still monitored by hand. Since this process is time-consuming and arduous, it's generally done only once a day. But once the firm's underwater 'weather-stations' are installed, farmers can get a moment-by-moment grasp on conditions for their stock.</p><p>"Our first customer called us a few days later to tell us our tool wasn't working – the oxygen levels couldn't be so low," she said. But the equipment was fine: the unprecedented readings had thrown him. He was used to taking his readings only once a day, in the late morning, and had no idea how low oxygen levels could get overnight.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM2NjM1My9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMTIyMTUyNn0.x-eiOr4B5_0GZvmVnYiD0YYGyDR32PO0YJ0H-3tFrzM/img.png?width=980" id="b4249" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8a25143f13bdf53b3e5fdfd0833eaf7c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
BiOceanOr's AquaREAL system. BiOceanOr
<p>"There are a lot of aquaculturists who don't realize right now the power of real-time monitoring," said Dupont. "It's a knowledge that they transmit from generation to generation, like agriculture a century ago: 'I know it because my father knows it.' They think there's nothing you can learn from tools, but just as in agriculture, there's a lot you can learn."</p><p>"I think data will be really central in the future," said Dupont, predicting a future where people subscribe to the water forecast just as today they subscribe to a weather forecast.</p><p>"With sensitive ecosystems like reefs and coastal systems, people will be able to subscribe to the data and see what is going on," she said. These water-quality forecasts will play a vital role in protecting ocean health.</p><p>Their session provided a short but telling insight into two crucial innovations in aquaculture as we set a course for a sustainable blue economy in the post-COVID-19 era. For more from the Virtual Ocean Dialogues 2020, you can access the whole event <a href="https://www.weforum.org/events/virtual-ocean-dialogues-2020/" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/virtual-ocean-dialogues-water-forecasting-fish-farms-waste-innovation-blue-economy/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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The Upcycled Food Association announced on May 19 that they define upcycled foods as ones that "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment." Minerva Studio / Getty Images
By Jared Kaufman
Upcycled food is now an officially defined term, which advocates say will encourage broader consumer and industry support for products that help reduce food waste. Upcycling—transforming ingredients that would have been wasted into edible food products—has been gaining ground in alternative food movements for several years but had never been officially defined.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.upcycledfood.org/" target="_blank">Upcycled Food Association</a> announced on May 19 that they define upcycled foods as ones that "use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment."</p><p>The definition was drafted by a working group convened by the Upcycled Food Association, which included representatives from Harvard University, Drexel University, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/food-waste" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund</a>, and <a href="https://www.refed.com/" target="_blank">ReFED</a>, a nonprofit that analyzes solutions to food waste. The Upcycled Food Association is a member-based industry non-profit that aims to boost the profile of upcycled foods. The association's working group hopes that such a definition will make it easier for food companies to show how their products contribute to food waste reduction.</p><p>The definition is "putting some teeth into a trend that is doing the right thing for our food supply, our environment, consumers, and businesses," Jonathan Deutsch, a professor at Drexel University and the director of the Drexel Food Lab, says in a statement.</p>
<p>Standardizing the term is also a first step toward legislation that supports upcycling, according to Emily Broad Leib, a Harvard University law professor and the director of Harvard's Food Law and Policy Clinic. "Further research can be done to identify and leverage policy incentives to support upcycled foods as a model to reduce food waste and support a more sustainable food system," she says in a statement.</p><p>Upcycling has emerged in recent years as a way for food producers to add value to byproducts or surplus ingredients that might otherwise have been wasted. Already, food companies such as <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/01/philabundances-abundantly-good-cheese-benefiting-dairy-farmers-hungry-families/" target="_blank">Philabundance</a> and <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2018/10/treasure8s-inventions-aim-to-change-the-idea-of-food-waste/" target="_blank">Treasure8</a> are repurposing safely edible ingredients, like excess milk or "ugly" vegetables, into nutritious cheeses and chips.</p><p>"We can take these very large waste streams and we can upcycle them into safe, tasty, healthy products and ingredients that can work at large scale distribution," Treasure8 co-founder Timothy Childs told Food Tank in 2018.</p>
<p>Food waste is a significant plague on both the food system and the climate. The <a href="https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs" target="_blank">U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates</a> that between 30–40 percent of the food supply is lost or wasted—about 133 billion pounds a year. The impact is magnified by the water, energy, and land resources that went into producing food that was never consumed. Project Drawdown, an organization that advocates cutting greenhouse gas emissions, <a href="https://drawdown.org/drawdown-framework/drawdown-review-2020" target="_blank">has identified reducing food waste</a> as the No. 1 solution to keep warming below 2ºC.</p><p>And research shows that consumers not only understand the term "upcycled" as a distinct category, but also see added value in it. According to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/cb.1689?systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+usage+report+download+page+will+be+unavailable+on+Friday+24th+November+2017+at+21%3A00+EST+%2F+02.00+GMT+%2F+10%3A00+SGT+%28Saturday+25th+Nov+for+SGT" target="_blank">a benchmark study conducted by Deutsch's team at Drexel University</a> in 2017, customers surveyed viewed "value-added surplus foods" as being significantly different from conventional products and preferred the term "upcycled" over eight alternatives. The results suggest that many customers might find the benefit of upcycled food to be on par with organic certification, meaning they assign value to—and may be willing to pay more for—truly sustainable upcycled products.</p>
<p>The Upcycled Food Association hopes to use the new definition as a way to signal to consumers that food waste reduction claims on products are consistent and verifiable. To follow up on the definition, Upcycled Food Association COO Ben Gray says the association is planning to launch a product certification program for upcycled foods later this year.</p><p>"We want to give people the ability to participate in the solution every time they visit a grocery store," Gray says in a statement. "We envision a future in which many products in every aisle and around the perimeter proudly display the upcycled certification, giving consumers the opportunity to vote to reduce food waste with their dollars."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/upcycled-food-is-officially-defined-with-a-goal-of-paving-the-way-for-industry-food-waste-reduction/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Soldiers with the Maryland Army National Guard distribute food to those in need on May 2, 2020 in Windsor Mill, Maryland, during the coronavirus pandemic. ALEX EDELMAN / AFP via Getty Images
Something is fundamentally wrong in the food supply chain. More and more people are going hungry and applying for food assistance. Meanwhile, farmers are dumping milk and eggs and plowing under their fields. Major food buyers like schools, hotels and restaurants have shut down, leaving nowhere for the food to go. This is the largest amount of food destroyed since the Great Depression.
<p>In fact, last month, farmers were dumping 3.7 million gallons of milk each day, draining it into manure pits, where it mixed with fertilizer used in the fields, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/business/coronavirus-food-waste-destroyed.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>"These are not insolvable problems," said Marion Nestle, a food studies professor at New York University, who spoke to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/business/coronavirus-food-waste-destroyed.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "These are problems that require a lot of people, sums of money and some thought. If the government were really interested in making sure that hungry people got fed and farmers were supported, they would figure out a way to do it."</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box" target="_blank" title="">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a> (USDA) will soon spend $300 million a month to purchase surplus vegetables, fruit, milk and meat from distributors and ship them to food banks. The department will also subsidize the boxing up of food for shipment to food banks, which is something that farmers had complained they could not afford to do, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/business/coronavirus-food-waste-destroyed.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>However, as <a href="https://therevelator.org/food-waste-spilt-milk/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a> noted, the USDA already buys unwanted cheese to the tune of more than $20 million in a year, which is also produced with taxpayer-funded subsidies. The U.S. government currently has a federal stockpile of 1.4 billion pounds of cheese.</p><p>In a widely shared tweet last month, Wisconsin journalist Shaun Gallagher shared a video of tens of thousands of gallons of milk running down a drain.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1245829203385143296" id="twitter-embed-1245829203385143296" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1245829203385143296&created_ts=1585863803.0&screen_name=ShaunGalNews&text=What+a+waste%21+%23COVID19Pandemic+is+forcing+Dairy+farmers+to+dump+their+milk+down+the+drain+so+the+milk+market+doesn%E2%80%99%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FmnvIwyRr5R&id=1245829203385143296&name=Shaun+Gallagher" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="7dff0fe35ae4fbbe98c54031e10647d3"></iframe>
<p>"#COVID19Pandemic is forcing dairy farmers to dump their milk down the drain so the milk market doesn't implode. Why not give it away to those who need it?" Gallagher wrote on <a href="https://twitter.com/ShaunGalNews/status/1245829203385143296" target="_blank">Twitter</a>.</p><p>The same issue has plagued New York state. "This is just a total waste to me," Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week, as <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-farm-bureau-cuomo-milk-dairy-farmers-dumping-20200427-vv4ywhu3bbfhjam3jevtagur3u-story.html" target="_blank">The New York Daily News</a> reported. "We have people downstate who need food and farmers upstate who can't sell their product. We need to make that marriage between product upstate and need downstate."</p><p>Cuomo announced an initiative he calls Nourish New York, in which the state will coordinate with farmers to purchase products and send them to food banks while upstate-based companies like Chobani and Cabot Cheese will distribute their excess products to food banks and those in need, as <a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-farm-bureau-cuomo-milk-dairy-farmers-dumping-20200427-vv4ywhu3bbfhjam3jevtagur3u-story.html" target="_blank">The New York Daily News</a> reported.</p><p>The plan earmarks $25 million for food banks to buy from the state's farms. In addition to dairy, the food banks can use the money to buy apples, potatoes and other excess produce that farmers have stored away.</p>
<p>Across the country, the Dairy Farmers of America, the country's largest dairy co-op, sent nearly 250,000 gallons of milk to food banks across the country, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/business/coronavirus-food-waste-destroyed.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p><p>"It's just a drop in the bucket," said Jackie Klippenstein, a senior vice president at the co-op. "But we had to do something."</p><p>In California, farmers are worried what they will do with the strawberries that will peak later this month.</p><p>"Time is not on our side," said Mary Coppola, a vice president at the United Fresh Produce Association, a trade group of fruit and vegetable growers and processors, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/02/business/coronavirus-food-waste-destroyed.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. "In my own personal opinion, we are not coming up with the supply-chain logistical solutions as quickly as produce is growing."</p><p>In addition to the government, many <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/stop-food-waste-day-organizations-2645871951.html" target="_self">grassroots organizations</a> are trying to connect farmers with food banks and are helping purchase excess food from farms.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzE5OTczNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MjE3OTY1NH0.-TUuHthYSe0WT9myF6cl4fZgRHl4kFw08LhMRh_N1HA/img.jpg?width=980" id="10773" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1a0a4beb9ba7fcdc53bcfa86b2c89c4e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A strawberry field in Ventura, California on Jan. 18, 2020. Tracie Hall / Flickr
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Woman building a diy insect hotel outdoor. Guido Mieth / DigitalVision / Getty Images
By Courtney Lindwall
If you're one of those people cooped up safely at home, with creative energy and free time to spare—count yourself lucky. Here, we've rounded up a list of two dozen environmental projects that can make your time indoors, or right outside, a little brighter. Whether you're ready to start rescuing more of your kitchen scraps, sewing your own cloth napkins, or documenting those backyard butterflies, we hope these simple green ideas will provide a calming means of coping during these unprecedented times. Have fun and stay safe.
Experiment in the Kitchen
<p><strong>Spice up mealtime with recipes from </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/" target="_blank">Save the Food</a> that will also help prevent your food from going to waste. Make a fromage fort to spread on your crackers, or "scraps falafel" to use up wrinkly onions and wilted herbs. And for dessert, how about some <a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/leftover-mashed-potato-apple-cider-donuts" target="_blank">leftover mashed potato apple cider donuts</a>? </p><p><strong>Rescue wilting herbs.</strong> Make <a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank">herb oil ice cubes</a><a href="https://savethefood.com/storage" target="_blank"> by </a>packing diced herbs into an ice cube tray, covering with olive oil, and freezing. Thaw for ready-made flavor in your next dish. You can also transform less-than-fresh herbs into sauces, like chimichurri or pesto, or roast them and mix with salt to create longer-lasting seasonings. </p><p><strong>Start a windowsill herb garden. </strong>You'll need some seeds or a small plant, an upcycled container like a coffee canister that leaves room for growth and drainage, and a sunny ledge. (The Herb Society of America can help you determine <a href="https://www.herbsociety.org/hsa-learn/intro-to-herbs/hsa-gardening-for-kids/light-indoor-gardens.html" target="_blank">the right dose of light and water for each species</a>.) In a few weeks' time, you'll be ready to add a sprig of fresh basil to your bowl of pasta or diced cilantro to your batch of guac.</p><p><strong>Arrange a plant-based recipe swap</strong> with friends and family, which will reduce your diet's climate impacts while creating some virtual community. (Remember: If <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sujatha-bergen/saving-planet-starts-our-plates" target="_blank">every American cut just one hamburger</a> or about a quarter pound of beef out of their diet each week, we could reduce emissions by as much as taking about 10 million cars off the road each year.)</p><p><strong><br>Simmer your veggie scraps into a </strong><a href="https://savethefood.com/recipes/basic-vegetable-stock" target="_blank"><strong>flavorful stock</strong></a>, the foundation of your next meal. To get started, keep a clean, half-gallon carton in the freezer, and add trimmings as you prep meals. When you have enough, put the veggies in a pot, cover with water, and crank up the heat.</p><p><strong>Plan a dough swap</strong> by freezing half of the dough from your latest baked good and suggesting friends, family, and coworkers do the same. When you're reunited, you can organize a trade and enjoy someone else's baking for a change.</p><p><strong>Start an indoor compost bin.</strong> It shouldn't smell when you follow this <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-way-easier-you-think" target="_blank">list of what is and isn't compost-friendly</a>. To build your worm bin, find two plastic tubs and <a href="https://nrdc.tumblr.com/post/118984184239/how-to-build-a-worm-bin" target="_blank">drill holes in one of them</a> to provide proper aeration. Layer in moist bedding—made of things like shredded newspaper, leaves, or coconut husk—and then add some red wigglers, which you can order online. Kept well fed with scraps, your worms will soon be producing "black gold" compost to use in your garden and helping you curb greenhouse gases.</p>
Enjoy a Dose of Nature
<p><strong></strong><strong>Make your own basic bird feeder</strong> using pine cones, twine, nut butter, and birdseed. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-rxsVfAvaa/" target="_blank">This video from the Feminist Bird Club shows you one way to do it.</a> Hang it on a nearby tree you can spot through your window, then grab a pair of binoculars and do some armchair birding!</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-and-why-be-seed-savior" target="_blank"><strong>Create an herbarium</strong></a>—a scrapbook of pressed, dried flowers or other plants. To prepare your samples, press the plant matter in a large book or between sheets of newspaper and place a weight on top. When the leaves are dry, mount them on acid-free paper to preserve them, and label each specimen on the page. You can also include illustrations, photographs, seed packets, and notes.</p><p><strong>Sharpen your naturalist ID skills.</strong> Try to identify every species of plant in your backyard or on a neighborhood walk. You can do the same for wildlife—and share your findings through <a href="https://www.projectnoah.org/" target="_blank">Project Noah</a>, a citizen science platform to discover, share, and identify wildlife.</p><p><strong>Grow new indoor plants</strong> with the use of stems and leaves, rather than seeds. Though it <a href="https://www.bbg.org/gardening/article/how_to_propagate_houseplants" target="_blank">depends on your individual plant</a> species, propagating houseplants is often as easy as cutting off a stem or leaf from an existing plant and sticking it in soil or fresh water. If it takes, a new root system should form within a few weeks—leaving you with a hearty second plant within a few more months. (Pro tip: This works for green onions too! Nearly submerge their sliced-off roots, end down, into a glass of water that you change every few days. Voilà: a nearly endless supply of scallions.)</p><p><strong>Observe monarch butterflies</strong> in your backyard and share your findings with Monarch Watch, an organization devoted to their <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/monarch-butterflies-get-head-start-schoolyard" target="_blank">conservation</a>. Each year, monarchs make a remarkable 3,000-mile trek from as far north as the southern parts of Canada to the mountains of Mexico and back—but these pollinators are <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/sylvia-fallon/monarch-butterfly-numbers-fall-again" target="_blank">in danger</a>. Register as one of Monarch Watch's citizen scientists to <a href="https://monarchwatch.org/calendar/?fbclid=IwAR1bawlAoraeMokwdiZa_GVONQqtDnqQxc_EM_UwzbO0zhq733PT6CQIgLc" target="_blank">help track the population's health</a>.</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank">Boost your backyard biodiversity</a>. </strong>Plant some milkweed—the main food source for monarch caterpillars and egg-laying habitat for the butterflies. Hang a bee nesting box somewhere it can get sunlight and warmth. Add a barn owl box or attach a simple roosting perch to a pole. For reptile enthusiasts, set up a small wood pile, using brush or old logs as shelter for lizards and snakes (plus fungi).</p>Do Some Handiwork and Art Projects
<p><strong>Make face masks </strong>for your friends, family, and workers on the frontlines. This <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/DIY-cloth-face-covering-instructions.pdf" target="_blank">Center for Disease Control guide</a> breaks down different techniques. If you're comfortable sewing, you'll just need two 10-by-6-inch rectangles of fabric, two pieces of elastic, and a needle and thread for each mask. The no-sew option only requires a T-shirt and scissors. Remember: Cloth masks should be cleaned regularly (the CDC says a washing machine is sufficient) in order to remain effective.<strong></strong></p><p><strong>Get your crayons out </strong>and do some therapeutic coloring. In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and as part of a collaboration with NRDC, Studio Number One and its creative director, artist Shepard Fairey, have converted some of its archival activist artwork into <a href="http://www.studionumberone.com/free-downloads" target="_blank">black-and-white printouts for at-home coloring.</a></p><p><strong>Tackle your plastic bag stash</strong>, especially if your city or town is among those that recently banned the bag. Since current conditions may eliminate collection and recycling programs for plastic bags in your area, consider upcycling them instead. There are plenty of online tutorials for how to make outdoor pillow cushions stuffed with plastic bags, weave bags into <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Make-a-basket-out-of-plastic-bags/" target="_blank">sturdy baskets</a>, or wind them into jump ropes.</p><p><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/purging-your-closets-dont-stuff-all-your-old-duds-trash-bag" target="_blank"><strong>Cut down on textile waste</strong></a>, which exacts a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-my-denim-jeans-bad-environment" target="_blank">heavy toll on the environment and public health</a>, by giving old clothes a second life. Alter out-of-style garments by embroidering, reshaping, or using nontoxic dye to give them a new look. Take inspiration from fashion designers like <a href="http://zerowastedaniel.com/about" target="_blank">Daniel Silverstein</a>, who makes colorful, collaged clothing out of fabric scraps, or turn old fabric into a work of art, like weaver <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/weaving-beauty-borderlands" target="_blank">Consuelo Jimenez Underwoo</a>d.</p><p><strong>Turn old beach towels or T-shirts into </strong><a href="https://www.papernstitchblog.com/how-to-make-reusable-paper-towels/" target="_blank"><strong>a set of cloth napkins</strong></a>, a perfect beginner-level sewing project. By ditching single-use paper towels and napkins, you'll be helping to protect our forests, like the boreal of Canada that is the source of the virgin wood pulp used for much of the tissue paper products sold in the United States. Instead, switch to more sustainable, washable rags or cloths for cleaning up around the house and at the dining table.</p><p><strong>Get crafty with your recycling efforts</strong> to encourage kids <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-raise-environmentalist" target="_blank">to be more aware of our disposable culture</a>. For example, you could transform empty jars into vases, penholders, and votive candle holders. Or make a fresh notebook from scrap paper with the help of a hole punch and scissors, some ribbon, and an old cereal box (for making sturdy covers).</p>
Build Your Community
<p><strong></strong><strong>Start an environmental movie club.</strong> Various apps let you host movie nights with friends online, so you can chat while you watch. You can find our recs for standout environmental films on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B-QNBxqJAUR/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>—including <em>Poisoning Paradise</em>, <em>Virunga</em>, and <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-turn-your-patch-earth-barren-bountiful" target="_blank"><em>The Biggest Little Farm</em></a>—with short summaries and tips on where you can find them online.</p><p>Document the environmental changes in your community<strong>, as they relate to climate change, through the </strong><a href="https://earthchallenge2020.earthday.org/" target="_blank"><strong>Earth Challenge </strong>2020's online portal</a>. The project will collect billions of observations in air quality, plastic pollution, and insect populations, and your insights will help promote policy change to address our warming world.</p><p><strong>Tune in to a new podcast</strong>. We recommend <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/range/hot-take-4#/" target="_blank"><em>Hot Take</em></a>, featuring NRDC's own Mary Heglar and her cohost Amy Westervelt, which takes a critical but constructive, intersectional look at how climates issues are being covered in the media. And despite the weighty content of the podcast, laughter is one of its defining sounds.</p><p><strong>Connect with climate justice activists</strong> by following along with <a href="http://thisiszerohour.org/our-actions/#actions" target="_blank">Zero Hour's Getting to the Roots digital series</a>. Each week, it focuses on a different theme that is a root cause of the climate crisis as well as ways to solve it—through digital leadership training, webinars, virtual open mics on Instagram and Twitter, art competitions, and podcast releases.</p><p><strong>Write a </strong><a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/how-write-successful-letter-editor" target="_blank"><strong>letter to the editor</strong></a> that tackles one of the environmental issues facing your community that's close to your heart. The letter can be written in response to a piece that's already been published by a given media outlet, or it can be a proactive statement of support for or opposition against a particular issue that affects fellow readers. It's the perfect way to reach thousands of individuals and still remain publicly engaged without having to leave the comfort of your home.</p>Related Articles Around the Web
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A recipient carries a box of food as others wait in line for food bank distribution for those in need during the coronavirus pandemic on April 9, 2020 in Van Nuys, California. Mario Tama / Getty Images
By Aaron Mok
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has upended nearly every aspect of modern society, but especially the food system. Farmers are being forced to discard unprecedented amounts of food surplus because of the closure of schools, restaurants, and hotels. And, because of the complex logistics of the food supply chain, diverting food supply away from wholesalers directly into the hands of consumers can be costly. Experts like Dana Gunders from ReFED are concerned that more food waste will be produced in 2020 than in previous years.
Despite these challenges, organizations around the world are working to reduce food waste. In honor of Stop Food Waste Day on the 29th of April, Food Tank is highlighting 23 organizations and companies trying to eliminate pandemic-fueled food waste.
<p>1. <a href="http://agrimax-project.eu/" target="_blank">AgriMax</a> (Europe)</p><p>Funded by the European Union, AgriMax is a food waste recovery project that converts crop and food processing waste into organic compounds through biorefinery. These compounds can be used in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=83&v=mf9KZA630IQ&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">food packaging</a>, food ingredients, and agricultural chemicals. Additionally, AgriMax recently launched an <a href="http://agrimax-project.eu/2020/03/03/new-online-platform-connects-crop-and-food-producers-to-biorefineries/" target="_blank">online platform</a> that connects crop producers to biorefineries in Spain and Italy to generate profits from waste. AgriMax <a href="https://twitter.com/Agrimax_EU" target="_blank">also promotes</a> educational webinars on the bioeconomy, and offers <a href="https://twitter.com/biovoices/status/1246029927918469121" target="_blank">tips</a> to help people recycle household food waste.</p><p>2. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/binghamtonfoodrescue/" target="_blank">Binghamton Food Rescue (BFR)</a> (United States)</p><p>Binghamton Food Rescue (BFR) collects perishable food waste and redistributes it as packaged meals and groceries to food-insecure communities in the city of Binghamton, New York. Over 21,319 kilograms (47,000 pounds) of food have been rescued since the organization's inception. The organization is encouraging community members to report local food waste so they can pick up and re-purpose it. BFR also collects food donations and delivers them to around 100 households per week.</p><p>3. <a href="https://brothersproduce.com/" target="_blank">Brothers Produce</a> (United States)</p><p>Brothers Produce is the largest Texas-based food and beverage distributor, supplying goods to retailers in Texas and Louisiana. In response to the pandemic, Brothers Produce has developed a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste" target="_blank">new business model</a> where boxes of fresh produce are sold directly to customers instead of companies. This ensures that food surplus that would otherwise be thrown away is redistributed and helps to keep the business afloat.</p><p>4. <a href="https://www.cityharvest.org/" target="_blank">City Harvest</a> (United States)</p><p>As the world's first food rescue program, New York-based City Harvest is responding to COVID-19 by rescuing perishable produce. The organization aims to feed New York City's food insecure communities by redistributing food waste and providing educational programming. Despite <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/neediest-cases/feeding-america-food-banks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">the closure of over 85 of its food programs</a>, City Harvest is still committed to feeding those in need. The organization has opened <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/neediest-cases/feeding-america-food-banks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">seven</a> emergency relief sites for New York's food insecure communities, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/10/neediest-cases/feeding-america-food-banks-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">22</a> more relief sites are on their way.</p>
<p>5. <a href="https://www.caff.org/" target="_blank">Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and Farmers Guild</a> (United States)</p><p>Based in California, The Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) and Farmers Guild is a nonprofit striving to build a more sustainable food system. To do so, they engage in political advocacy and develop grassroots programs to empower farmers and local communities. To eliminate the food surplus in California's food system, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/09/us-coronavirus-outbreak-agriculture-food-supply-waste" target="_blank">CAFF works with farmers</a> to redirect their food supply away from their usual commercial customers and into the hands of consumers. Additionally, CAFF created a <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-4FlXtRfi0_44NeX8O5jtxIZV67pkhdOGS1l9yAAMJs/edit#gid=1791026450" target="_blank">spreadsheet</a> designed to connect the state's food surplus to consumers.</p><p>6. <a href="http://www.compass-group.com/" target="_blank">Compass Group</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Operating in over 50 countries, Compass Group is the biggest food service company globally. In response to COVID-19, Compass Group UK partnered with food recovery organizations and food safety experts to <a href="https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/blog/compass-group-uk-ireland-donates-over-25-tonnes-of-surplus-food-to-help-feed-people-in-need/" target="_blank">create a plan</a> to distribute food surplus to nonprofit organizations across the United Kingdom. Within 3 weeks of the plan's inception, around <a href="https://www.compass-group.co.uk/media/blog/compass-group-uk-ireland-donates-over-25-tonnes-of-surplus-food-to-help-feed-people-in-need/" target="_blank">60,000 meals</a> were donated to more than 30 national nonprofits and local relief organizations.</p><p>7. <a href="http://www.divertinc.com/" target="_blank">Divert</a> (United States)</p><p>Divert is a technology company that uses data to inform solutions to minimize food waste from the retail supply chain. Divert currently <a href="https://www.supermarketperimeter.com/articles/4953-loss-prevention-putting-food-in-stomachs-not-landfills" target="_blank">partners</a> with supermarket chain Giant to recycle perishable foods. Perishable food is removed from the supply chain and repurposed to generate clean energy. Divert also recycles all food waste that cannot go to food banks.</p><p>8. <a href="http://www.edibleyork.org.uk/edibleinitiatives/abundance/?fbclid=IwAR0ICnxKXVteXwwLse0oLPyAOwWQXcdVz4dAI1hPLDgjxQc_oEfHun3GaMw" target="_blank">Edible York: The Abundance Project</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Located in the United Kingdom, Edible York is an NGO that aims to build a healthier York community through edible gardening and horticultural workshops. The organization runs a program titled "Abundance" that collects surplus fruit that would inevitably end up in a landfill. Volunteers then redistribute the fruit to the York community. Volunteers also rescue potatoes and deliver them to the most vulnerable people and families impacted by pandemic. Additionally, Edible York is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/AbundanceYork/posts/" target="_blank">providing information</a> on farms that have remained open for business.</p>
<p>9. <a href="https://thefelixproject.org/" target="_blank">The Felix Project</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Based in London, The Felix Project is a nonprofit that collects fresh food thrown away by wholesalers, and delivers it to charities and schools. As the pandemic creates a <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-london-26406400/sharp-rise-in-demand-for-food-banks-in-london" target="_blank">spike in the demand from food banks</a> in London, The Felix Project is expanding their deliveries to emergency food hubs, homeless shelters, churches and hospitals. Through these steps, they ensure that London's most vulnerable communities are fed.</p><p>10. <a href="https://www.foodaidfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Food Aid Foundation</a> (Malaysia)</p><p>Malaysia-based food recovery nonprofit Food Aid Foundation distributes supply chain food surplus among the country's most vulnerable populations. They have carried out emergency food relief efforts in Malaysian neighborhoods such as Alor, Setar, Ipoh, and Penang. The organization receives <a href="https://www.facebook.com/foodaidfoundation/posts/2917501141621147" target="_blank">donations from renowned Asian chefs</a> such as Alex Chong, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/foodaidfoundation/posts/2893397927364802" target="_blank">partners with major food conglomerates</a> like Captain Oats and Indofood to fund their initiatives.</p><p>11. <a href="https://www.foodforsoul.it/" target="_blank">Food for Soul</a> (Italy)</p><p>Based in Italy, Food for Soul is a <a href="https://twitter.com/FoodforSoul_it" target="_blank">self-proclaimed cultural project</a> that recovers imperfect foods from landfills in countries ranging from France to Brazil, and repurposes them into meals for the homeless, refugees, and other vulnerable communities. Seeking creative ways to encourage food waste reduction, Founder and Italian chef <a href="https://osteriafrancescana.it/massimo-bottura/" target="_blank">Massimo Bottura</a> hosts a family-friendly <a href="https://www.instagram.com/massimobottura/?utm_source=ig_embed" target="_blank">Instagram cooking show</a> that teaches viewers how to repurpose household food waste into meals.</p><p>12. <a href="https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/" target="_blank">Food Recovery Network (FRN)</a> (United States)</p><p>Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a nonprofit led by college students who collect campus food waste and donate it to local nonprofits, churches, and other community organizations. FRN operates on <a href="https://www.foodrecoverynetwork.org/chapters" target="_blank">230 college campuses</a> across America. Despite <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/everyone-s-losing-college-campus-closures-stark-reality-students-n1155841" target="_blank">mass college campus</a> closures, <a href="https://twitter.com/FoodRecovery/status/1240667007206313985" target="_blank">over 30 student chapters</a> continue to rescue food waste. And since the beginning of the pandemic, several companies have donated their food surplus left by business closures and event cancellations. FRN also created a <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/555b5cf1e4b0864ccf1a0156/t/5e74d5c47fdc5c0278ef1491/1584715204429/Food+Recovery+Guide+for+Businesses_COVID19.pdf" target="_blank">logistical resource guide</a> that includes information on ways individuals and businesses can reduce their food waste.</p>
<p>13. <a href="https://www.frupro.com/" target="_blank">FruPro</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Launched in response to the pandemic, FruPro is a London-based online platform that connects major foodservice and catering suppliers to independent retailers to eliminate losses in the food supply chain. Since FruPro's launch, <a href="http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj/article/181356/frupro-saves-251-pallets-and-counting" target="_blank">36,741 packages of fresh produce</a> have been delivered, feeding around 500,000 people. FruPro is also developing a plan to distribute food to local nonprofits and food banks.</p><p>14. <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/food-law-and-policy/covid-19-response/" target="_blank">The Harvard Law School Food Law And Policy Clinic (FLPC)</a> (United States)</p><p>Directed by <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/03/emily-broad-leib-talks-food-law-and-covid-19/" target="_blank">Emily Broad Lieb</a>, Harvard Law Schools' Food Law and Policy Clinic (FLPC) is leading an emergency COVID-19 response effort to inform the public the pandemic's impact on food systems. The response includes informational resources analyzing opportunities for <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/food-law-and-policy/covid-19-response/promoting-food-donation-during-covid-19/" target="_blank">low-cost home food delivery</a>. It also includes <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/actions-for-congress-and-usda-to-support-local-and-regional-food-systems-during-covid-19/" target="_blank">policy briefings</a> urging Congress and the USDA to take legislative action to mitigate the pandemic's burden on the food system and its workers.</p><p>15. <a href="https://www.imperfectfoods.com/" target="_blank">Imperfect Foods</a> (United States)</p><p>Operating in 43 states, the San-Francisco based company, Imperfect Foods, aims to eliminate food waste by collecting blemished food rejected by grocery stores. They then redistribute it in customizable boxes to customers. As a result of COVID-19, delivery services face delays due to an increase in demand and a decrease in staff. Nonetheless, Imperfect Foods' <a href="https://twitter.com/imperfect_foods" target="_blank">Twitter</a> offers daily tips on how to lower household food waste.</p><p>16. <a href="http://www.sesc.com.br/portal/site/mesabrasilsesc/home/" target="_blank">Mesa Brasil SESC</a> (Brazil)</p><p>Mesa Brasil SESC is a Brazilian food bank network whose objective is to reduce national food waste by redistributing food surplus to food insecure Brazilian communities. Mesa Brasil's network contains <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mesabrasilsescsp/posts/1073962859646046" target="_blank">over 1100 companies</a> that include supermarkets, restaurants, and food service distributors. According to their <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mesabrasilsescsp/posts/1073962859646046" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, "Mesa Brazil is acting with full force to combat the effects of the pandemic among the most vulnerable populations." As of April 1st, they had donated <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mesabrasilsescsp/" target="_blank"><u>over 23,500 kilograms (52,000 pounds) of food</u></a> to 148 charity organizations across the country.</p>
<p>17. <a href="https://moveforhunger.org/" target="_blank">Move for Hunger</a> (United States)</p><p>If food is discarded during one's relocation process, Move for Hunger is available to collect and donate it to food banks. The organization connects people who are moving with a moving company to coordinate a pick up time for non-perishable food items. The service operates across the United States and parts of Canada. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Move for Hunger has <a href="https://moveforhunger.org/donate/covid-19-relief?utm_expid=.RiwSp-RLQMeAN-yay1CRUQ.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fmoveforhunger.org%2F" target="_blank">expanded its operational efforts</a>, delivering food to food banks faster than ever before.</p><p>18. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/planetfoodyork/" target="_blank">Planet Food: The Real Junk Food Project York</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Based in the United Kingdom, Planet Food York is a nonprofit that recovers food that would end up in a landfill. The food is then sold at their "pay-as-you-feel" food store. In the face of COVID-19, Planet Food York is partnering with local churches and food banks to deliver bags of food to the community. The food ranges from fresh produce to chocolate Easter eggs.</p><p>19. <a href="https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton" target="_blank">ReFED</a> (United States)</p><p>ReFED is a U.S.- based consortium that seeks to discover policy solutions to end food waste. The organization has published <a href="https://www.refed.com/news" target="_blank">numerous educational resources</a> on the ways people can get involved to combat food waste. ReFED also hosts a weekly interactive webinar series titled <a href="https://refed.zoom.us/meeting/register/uJErcu6qrTMv7z4vuaZPgm2ELyMJ2oHi4Q?mc_cid=841a053162&mc_eid=e4c0794709" target="_blank">"Better Together: Food System Best Practices for Navigating COVID-19"</a> every Wednesday at 3PM EST which focuses on specific food system challenges and potential solutions.</p><p>20. <a href="https://www.replate.org/" target="_blank">Replate</a> (United States)</p><p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pg/replateyourmeal/about/?ref=page_internal" target="_blank">Operating in more than 300 U.S. cities</a>, Replate is a nonprofit comprised of professional drivers known as "food rescuers" who collect surplus meals from businesses and distribute them to vulnerable communities. By <a href="https://www.facebook.com/replateyourmeal/photos/a.229902510710545/1092297217804399/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">partnering with Beyond Meat and DoorDash</a> during the pandemic, Replate is able to provide fresh, nutritious meals to frontline workers and food insecure communities.</p>
<p>21. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockandWrap/" target="_blank">Rock and Wrap It Up</a> (United States)</p><p>Rock and Wrap It Up is a New York-based anti-poverty organization that works to divert excess food from stadiums, companies, and other commercial enterprises towards food banks and veterans. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Rock and Wrap it Up has collected <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockandWrap/photos/a.256934234350790/3155459214498263/?type=3&theater" target="_blank">thousands of pounds worth of food</a> from Madison Square Garden and MetLife Stadium. As of early April, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RockandWrap/posts/3151560644888120" target="_blank">film and TV partners</a> have donated over 2,000 additional pounds of food.</p><p>22. <a href="https://secondharvest.ca/" target="_blank">Second Harvest</a> (Canada)</p><p>Second Harvest is Canada's largest food rescue organization. Second Harvest recently committed <a href="https://www.waste360.com/financials/foodrescueca-launches-45m-new-funding-communities?utm_source=Bibblio&utm_campaign=Related" target="_blank">CAD$4.5 million dollars</a> (USD $3.2 million) towards local charities and nonprofits that distribute surplus food to food insecure Canadians. The organization currently accepts food donations from companies such as <a href="https://www.waste360.com/financials/foodrescueca-launches-45m-new-funding-communities?utm_source=Bibblio&utm_campaign=Related" target="_blank">Loblaw, Starbucks, and Sysco</a>, and is working to partner with farms and smaller community stores</p><p>23. <a href="https://www.winnowsolutions.com/" target="_blank">Winnow</a> (United Kingdom)</p><p>Winnow is a technology company that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to reduce food waste in commercial kitchens. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX1F5T_eyfQ" target="_blank">Winnow's Waste Monitor System</a>, a food waste tracker, is used by chefs in <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/how-winnow-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-help-kitchens-end-food-waste/" target="_blank">more than 40 countries</a>. Additionally, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD4i7ZrmGoU" target="_blank">Winnow Vision</a> is a system of cameras pointed at garbage bins that collects data on food waste. Through AI, Winnow has saved <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/how-winnow-is-using-artificial-intelligence-to-help-kitchens-end-food-waste/" target="_blank">over USD $42 million dollars</a> in food purchasing costs.</p><a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=In+honor+of+%23StopFoodWasteDay%2C+here+are+23+organizations+rescuing+food+waste+during+%23covid19.+&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffoodtank.com%2Fnews%2F2020%2F04%2F23-organizations-eliminating-food-waste-during-covid-19%2F&via=foodtank"><span></span></a>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from </em><a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/23-organizations-eliminating-food-waste-during-covid-19/" target="_blank"><em>Food Tank.</em></a></p>From Your Site Articles
- Reducing Food Waste Is Good for Economy and Climate, Report Says ›
- 20 Easy Ways to Reduce Your Food Waste - EcoWatch ›
- How to Make a Change for Stop Food Waste Day - EcoWatch ›
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An employee restocks the meat section at a grocery store in Miami, Florida on April 13. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Now might be a good time to go vegetarian.
As meat-processing plants close across the country to stop the new coronavirus from spreading among employees, industry leaders and experts are warning of meat shortages in the nation's grocery stores.
<p>"The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/food/" target="_self">food</a> supply chain is breaking," Tyson Foods chairman of the board John Tyson wrote in a full-page ad published in The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Sunday, as well as in a <a href="https://thefeed.blog/2020/04/26/feeding-the-nation-and-keeping-our-employees-healthy/" target="_blank">blog</a> on the company's website, as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/tyson-foods-chairman-warns-food-supply-chain-breaking-n1193256" target="_blank">NBC News reported</a>.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1254604496359116801" id="twitter-embed-1254604496359116801" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1254604496359116801&created_ts=1587955996.0&screen_name=TysonFoods&text=In+these+challenging+days%2C+we+have+a+responsibility+to+feed+our+nation+and+the+world.+Though+a+delicate+balance%2C+ou%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FKt9yRUCp3D&id=1254604496359116801&name=Tyson+Foods" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="735fcb7cc670a03c8f18d57cc714d4e0"></iframe>
<p>Tyson's warning came after the company closed down two pork processing plants in Waterloo, Indiana and Logansport, Indiana in order to test workers for the virus that causes COVID-19, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/26/business/tyson-foods-nyt-ad/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. Other major players have also closed plants as thousands of slaughterhouse employees have tested positive for the virus. Three of the nation's largest pork plants, which together process around 15 percent of the nation's pig meat, have shuttered indefinitely: Tyson's Waterloo plant; the Smithfield Foods plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and the JBS pork processing plant in Worthington, Minnesota.</p><p>"As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain," Tyson wrote. "As a result, there will be limited supply of our products available in grocery stores until we are able to reopen our facilities that are currently closed."</p>
<p>Outside experts also agree that the country could see meat shortages in grocery stores. <a href="http://www.archerfinancials.com/" target="_blank">Archer Financial Services</a> commodity broker and livestock analyst Dennis Smith told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/groceries-could-see-meat-shortages-end-week-amid-plant-closings-n1193401" target="_blank">NBC News</a> that meat production was down 25 percent.</p><p>"We've just completed our third week of reduced slaughter and production," Smith told NBC News. "My guess is that about one week out, perhaps around May 1, shortages will begin developing at retail meat counters."</p><p>There is currently enough meat in freezers to keep Americans fed, NBC News reported. The challenge is with moving meat, especially fresh, to grocery stores.</p>
<h3>Worker Safety</h3><p>Slaughterhouses have been forced to close because working conditions make social distancing difficult.</p><p>"I work about two feet from my coworkers," an employee at Tyson's Waterloo plant who tested positive for the virus and asked to be identified as Donald <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/22/us/tyson-waterloo-iowa-plant-employees-coronavirus/index.html" target="_blank">told CNN</a>. "I'm about an arm's length away from my partner. It's close."</p><p>The Waterloo plant only closed under pressure from the community. It was linked to almost half of Black Hawk County, Iowa's COVID-19 cases as of April 21.</p><p>Industry-wide, more than 5,000 meat and food processing workers have been sickened with the virus and 13 have died, according to United Food and Commercial Workers International Union figures reported by NBC News.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1253740038237675520" id="twitter-embed-1253740038237675520" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1253740038237675520&created_ts=1587749893.0&screen_name=UFCW&text=America%27s+meatpacking+workers+are+on+the+frontlines+of+%23coronavirus+outbreak%2C+putting+their+lives+at+risk+to+keep+o%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FhE7jZV2h6p&id=1253740038237675520&name=UFCW" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="09787f66bef819aa2d587faa18a1ce4c"></iframe>
<p>In his ad, Tyson said the company was enacting safety measures like installing temperature scanners, requiring face masks, conducting daily deep cleans and installing dividers between workstations.</p><p>However, the case of the Waterloo plant calls into question how consistently and effectively these measures are implemented.</p><p>Black Hawk County Sheriff Tony Thompson said he visited the plant April 11.</p><p>"There was no enforcement of PPE, there was no requirement. In fact, some people we saw walking around actually had masks, but they were wearing them around their neck," Thompson told CNN. "I was surprised by the lack of measures, but I was further surprised by what they thought they were doing right."</p>
<h3>Food Waste and Animal Rights</h3><p>The closure of meat processing plants has also impacted farmers and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a> they raise.</p><p>"In addition to meat shortages, this is a serious <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food-waste" target="_self">food waste</a> issue," Tyson wrote. "Farmers across the nation simply will not have anywhere to sell their livestock to be processed, when they could have fed the nation. Millions of animals – chickens, pigs and cattle – will be depopulated because of the closure of our processing facilities."</p><p>In some places, this is already happening. Iowa farmer Al Van Beek <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-livestock-insight/piglets-aborted-chickens-gassed-as-pandemic-slams-meat-sector-idUSKCN2292YS" target="_blank">told Reuters</a> he was forced to induce abortions in his pregnant sows because he had nowhere to sell his adult pigs to make room for the 7,500 piglets he was expecting.</p><p>"We have nowhere to go with the pigs," Van Beek said. "What are we going to do?"</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animal-welfare" target="_self">Animal welfare</a> advocates, however, called out Tyson for only caring about animal lives because they could not profit from them.</p><p>"Just as disingenuous as it has been for some meat plants to blame low-paid workers for their living conditions, Tyson Foods, which slits the throats of frightened animals every day that it operates, now has the gall to seem worried about 'depopulating' — aka killing," <a href="https://www.peta.org/" target="_blank">People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals</a> (PETA) wrote in a Twitter statement.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1254913245686558720" id="twitter-embed-1254913245686558720" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1254913245686558720&created_ts=1588029607.0&screen_name=peta&text=Just+as+disingenuous+as+it+has+been+for+some+meat+plants+to+blame+low-paid+workers+for+their+living+conditions%2C+Tys%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FXXDGZ2Bbmu&id=1254913245686558720&name=PETA" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="774730e5abb71a51fd5a011c78f27e4f"></iframe>
<p>The group recommended Tyson solve its pandemic problems by switching to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegan" target="_self">vegan</a> "meat" instead.</p>
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Urban community garden composting seen in New York City. Education Images / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
New methods to reuse "fast fashion" clothes, recycling of construction materials, and adoption of electric school buses could all become possible in New York City under far-reaching new climate legislation introduced Thursday by City Council Speaker Corey Johnson.
<p>The proposals include measures to encourage New Yorkers to use the city's composting program to cut down on the 3.1 million tons of garbage, one-third of which is food waste, households produce each year — measures that could eventually become mandatory, the legislation says. Johnson, who is running to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2021, said he also would push proposals to convert Rikers Island into a renewable energy hub and push for solutions to protect the city's shorelines from sea level rise. </p><h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6G9GSC49SF75V9bGlz1-fkdN0/*W20C3N91X3PttW4V9SX74sF2lF0/5/f18dQhb0S1Xq7w2QxfSmLh1J0V9sVb1XsJ1k8-yyW8K7rSY62Sq51W5z5SSS5jX9CCN6vsjGwXLgF0W5Mdj_l2yry8DW52FCC556tdQDW7W3vYw8tRCC8W7zpcFL5WNSdwW6ZYw2D5hjbs3N7z2bsJYXhtkW4d2sLM63ndKNW6LJzTW6bj8DWW5VVs2v21r3tmW826KRz1PfXSqN6vjRhbGBbWlW5T6R324hptNlVGC1Gj7kDf3jV2L6Sr5kzG92W6CcRYk5hN8BcW8lJ0Sz2Lr3V_W4M41sj2R973JW5jML1h48cPF5VkjsfH61v5HRVsyTgd32HTDWW8sl22P78RrvbN7tG8hm2KW5lW21rfQn7mJ64_W5p7xjk8V7_3gW3MDYVL2G6X0YW4cjrQC3VvWJtN87WmspTHt1FW3pH21r75nQ7FW3Qy98h6Fp0GgW6vnYs086hQ7tW7RKT2s3cPzs9W3Z3W_g7XY074W2KBl_S2ytQ9zW6-_3fW4S4BvxMZB7dKn9CvXW1cZByP22ZZRzW8Zjdk090k_p2VjJfmW6p1H9xW5R1Xj-4rKklNW5JrxlD1hjLF7W901cZ44qMxp20" target="_blank">NY Post</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6G9GSC49SF75V9bGlz1-fkdN0/*W2Nfn0F5rZ-0ZW5SxxLD8Sf69T0/5/f18dQhb0S1Wd2RMFdXVWWdCJ5VRw7gN3hVZwTmWF_0W6yys4H4VR406N2SdT3tqn08tW7L6qS55pVHyKW7yPvFj6z66HDVzlyjr1tGgFdW73Rn5Z7b2DxfW4MQzzJ4rSDNSW8N8Plv1LWBJ5W1zC6zj5Ptms2W8q0GCN3Md4MZW43sPhS7ZH9rrW7TBYCw6xvwfjVrJZh57mZB0jW2YYpG77FYxC7VWxqtG4SKG7BW1RWntN8-6ZbTW7Y3yg01pvm4yW71tg0g3Knn8XW5krlmK8qb4ygW1Y8yJP19XB30N7tzZVfR5Y66N3_qwXG18v9-W33sCGR3vTg9fW5Z_dLg4RPkY2VFsH658fnTqgW8BlH9s3KpxYtVJ-1Dl6t85L4W1SYSYQ4pkzGNW7qPs6f75Qh1_W5p069F3Qxm6-W9hRFRZ3Fmhn2W7sgTZT222kXyN74CwM5JnZ-SW99V7Bp3NLbk8W4k_4gX7lsrPpW2069-P5dy9k9W6l1lp898v7YgW4w589S8H95wyW6cKtwJ3VZ2dpW2grjF_8jFK9wW372D-z7cnRb1W2j0lqc1_N72GW6_L_RZ4D5-RTW638-pK3GV232W7MhyTd6h3hkSW8sgkpy958V9_W4FZ2Sz345nftW6-Rglm8gn5K5W2fjL5H397c12W4gz_4N9cgT1YdbBM8N02" target="_blank">Politico NY</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W6G9GSC49SF75V9bGlz1-fkdN0/*W70Cb9K6tjq77W4CnHSS7T_zrm0/5/f18dQhb0S3kg252mBcT2s3319JyY0N2lxSGljSRgBW54y7tw4_NpBFW1PJtx26jwdHQW6QVV0v79khScW37Tjnf5kRN5TW3ZvRby9h8-JSVmq_dQ7HcFpBW8hqcqx8-Ml35W20NcBP20ZQySW5HrWwp8yf_q4N3nyGX7V-gy4MBCqTSnMsD1M1xgtZYx1GmW6dgYCd8ydwbbW8lhs-t6JSr63W7Zc0mV3n2LYYN1jqHCsTQ86CW7tlylG38W-qpW2sxR242XPcTmW6Q66VG8NDCPYW4bWry91z9TCwW17cKG61m14bfW2yRZ4c6RLTN2W4K48jJ4MQpXCW6VTmvL4kx1q9W2TR3hW7s1gFxW8Ct0J55jr7g8W3fTLFk7qMwxKW1ZKfbg6H3qd1W3dfjKx6m-msDW1lqQ635sZjs2N5KzbkH-5r2lW7-_7nV1P9tC6W10G1kT89vWZ8W5QFSWB7JtM3fW53P-3t8d4dRsW64yKmV2ljmF8N67tvs4ZwtgBVx5pqV87dLHwW5Rc61g6RcmX1W5yhK-Z502rHjW28C7pv1WV80wW2QVB1V7wTg_L111" target="_blank">New York Times</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>
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Farm waste being prepared for composting. USDA / Lance Cheung
By Tim Lydon
Can the United States make progress on its food-waste problems? Cities like San Francisco — and a growing list of actions by the federal government — show that it's possible.
<p>San Francisco passed the nation's first mandatory composting law a little over 10 years ago, requiring residents and businesses to separate food waste for municipal trash collection. The city, which already had an enormously successful recycling program, incentivized composting through consumer education, a scalable fee structure and, as a last resort, penalties. It also streamlined its entire waste collection system by contracting with a single waste hauler. That company, in turn, now delivers food waste to a composting facility that converts it to rich fertilizer, which is sold to California's vineyards and farms at a profit.</p>
<p>The result? Composting has helped San Francisco reduce its annual waste by <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/13/how-san-francisco-became-a-global-leader-in-waste-management.html" target="_blank">a whopping 80 percent</a>, taken pressure off local landfills, and reduced the city's greenhouse gas emissions. And the city is now a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDMgMvcCm6w" target="_blank">global leader in municipal-waste reduction</a>.</p><p>San Francisco's success has inspired other local governments to take similar action. In recent years <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Organic-Waste-Bans_FINAL-compressed.pdf" target="_blank">a dozen other cities and states</a> have adopted their own mandatory composting laws. Although it's still a growing movement nationally, experts say this composting shift represents an important way that the U.S. can tackle food waste.</p><p>Every year American consumers and businesses waste hundreds of millions of pounds of food. The EPA <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-2030-food-loss-and-waste-reduction-goal" target="_blank">estimates</a> that about 22 percent of the foods we produce end up in landfills, with another 22 percent burned for energy. This contributes to climate change and a host of other environmental and humanitarian issues.</p><p>Congress agrees on the national value of community composting as one element of solving this problem. The 2018 Farm Bill, which passed a little over a year ago, created a fund for new composting programs.</p><p>It was one part of an unprecedented suite of actions in the Farm Bill designed to curb U.S. food waste. The actions encourage systemic change in the country's food system and support an ambitious government goal to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-2030-food-loss-and-waste-reduction-goal" target="_blank">slash domestic food waste</a> by half in the next decade.</p><p>The Obama administration established that goal in 2015, and it <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/winning-reducing-food-waste-federal-interagency-strategy" target="_blank">continues</a> today under the Trump administration. It mirrors a <a href="http://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/indicators/1231/en/" target="_blank">United Nations goal</a> to halve food waste globally by 2030.</p><p>In the United States, the broader effort is spearheaded by the EPA and the Department of Agriculture. With help from the Farm Bill, the country now seems poised to bring about meaningful change.</p><p>However, experts caution that continued progress will depend on continued support from Congress and solid commitments from industry, government, nonprofits and even consumers.</p>
The Promise of Reducing Waste
<p>No matter which way you slice it, food waste is a significant issue. In the U.S., up to <a href="https://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/faqs.htm" target="_blank">40 percent</a> of all food is tossed in the garbage. It's more than just the uneaten food you scrape off your plate. Food waste happens at every stage of production, from vegetables rotting on the vine to dumpsters full of unsold fruit and meat at your local grocery store.</p><p>"Our food system is operating with a 40% inefficiency," said Katy Franklin, operations director for the nonprofit <a href="https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton" target="_blank">ReFED</a>, a leading resource for food-waste research, data and solutions design. The organization works in support of both U.S. and UN waste goals.</p><p><span></span>It comes with a huge cost for the climate: This waste represents an enormous use of fossil fuel to grow, ship and refrigerate food that no one will ever eat. And as food products decompose, they release <a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/understanding-global-warming-potentials" target="_blank">methane</a>, a greenhouse gas with many times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide. <a href="https://www.epa.gov/recycle/reducing-wasted-food-home" target="_blank">Nearly all discarded food</a> in the U.S. ends up in landfills, where it produces <a href="https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas" target="_blank">up to 14 percent of our country's methane emissions</a>.</p><p>Looking at production, distribution and disposal, the United Nations estimates that excess wasted food generates <a href="https://www.drawdown.org/solutions/food/reduced-food-waste" target="_blank">a full 8 percent of worldwide global carbon emissions</a>.</p><p>If food waste were a country, it would be the world's third-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the U.S.</p><p>And the waste contributes to a host of other problems, including deforestation, pollution from fertilizers and pesticides, and human-rights issues from forced labor or food inequality.</p><p>But recognizing that problem also creates the opportunities for improvement. Tackling food waste, Franklin points out, "can be a huge part of reducing greenhouse gas emissions" and solving other problems.</p><p>Franklin and others see a lot of reasons for optimism, especially the 2018 Farm Bill, the most important elements of which are just starting to take effect. Top food-waste experts at ReFED and the Harvard Law School's <a href="https://hls.harvard.edu/dept/clinical/clinics/food-law-and-policy-clinic-of-the-center-for-health-law-and-policy-innovation/" target="_blank">Food Law and Policy Clinic</a> collaborated on recommendations for the bill, which were mostly accepted by Congress.</p><p>"It was satisfying and really thrilling to see the bill provide both funding and intellectual investment in the issue," said Franklin. "That's a magical combination."</p>The Farm Bill Creates Leadership
<p>While the Farm Bill put a range of programs in motion, three specific elements showcase the systemic changes needed to achieve serious cuts in food waste.</p><p>First, the law set the stage for the creation of a high-level "food-waste liaison" under the Secretary of Agriculture, with specific <a href="https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:7%20section:6924%20edition:prelim)" target="_blank">duties for researching and cutting waste</a>. Franklin calls the new position an exciting signal of government leadership, which can help galvanize participation throughout the business, consumer and government sectors. While the 2018 Farm Bill did not pay for this new position, preliminary funding was included in the 2020 appropriations bill that passed in December 2019. The provision was inserted in both bills by Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), who in 2018 also launched Congress' first-ever <a href="https://www.wastedive.com/news/congress-food-waste-caucus/522693/" target="_blank">Bipartisan Food Recovery Caucus</a> and has introduced other bills to curb food waste.</p><p>Until the liaison is hired, many of the duties assigned to the position by the Farm Bill fall to Elise Golan, the USDA's director for sustainable development. She describes the role as a natural fit for USDA because reducing food waste addresses the department's focus areas, including agriculture, nutrition, food safety and the environment.</p><p>Golan's office is presently determining the best methods to define and measure U.S. food waste, an early task the Farm Bill laid out for the liaison.</p><p>"We need benchmarks to generate good statistics," she said, "but even more importantly they help us identify the drivers of waste at every level, from farms to consumers."</p><p>Although some broad national estimates exist, experts say a lack of more specific data limits the ability to track progress in reducing waste across the entire food system. A 2019 Government Accountability Office report reached <a href="https://www.gao.gov/assets/700/699911.pdf" target="_blank">similar conclusions</a>. The report identified specific data gaps and pointed to inconsistent methods for measuring food waste among government agencies and others as a barrier to progress.</p><p>Golan says part of solving that problem requires greater coordination among federal agencies, another liaison role described by the Farm Bill. As an example of headway toward the goal, she points to an <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2019/04/09/usda-epa-and-fda-unveil-strategy-reduce-food-waste" target="_blank">interagency strategy</a> signed in 2019 by EPA, USDA and the Food and Drug Administration, which includes a commitment to improving food-waste measurement.</p><p>Other roles the liaison may eventually take on, as dictated in the Farm Bill, include raising public awareness, expanding existing programs, and nurturing both governmental and non-governmental partnerships, broad roles that experts say are best served by federal leadership.</p>Feeding the Hungry
<p>In the second effort at establishing systemic change, the Farm Bill set the stage for removing hurdles that commonly prevent supermarkets, restaurants and farmers from donating unwanted food to charity.</p><p>According to the nonprofit Feeding America and other experts, food donations <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/our-approach/reduce-food-waste" target="_blank">carry enormous potential</a> for reducing waste while helping people in need. But getting companies to donate goods has been a problem. Surveys have shown that many retailers avoid donating surplus food because they <a href="http://www.foodwastealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/FWRA_BSR_Tier2_FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">fear potential lawsuits</a> over less-than-optimal foodstuffs, even though they'd theoretically be protected by so-called "<a href="https://foodwastealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/FOOD-WASTE-REDUCTION-ALLIANCE.pdf" target="_blank">good Samaritan</a>" laws.</p><p>The Farm Bill took steps to fix that problem by clarifying protections established more than two decades ago under the 1996 <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-104publ210/pdf/PLAW-104publ210.pdf" target="_blank">Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act</a>. The Act previously offered liability to individual donors, nonprofits and "gleaners" — people who gather excess food left behind on agricultural fields. The new bill expanded that liability protection to cover direct donations by retailers.</p><p>The Farm Bill also required whoever eventually takes on the food-waste liaison role to publish additional guidance on the Bill Emerson Act, something no agency has done in the decades since the law's passage.</p><p><span></span>Experts say weeding out this confusion around liability protections can spur growth in commercial food donations. Toward that end, the Farm Bill also authorizes millions of dollars to help farmers participate in donation programs, especially for the perishables that comprise a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/jul/13/us-food-waste-ugly-fruit-vegetables-perfect" target="_blank">high percentage</a> of U.S. food waste. As one of the first examples, this September the USDA rolled out a new program that <a href="https://www.ams.usda.gov/content/usda-announces-establishment-milk-donation-reimbursement-program" target="_blank">reimburses farmers for milk donated to low-income families</a>.</p>More Composting
<p>The third example from the Farm Bill is a new fund to support community composting programs, which provides a total of $25 million to jumpstart pilot efforts in at least ten states.</p><p>Franklin and others call this provision especially important.</p><p>"There are so many valuable components of food-waste material," said Franklin. "There's really no reason they shouldn't be part of a circular economy that helps produce energy, soil and other products."</p><p>That's just what San Francisco's mandatory composting law has done, while also alleviating the burden on landfills and sharply cutting heat-trapping methane emissions.</p><p>There's an economic benefit, too, says Franklin. Recycling food often creates more jobs than tossing it. That point holds true in Massachusetts, where recycling food waste supported more than 900 jobs and $175 million in economic activity in 2016 alone, according to a <a href="https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/12/nx/orgecon-study.pdf" target="_blank">recent report</a> from the state government.</p><p>The three Farm Bill examples track well with a "<a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy" target="_blank">food recovery hierarchy</a>" developed by the EPA and others to guide thinking on food waste. It emphasizes that communities address waste prevention as their top priority, then move through a series of other solutions that include donating, repurposing and composting food, all before the least desirable practice of dumping it in a landfill.</p>Beyond the Farm Bill
<p>Congress and government agencies are far from the only ones working on food waste. If anything, they're late arrivals in a field where conservation and humanitarian groups have been toiling for years. They include the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), ReFED, Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic, Feeding America and many others, as well as hundreds of local food rescue groups that connect unwanted food with people in need. In fact, the Farm Bill provisions reflect many of these organizations' <a href="https://furtherwithfood.org/resources/opportunities-reduce-food-waste-2018-farm-bill/" target="_blank">longstanding recommendations</a>.</p><p>The groups have helped spur the food industry into action. For example, large retailers such as Walmart <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2016/jun/26/food-waste-walmart-date-labels" target="_blank">began efforts to standardize food expiration labels</a> after a 2013 <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/issues/food-waste" target="_blank">report</a> by NRDC and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic showed confusion over the labels leads up to 90 percent of Americans to toss perfectly good food. In 2017 they were <a href="https://www.supermarketnews.com/food-safety/gma-fmi-hail-fda-s-support-best-if-used-label" target="_blank">joined</a> by industry associations representing dozens of major firms, who volunteered to trim the more than ten date labels — including "best by," "sell by," and "expires on" — to just two: "best if used by" and "use by."</p><p>The Food and Drug Administration <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/125114/download" target="_blank">approved</a> their choice of "best if used by" to indicate optimal quality this past May but stopped short of sanctioning "use by" as a marker for when an item could be safely consumed.</p><p>Still, ReFED and others <a href="https://www.chlpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/date-labels-issue-brief_June-2019.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=c1b8e93b-4265-4c57-9dc1-a645175d9ccb" target="_blank">point out</a> that voluntary industry efforts are not enough. They say a continuing mishmash of retailer approaches and state food safety laws have prevented the universal standardization of labels. That standardization, they say, is only achievable by federal legislation that includes oversight, comprehensive consumer education, and consistency between state and federal laws. That may still emerge: In 2019 Rep. Pingree of Maine introduced label reform <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/3981/text" target="_blank">legislation</a> that matches ReFED's recommendations.</p><p>But as label reform shows, major industry players are coming to the table to help fight food waste. The EPA and USDA encourage their efforts through the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-food-loss-and-waste-2030-champions" target="_blank">2030 Food Waste Champions</a> program, which highlights companies working toward the government's 2030 goal. Members include Walmart, Campbells, Kellogg, Kroger and more than 20 other large retailers. Although the program is <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-food-loss-and-waste-2030-champions" target="_blank">voluntary</a> and doesn't require independent verification, highlighting again the need for better overall measurement standards, supporters argue it incentivizes companies to reduce waste.</p><p>"We've been lucky," said Franklin, "because reducing food waste has a lot of appeal among businesses right now."</p><p>But as Franklin says, unexpected events or market shifts could temper efforts at any time. She also points to the need for greater consumer education, as she's regularly reminded that most people remain unaware of the food-waste problem.</p><p>But she sees promising work there, too, and highlights the World Wildlife Fund's <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/teaching-resources/toolkits/food-waste-warrior-toolkit" target="_blank">Food Waste Warrior toolkit</a> for school teachers. Similar experiential education is also included in a <a href="https://civileats.com/2020/01/16/a-new-bill-aims-to-fix-food-waste-in-schools/" target="_blank">bill</a> Rep. Pingree and others introduced in January, which would initiate a new federally supported food-waste program in schools.</p><p>Taken together, all of these examples show legislators, agencies, nonprofits and industry collaborating to tackle food waste, with growing coordination around the government's 2030 goal. Experts say such coordination is necessary for solving America's — and the world's — food-waste problem.</p><p>Ultimately consumer behaviors also need to change, but once again we can look to San Francisco for proof that this can work. Once the city government and industry put in place tools and incentives, consumer behaviors followed.</p><p>Franklin calls it a matter of fitting all the puzzle pieces together — and it's almost like assembling a recipe to reduce food waste.</p><p>Experts agree we're still a long way from meeting our 2030 goal, and caution that the years ahead will show if continued coordination and investment keep us moving forward, but they also say the hunger for solutions is another sign of progress.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/food-waste-progress/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>. </em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Large pile of discarded fruit and vegetables, some floating in water. James Arnold / Moment / Getty Images
Consumers may waste more than twice as much food as previously thought, a new study has found.
<p>The study, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0228369" target="_blank">PLOS ONE Wednesday</a>, estimated that consumers wasted 527 calories per day per person, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51450727" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. That's more than double the UN's <a href="http://www.fao.org/home/en/" target="_blank">Food and Agriculture Organization</a> (FAO) estimate of 214 calories per day per person.</p><p>"The problem is much worse than we think. We have to wake up. I hope it's a wake-up call," lead study author Monika van den Bos Verma of Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2232923-the-huge-problem-of-food-waste-could-be-twice-as-big-as-we-thought/" target="_blank">told New Scientist</a>.</p><p>In 2005, the FAO estimated that about a third of food was wasted, a <a href="https://phys.org/news/2020-02-consumers-food-commonly-believed.html" target="_blank">Public Library of Science press release published by Phys.org explained</a>. But the FAO only based its data on food supply. The new study is different in that it takes the affluence of consumers into consideration. The researchers comprised a data set using information on human metabolism as well as data from the FAO, the World Bank and the World Health Organization and then used it to estimate <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food-waste" target="_self">food waste</a> globally as well as on a country by country basis. They found that once consumers enjoyed spending power of $6.70 per person per day, the amount of food they wasted began to increase.</p>
<p>"Food waste is a luxury when you're poor, it's not when you're richer. The value of food, it goes down [as you get richer]. It's also availability: the more you have, the more you're likely to waste," Van den Bos Verma told New Scientist.</p><p>The increased estimate of 527 calories wasted comes from 2005 data, so that it could be readily compared to FAO data from the same year. However, New Scientist pointed out that there were some weaknesses in the new study. It only covers 67 percent of the world's population and did not include any data from the U.S. and some other highly wasteful countries. The UK food waste group <a href="https://www.wrap.org.uk/" target="_blank">WRAP</a> also said it had used a similar approach to calculate waste and found that it tended to overestimate the amount of food wasted. It said such models should be supplemented with data coming directly from consumers' kitchens.</p><p>However, food waste remains a serious issue, and the researchers warned it could become more of one as less affluent countries grow wealthier and develop more wasteful habits.</p><p>The researchers recommended both reducing waste in high-income countries and making sure waste does not increase in developing ones, according to the Public Library of Science release.</p>
<p>Some tips for reducing waste include reducing portion sizes, only buying exactly what you need and increasing the cultural value of food, BBC News reported.</p><p>"From what we currently have in our kitchens we could feed five persons instead of four if we don't waste," study coauthor Dr. Thom Achterbosch, also of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, told BBC News.</p><p>In addition to exacerbating world hunger, food waste is also a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate</a> issue. The UN estimates that lost or wasted food accounts for nearly 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to BBC News.</p>
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You can reduce the footprint of a medium-sized live tree by donating it to elephants at a local zoo, like this African elephant pictured above. eans / iStock / Getty Images
The holiday season is supposed to be about giving and sharing, but often it is actually about throwing away. The U.S. generates 25 percent more garbage between Thanksgiving and New Year's than it does during the rest of the year. That's around one million extra tons per week, according to National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) figures reported by The Associated Press.
<p>Waste is a big part of the major environmental crises currently harming life on Earth. Around <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/8-million-metric-tons-of-plastic-dumped-into-worlds-oceans-each-year-1882012563.html" target="_self">8 million metric tons</a> of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/plastic-pollution" target="_self">plastic pollution</a> end up in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans" target="_self">oceans</a> each year, where they kill 100,000 marine animals and around one million seabirds a year, according to <a href="http://oceancrusaders.org/plastic-crusades/plastic-statistics/" target="_blank">Ocean Crusaders</a>. And <a href="https://www.drawdown.org/solutions-summary-by-rank" target="_blank">Project Drawdown found</a> that reducing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food-waste" target="_self">food waste</a> was the third most effective solution for reducing the amount of planet-warming greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere and fighting the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>So how can you celebrate without ending up on Earth's naughty list? Here are three tips for a holiday season that honors nature's gifts.</p>
1. Make Your Own Tree
<p>There's an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/green-christmas-eco-friendly-2623425137.html" target="_self">ongoing debate</a> as to whether it is more ecologically friendly to buy a natural tree every year or reuse a plastic one. But neither option is climate neutral, according to <a href="https://www.omnicalculator.com/ecology/zero-waste-christmas-tree#just-how-green-is-your-tree" target="_blank">Omni's Christmas Tree Footprint Calculator</a>.<br></p><p>This tool helps you calculate the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a variety of Christmas tree options and disposal methods so you can make the greenest choice you can. A natural tree thrown in a landfill burns 21.02 kilograms of carbon dioxide, a landfilled plastic tree burns 35.16 kilograms and a replanted potted tree burns only 1.64 kilograms. But only one option emits zero carbon: making a tree of your own from items already in your home.</p><p>In addition to calculating carbon footprints, the tool also gives you instructions for making trees from books, cans, floating baubles, cardboard or succulents. Compared to a plastic tree, a book tree can save the amount of carbon dioxide generated by 84 miles of driving.</p><p>But if you really crave that pine-needle smell, you can reduce the footprint of a medium-sized live tree down to 5.724 kilograms of carbon dioxide by donating it to the elephants at your local zoo.</p><span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="534130ad4703f8cfbb2434a486938ffe"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vDZLNh-hFUE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
2. Give Up on Gifts
<p>More and more people are turning away from the tradition of exchanging store-bought presents. This is especially the case for the younger generation, Waste and Resource Action Programme campaigner Richard Clapham told <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/christmas-presents-plastic-packaging-waste-family-stress-a9179926.html" target="_blank">The Independent in November</a>.</p><p>"They're increasingly looking for experiences rather than 'stuff.' I think this is partly driven by their concern for the planet but also because they already have so much stuff," he said.</p><p>If you opt not to buy things, there are still many creative ways to tell loved-ones you care. <a href="https://lbre.stanford.edu/pssistanford-recycling/frequently-asked-questions/frequently-asked-questions-holiday-waste-prevention" target="_blank">The Peninsula Sanitary Service and the Stanford Recycling Center</a> have several alternative gift suggestions including trips to museums or parks, certificates to help with chores around the house or handmade presents. You can <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/environmental-nonprofit-recommendations-2641495614.html" target="_self">also make a donation</a> in your own or someone else's name.</p><p>Jane Ruessman, a 58-year-old translator from the UK, told The Independent that she banned presents from her family gathering. Instead, everyone gets a handmade paper hat.</p><p>"Getting together at Christmas was initially a bit of a nightmare as we all felt that we should bring along a present for all those who were coming," she said. "It was nice but pretty stressful and we would end up spending a lot of money and going home with an awful lot of stuff that we generally didn't need at all and didn't know what to do with."</p><p>And that's the last thing the planet needs.</p>3. Make Your Feast Last
<p>Americans toss an extra five million pounds of food on average between Thanksgiving and New Year's, <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-simple-hacks-to-help-you-stop-wasting-leftovers-over-the-holidays-2018-11-26" target="_blank">MarketWatch reported</a>. But it doesn't have to be that way.</p><p>There are plenty of delicious strategies for making your holiday meal last as long as possible. If you served meat, you can use it for soups or stews, or toss it in dishes like lasagna. Leftover vegetables are great in frittatas or omelettes. It's also important to freeze leftovers before they go bad. <a href="https://hartfordclimate.org/2017/11/22/zero-food-waste-holiday/" target="_blank">The Hartford Climate Stewardship Initiative</a> recommends keeping enough in your fridge for three days of leftovers and freezing the rest immediately.</p><p>You can also give your food away. Ask your guests to come with their own to-go containers and send them away with the next day's lunch. Unused canned or dry food can be donated to a food drive.</p><p>It's also a good idea to reflect after this year's meals, assess how much you actually ate, and plan to make less next year.</p><p>"If everyone had their fill, and you still had leftovers, maybe during the next round of holiday shopping you think about the excess you had and say what if you purchased the same amount and only prepared half of it?" Lisa Sposato, director of food sourcing at New York charity City Harvest, told MarketWatch.</p>From Your Site Articles
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By Claire O'Connor
Agriculture is on the front lines of climate change. Whether it's the a seven-year drought drying up fields in California, the devastating Midwest flooding in 2019, or hurricane after hurricane hitting the Eastern Shore, agriculture and rural communities are already feeling the effects of a changing climate. Scientists expect climate change to make these extreme weather events both more frequent and more intense in coming years.
<p>Agriculture is also an important — in fact a <em>necessary </em>— <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/melanie-sturm/stewardship-wetlands-and-soils-has-climate-benefits" target="_blank">partner in fighting climate change</a>. The science is clear: We cannot stay beneath the most dangerous climate thresholds without sequestering a significant amount of carbon in our <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/soil">soils</a>.</p>
<p>Agricultural soils have the potential to sequester, relatively inexpensively, 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gasses annually — <a href="https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gases-equivalencies-calculator-calculations-and-references" target="_blank">equivalent to the annual emissions of 64 coal fired power plants</a>, according to National Academy of Sciences.</p><p>But we can't get there without engaging farmers, turning a source of emissions into a carbon sink. Here are just a few of the ways the Natural Resources Defense Council works to encourage climate-friendly farming: </p><ul> <li><strong>Creating New Incentives for Cover Crops: </strong>Cover crops are planted in between growing seasons with the specific purpose of building soil health. Despite their multiple agronomic and environmental benefits, adoption is low — only about <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lara-bryant/good-news-about-cover-crops-census-agriculture" target="_blank">7%</a> of U.S. farmland uses cover crops. NRDC is working to scale up cover cropping through innovative incentives delivered through the largest federal farm subsidy: crop insurance. We've worked with partners in <a href="https://www.cleanwateriowa.org/covercropdemo" target="_blank">Iowa </a>and <a href="https://farmland.org/let-us-celebrate-illinois-department-of-agriculture-accepts-the-crop-insurance-reward-program-for-cover-crops/" target="_blank">Illinois</a> to launch programs that give farmers who use cover crops $5/acre off of their crop insurance bill. And partners in Minnesota and Wisconsin are exploring similar options. While we're delighted at the benefit this program has for farmers in those individual states, we're even more excited about the potential to scale this program to the 350 million acres that <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/resources/covering-crops-how-federal-crop-insurance-program-reforms-can-reduce-costs-empower-farmers" target="_blank">utilize subsidized crop insurance</a> nationwide. A recent study suggests that cover crops <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/11/eaat1869" target="_blank">sequester</a> an average of .79 tons of carbon per acre annually, making cover crops one of the pillars of climate-friendly farming systems.</li></ul><ul> <li><strong>Supporting Carbon as a New "Agricultural Product": </strong>Championed by Senator Ron Wyden, the 2018 Farm Bill created a new program, the Soil Health Demonstration Trial, that encourages farmers to adopt practices that improve their soil health, and tracks and measures the outcomes. NRDC worked alongside our partners at <a href="https://www.e2.org/events/carbon-removal-a-new-american-agricultural-product-how-carbon-farming-and-building-soil-health-will-fight-climate-change/" target="_blank">E2</a> and a number of commodity groups, farmer organizations, and agribusinesses to secure passage of this provision. The Demonstration Trial will create a new, reliable income stream — farmers will get paid for the carbon they sequester regardless of how their crops turn out, and it builds the data needed for confidence in any <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lara-bryant/spring-has-come-soil-carbon-markets" target="_blank">future carbon markets</a>. USDA recently announced the first round of awards under this new program, totaling over <a href="https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/programs/financial/cig/?cid=nrcseprd1512816" target="_blank">$13 million</a> in investments to improve soil health. Senator Cory Booker has since drafted legislation that would increase funding for the program nearly 10-fold to $100 million annually; Representative Deb Haaland released a companion bill in the House.</li></ul><ul> <li><strong>Scaling up Regenerative Agriculture:</strong> <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/ellen-lee/digging-deeper-regenerative-agriculture" target="_blank">Regenerative agriculture</a> is an approach to farming that looks to work with nature to rebuild the overall health of the system. Regenerative farmers use a variety of tactics, including reduced chemical inputs, diverse crop and livestock rotations, incorporating compost into their systems, and agroforestry, among others. Our team is in the midst of interviewing regenerative farmers and ranchers to learn more about what's working for them and what challenges they've faced in their shift to a regenerative approach. We're planning to analyze our interview results and combine them with a literature review to identify what role NRDC could potentially play in helping to scale up regenerative farming and ranching systems. We'll also be sharing quotes and photos from our interviews on social media every Friday starting in January, so stay tuned for some inspiring farm footage!</li></ul><ul> <li><strong>Supporting Organic Farmers: </strong>Organic agriculture by design reduces greenhouse gas emissions, sequesters carbon in the soil, does not rely on energy-intensive chemical inputs, and builds resiliency within our food system. Practices integrated into organic production will become increasingly more important in the face of a changing climate. NRDC supports organic farmers through policy initiatives like <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/allison-johnson/organic-means-healthy-people-and-healthy-soils" target="_blank">the Organic Farm-to-School program</a> that was introduced in the California legislature last year. In the coming year, we'll continue to work to support organic farmers in California.</li></ul><ul><li><strong>Reducing Food Waste:</strong> Food waste generates nearly 3% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S., and NRDC is working hard to reduce that number, and improve soil health in the process. Some of our policy proposals include securing passage of <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/nrdc/confused-food-date-labels-congress-aims-set-them-straight" target="_blank">date labelling legislation</a> to eliminate confusion about whether food is still good to eat, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/food-matters" target="_blank">working with cities</a> to reduce waste and increase rescue of surplus food, and supporting efforts at all levels to increase <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/stories/composting-way-easier-you-think" target="_blank">composting</a> of food scraps. Adding compost to soils improves their ability to sequester carbon, store nutrients, and retain water. Composting food scraps also helps to "close the loop" on organic matter and nutrients by returning them to the agricultural production cycle, rather than sending that organic material to landfills, where it generates methane (a powerful climate pollutant).</li></ul><p>Climate-friendly farming also offers a host of important co-benefits. For example, when farmers use complex crop rotations to break weed, pest, and disease cycles, they can reduce the amount of synthetic chemicals they need to use. When they use practices like <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/lara-bryant/climate-change-wreaking-havoc-farms-cover-crops-can-help" target="_blank">cover crops</a>, no-till, and adding compost to protect and restore the soil, they reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers that emit greenhouse gasses. And when farmers can reinvest the oppressive amount of money they had been previously spending on expensive, synthetic inputs into the additional labor required to carbon farm, they bring new jobs to economically-depressed rural areas.</p><p>Farmers understand better than many of us the harsh realities of climate change, regardless of their opinions about what's causing those changes. And tight margins and trade wars make the potential of new value streams particularly attractive for farmers right now. By working alongside the farmers and farmworkers who tend the land, we can bring new allies into the fight against climate change, restore the health of our soil, and create a healthy, equitable, and resilient food system.</p>
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