A WORLD OF

WASTE—
AND WHAT WE
CAN DO ABOUT IT
National Press Foundation – September 2019
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL

We combine the power of more than three million members

and online activists with the expertise of some 600 scientists,
lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the
rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
NRDC SUSTAINABLE AG

CLIMATE
ANTIBIOTIC HEALTHY TOXIC
FRIENDLY
MISUSE SOIL CHEMICALS
MENUS

FOOD WASTE
WHY
WASTED FOOD?
FOOD
Wavebreak MediaLtd/123RF
MATTE
09 | 2019

RS
 ‘Coordinated action to address climate change can simultaneously
improve land, food security and nutrition, and help to end hunger.

“Food security will be increasingly affected by future climate change

through yield declines – especially in the tropics – increased prices,
reduced nutrient quality, and supply chain disruptions,” said Priyadarshi
Shukla, Co-Chair of IPCC Working Group III.

The report records that about one third of food produced is lost or
wasted. Causes of food loss and waste differ substantially between
developed and developing countries, as well as between regions.
Reducing this loss and waste would reduce greenhouse gas emissions
and improve food security.’
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
If global food waste were compared to every country, it would be
the third-largest GHG emitter after China and the United States

No.
1 No.
2 No.
3

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming, edited by Paul Hawken, 2017; 2 iStock, Urs Siedentop/iStock
FOOD WASTE HAS SERIOUS
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

21% of US Agricultural Water Use

UP TO 40%
OF ALL 19% of Cropland
FOOD GOES
UNEATEN 18% of Fertilizer

22% of Landfill Content

37m Cars-worth of GHGs

NRDC, Wasted: How America Is Losing up to 40 Percent of it's Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill, 2017; Dimitris Stephanides/iStock

09 | 2019
ENOUGH
TO FEED
164
MILLION
PEOPLE

NRDC, Wasted: How America Is Losing up to 40 Percent of it's Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill, 2017; Dimitris Stephanides/iStock

09 | 2019
WHERE U.S. FOOD WASTE HAPPENS
Farms
16%

Manufacturing
2%
Homes
43% Retail and
Distribution
13%

Restaurants
18%
Foodservice
8%
A Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent, ReFED, March 2016. https://www.refed.com/downloads/ReFED_Report_2016.pdf

09 | 2019
WHAT GETS WASTED?

Milk 20%

Meat 22%

Grains 38%

Seafood 50%

Fruits & Vegetables 52%

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, North America; (3) NRDC, Diane Labombarbe/iStock, iStock

09 | 2019
THE WATER IN EVERY BITE…
Water Required to Produce Food (in shower minutes)
PRODUCT QUANTITY WATER USE EQUIVALENT IN SHOWER MINUTES = 20SHOWER MINS
Beer 8 oz 8
Tomato 1 lb 10
Wine 4 oz 12
Milk 8 oz 12
Potato 1 lb 14
Egg 1 egg 22
Banana 1 lb 84
Apple 1 lb 86
Pasta. dry 1 lb 88
Rice, white 1 lb 120
Personal Pizza 26 oz 134
Chocolate 4 oz 180
Chicken 1 lb 208
Cheese 1 lb 244
Pork 1 lb 288
Beef 1 lb 740

Water Footprint Network, Produce Gallery Water Footprint Estimates, www.waterfootprint.org

09 | 2019
U.S. EPA https://www.epa.gov/sustainable‐management‐food/food‐recovery‐hierarchy

09 | 2019
• The State of the System
• Drivers and Remedies
• Progress to Date
• Recommendations for
Future Action
.

WHY FOOD DONATION

IS IMPORTANT

iStock

09 | 2019
THE IRONY OF
OVERABUNDANCE
AND SCARCITY
40 million people — working poor,
disabled, elderly, veterans, kids, —
lack a secure supply of food to
their tables.

US Meal Gap = 6.8 billion

meals per year

U.S. food insecurity: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/ (accessed 6/25/19) ; Meal Gap: https://map.feedingamerica.org/ (accessed 6/25/19); Stocksy

09 | 2019
CONSEQUENCES OF
FOOD INSECURITY
Increased risk of type 2
diabetes, high blood pressure,
heart disease, and obesity
Negative impact on children’s
ability to learn
Lost work productivity

Food donation doesn’t solve root

causes but is critical for channeling
appropriate foods to people in need
https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/hunger-and-nutrition (accessed 6/25/19); iStock

09 | 2019
CAUSES OF HUNGER:
Access – store locations, hours, transportation
Wages – Fight for $15, instability, underemployment
High cost of healthcare, childcare, housing
STATE OF FOOD
DONATION
More than 3.5 billion pounds
donated per year
Growth areas:
+ Institutions, hotels, colleges,
event centers,etc.
+ Restaurants
+ Grocery – fruits and
vegetables, dairy,
frozen meat, and deli

Feeding America, 2018 Annual Report, https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2018-12/2018%20Feeding%20America%20Annual%20Report_0.pdf; Wieslaw Jarek/Alamy

09 | 2019
Map The Meal Gap: Feeding America
FOOD INSECURITY IN BALTIMORE

132,000 people are food insecure

21.3% of population
(vs. 12.5% nationally)
Gap = 22.5 million meals/year
($75M)

Expanding safe donation of

surplus food is part of the solution

FOOD MATTERS Food insecurity and meal gap data: https://map.feedingamerica.org (accessed 9/5/19); Steve Debenport/iStock

09 | 2019
THE FOOD DONATION CHAIN

DONORS

FOOD RESCUE
FOOD BANKS
ORGANIZATIONS/APPS

“LAST MILE ORGANIZATIONS”

pantries, shelters, mobile

PEOPLE NEEDING FOOD

Christopher Testani for NRDC

09 | 2019
 POTENTIAL IMPACT

Expanded food rescue efforts within each city  could

potentially help meet an additional

46% 48%
of the meal gap
23%
of the meal gap 
of the meal gap 
inDenver inNashville in NewYork

FOOD MATTERS Jeffrey Beall/Flickr, Spacher, iStock

09 | 2019
 BY SECTOR FOR DENVER, NASHVILLE, AND NEW YORK CITIES COMBINED

FOOD MATTERS
 CHALLENGES INNOVATIONS

• The food is free but the handling and  • More emphasis on quality and 
logistics are hard to finance  freshness

• Food quality and cultural  • Surplus produce from farms
appropriateness
• Match‐making apps
• Greater voice for food insecure 
populations • Mobile delivery

• Disposal costs can be shifted to  • Industry commitment 
rescuers
• More attention to prepared foods

• State laws
COMMON MYTHS
THAT DETER
DONATION
“We would have to transport the
food ourselves”
“We’re liable ifsomething goes
wrong”
“The city won’t let us donate food”
Plus: “We’re not sure what the
rules are”

FOOD MATTERS Rescuing LeftoverCuisine

09 | 2019
 CITY COMMUNICATION WITH DONORS

FOOD MATTERS
09 | 2019
 NRDC’S FOOD
MATTERS PROJECT
Goal: Work with cities to achieve a 15% reduction in food waste levels within
five years through catalytic policy and program design and implementation,
while laying a foundation for other cities to replicate successful strategies.
Model Cities: Denver and Baltimore
PLUS Nashville, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, El Paso, others

FOOD MATTERS
09 | 2019
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

FOOD MATTERS
28
 AMBITIOUS POTENTIAL FOR FOOD RESCUE

4,000

3,000
Tons/year

2,000

1,000

Baltimore* Denver
Retail Grocery Convenience Stores Healthcare
Hospitality Full Service Restaurants Limited Services Restaurants
Caterers Coffee Shops Colleges and Universities
K‐12 Schools
FOOD MATTERS
* unpublished
THE BUSINESS CASE
HOUSEHOLDS

43% of Wasted Food occurs in homes.

And most Americans believe they don’t

waste much food…

How can we help consumers be part

of the solution?
Kate Kiely
KKiely@NRDC.org

Andrea Collins
ACollins@NRDC.org

NRDC.org

SaveTheFood.com