Presentation for the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) on a systems and resource valuation approach to reducing food waste.

1. Minimizing Food Waste: A Systems Approach
with a Resource Valuation Perspective
Presentation for the US Environmental
Protection Agency
Steven M. Finn
www.responsecology.com

2. Disclaimer
• This presentation has been provided as part of EPA’s Sustainable Food Management Webinar
Series. This document does not constitute EPA policy. Mention of trade names or commercial
products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation of use. Links to non-EPA
websites do not imply any official EPA endorsement of or a responsibility for the
opinions, ideas, data, or products presented at those locations or guarantee the validity of
the information provided. Links to non-EPA servers are provided solely as a pointer to
information that might be useful to EPA staff and public.
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3. Introduction
Food waste in the US – and globally – is a critical
problem requiring systemic change with a long-
term sustainability focus
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4. Our Current Illusion
“Industrialized nations need to learn what it means to
live in scarcity – because the appearance of infinite
abundance is an illusion.”
Tristram Stuart, Waste. 2009.
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5. The Illusion Persists
• It is reflected in our everyday attitudes and
actions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJs_dnj6g_M&feature=relmfu
• Do we find this commercial offensive?
• What does it say about our collective mindset?
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6. Valuing Food and Resources
• How much do we
value food?
• The resources to
produce it?
• How often do we
consider the
weaknesses of the
food system, and the
waste that results?
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7. The Problem in Numbers
• Roughly one third of all edible food produced
annually for human consumption goes to waste –
about 1.3 billion tons per year (Gustavson, et al.
www.fao.org, 2011)
• Roughly 50% of food is wasted from field to fork
(Lundqvist, 2008)
• Waste estimate in US:
100 billion lbs. of food/yr.
(Enough to eliminate hunger)
(www.ampleharvest.org)
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8. The Big Disconnect
We waste roughly 30-50% of food produced, yet:
• Roughly 870 million people around the world or 1
in 8) are hungry, with more than 850 million in
developing countries (FAO, 2012)
• In the US, 50 million people lived in food insecure
households in 2011 (Feeding America, 2012).
• We need to feed another 2 billion by 2050
• Resources are limited/environment is challenged
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9. A Dysfunctional Circle
Current Food System: Roughly half of food lost along the way
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10. The Impact of Dysfunction
• We’re producing more than we need in
developed countries
• At every stage we are devoting finite resources to
produce food that we eventually discard
• In the final stages we inflict even more harm on
the environment by disposing of food that we did
not use (methane emissions, groundwater)
• We fail to divert billions of tons of excess food to
eliminate hunger
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11. The Result: Wasted Nutrition & Resources
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12. A Time for Change
• Change is needed now
• At multiple levels
• We need to “re-think”
the food system using
a systems approach
and a resource
valuation perspective
• The problem of food
waste needs to be on
the national agenda in
the US
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13. Choices Regarding Excess Food
EPA Hierarchy view: • How do we make this
second nature for all?
• How do we go even
further?
• It’s about valuing our
resources, especially
our food
• Requires a long term
versus short term
view
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14. Mindset Change
We need mindset change for sustainable
behavior:
• Social impact
• Environmental impact
• Resource Efficiency
(i.e. people, planet, profit)
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15. Limited Resources
• We’ve caught on to the need to conserve resources to
some degree, but much less so with excess food
We need to:
• Value our food more
• Value the resources used to produce our food
• Utilize resources efficiently and sustainably; focus on
minimizing waste
• Example: Consider food waste in developing countries
versus developed countries (opposite); infrastructure
and mindset issues
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16. Designing for Change
• Food system must be
redesigned for the ideal
• Systems approach; idealized
design that values resources
for sustainable performance
• Recognition of need to feed
9 billion by 2050; and rising
incomes put more strain on
resources worldwide
• Minimize waste, efficiently
capture and redirect excess
food
• Shift toward local and
regenerative production
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17. Key Themes to Consider
• Awareness
• Education
• Mindset Change – Individual, Consumer, Government
• Incentives – Financial, Environmental, Social
• Long Term Thinking
• Public-Private Partnerships
• Pilot Projects – Local
• Promote Success
• Measurement – Show value
• National /Global Focus
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18. Raising the Awareness Level
• Overcome the discomfort
• Communicate the
statistics on food waste –
they are powerful
Connect them to:
• Hunger
• Environmental harm
• Wasted resources
Behavior change depends
on awareness fueling desire
for positive action
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19. Education
• Educated consumers are critical toward demand efforts to
minimize food waste, or recover and distribute excess, from
business and government
• Educate producers on how to maximize donations of excess
• Educate business on savings from redirecting excess food
• Tie to health care costs of obesity
• Tie to environmental issues
• Reestablish connection to land;
and origin/value of food products
• New programs on food security
and challenges related to
population
• Start early in schools
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20. Mindset Change
• Make the connection between
hunger and food waste personal
• Change the “culture of abundance”
mindset; we can’t afford it
• We need a new “compact” between
the consumer and the food industry
• Change attitudes toward
imperfections (consumer) and
accepted waste (food retailers)
(Bloom 2010)
• Trash is too easy; change operations
to donate or freeze excess for later
distribution to the needy
• Overcome liability fears; take extra
steps to achieve food recovery in
accordance with Good Samaritan law
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21. Incentives
• Increase cost of food to landfill
• Deductions for direct donations, reprocessing
work, and infrastructure to enable recovery
• Logistics support and backhauls (Rauch, 2011)
• Industry – zero waste Discarded steaks
• Positive publicity
• CSR/Community building
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22. Think Long Term
“At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the
present, and calling it gross domestic product. We can
just as easily have an economy that is based on healing
the future instead of stealing it.” (Hawken, 2009)
• Current efforts to reduce food waste (including food
recovery) are important to fill immediate needs
• Much potential for partnerships; they provide
valuable learning for food system redesign
• Long term systems view with a sustainability focus is
essential to reduce serious cost of food waste
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23. Creative Partnerships
• Seek growers or retailers with excess
• Partner with food banks or community for labor
• Seek relationships where a portion of production
goes directly to food agency
• Conversion facilities at retailers;
reprocess and flash freeze for
distribution
• Larger scale: New Deal-type projects – match excess
food to be harvested and converted with those
seeking jobs
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24. Pilot Projects
• Connecting with farmers
• Most farmers have excess
periodically
• Create partnerships to capture
excess food and redistribute
• Communicate benefits in terms of
financial savings, social and
environment benefits
• Establish reliable pick-ups to ensure
stability
• Get creative with reprocessing ideas
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25. Build on Successful Programs
• Success breeds success; spreads elsewhere
• Recent food recovery programs in PA have
captured tens of thousands of pounds of produce
that would have gone to waste
• Healthy competition
• Promote local connections to ease logistics of
food recovery
• Harness the power of dedicated individuals (the
power of small) in local communities
• Get creative with reprocessing ideas
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26. Measure
• Quantify the cost impact of food losses more clearly
• Quantify the positive impact of reducing food waste in
terms of resource benefits (water, air, soil)
• Use results to drive policy
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27. National (US) and Global Focus
• Add to the political agenda (take lesson from
Europe)
• US take on leadership role
• Establish National Commission in US for driving
educational effort and legislation
• National Ad campaign
• Partnerships with industry and other countries
• Infrastructure assistance to developing countries
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28. Lessons from Europe
• European Parliament has addressed food
waste; we need a national commission in the
US to coordinate similar action
• http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/pressroom/content
/20120118IPR35648/html/Parliament-calls-for-urgent-
measures-to-halve-food-wastage-in-the-EU
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29. Questions?
For additional information, please contact
Steven M. Finn at info@responsecology.com
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30. References
• Bloom, American Wasteland, 2010
• FAO, SOFI report, 2012
• Finn, Sustainable Food Recovery Programs, 2011
• Gustavson et al., Global Food Losses and Food Waste, 2011
• Hawken, University of Portland Commencement
Address, 2009
• Lundqvist, SIWI Policy Brief, 2008
• Rauch, Solving the American Food Paradox, 2011
• Stuart, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, 2009
• www.ampleharvest.org
• www.feedingamerica.org
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