The Farmlink Project’s Post

#UnitedStates🌎📢 A groundbreaking new national strategy by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), USDA, and FDA has been announced to halve food loss and waste by 2030. “This national strategy charts a course to reduce our nation’s food loss & waste by 50 percent by 2030.” - Thomas Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary The strategy actions aim to prevent and divert organic waste from landfills to reduce GHG emissions, as well as providing a host of opportunities for education & awareness, infrastructure support, and market expansion. 💚The PLEDGE launched a project in partnership with Make Food Not Waste, a #Detroit non-profit, to reduce food waste, reduce costs, gain recognition, and nurture the local ecosystem of solution providers. 🎖️ The project demonstrated the power of local initiatives and how it can be replicated after seven Detroit-based restaurants became the first to be certified in the country and we're excited to see the momentum to rollback food waste and tackle climate change pick up, now on a national scale. "Everyone has a role to play in reducing food loss and waste, and I hope that this will catalyze action in the private sector and communities around the U.S.” Read more: https://lnkd.in/gKZb4Jf3 To find out how The PLEDGE on Food Waste can help guide your restaurant through the food waste prevention journey, visit us at: https://lnkd.in/g3yGuHM3 #FoodWaste #Sustainability #ExcellenceDeservesRecognition #News #ZeroWaste #Landfill | Danielle Todd | Waste Magazine Today | Benjamin Lephilibert | Marco Sandri | Fayyaz M

Such a great initiative from the WWF today, who are currently beta testing a (free!) Global Farm Loss Tool. Working with The Consumer Goods Forum's Food Waste Coalition, the WWF have developed a tool aimed at reducing food loss on farms, which is the critical point where a staggering 15% (or 1.2 billion tonnes) of all food produced is lost. So what does the tool do? 🥬 Provides both growers and buyers with actionable insights to better understand produce loss and ultimately use more of what they grow. 🤝 Integrates with existing frameworks (e.g. the Sustainable Food Trust’s Global Farm Metric) to better predict on scope 3 emissions in relation to food loss. 🍓 Operates in line with the United Nations SDG target 12.3, to cut global food loss & waste by 50% by 2030. #FoodLoss #CarbonEmissions #Sustainability 

📢 NEWS: Secretary Vilsack was at the ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit to announce release of the “National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics."   The Strategy offers four main objectives. 1️⃣ Understand and prevent the loss of food from farmers and suppliers 2️⃣ Prevent wasted food from grocery stores, restaurants, and households 3️⃣ Increase composting 4️⃣ Support policies to encourage prevention and waste diversion The overall aim of the Strategy is to prevent the loss and waste of food and increase recycling of organic materials to support a circular economy for all, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save households and businesses money, and build cleaner, healthier communities. It is a deliverable in the Biden-Harris Administration’s National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. Each objective is accompanied by complementary EPA, USDA and FDA actions that will support the Strategy. Particular areas of interest: - Food donation/rescue - Upcycled food - Insect agriculture - Rendering - Uses for finished compost beyond agriculture use https://lnkd.in/gA95ETsR    

Despite the efforts and initiatives to promote food conservation, we waste approximately 2.5 billion tons of food every year. And this number isn’t getting any lower — around 40 percent of grown food goes uneaten, whereas it was once 33 percent. In other words, we clearly still haven’t found a satisfying solution for our food waste problems. Food waste is concerning for several reasons. The first and the most obvious one is food insecurity — a problem faced by two billion people across the globe. On the one hand, so much food goes uneaten, while on the other, people are dying of starvation. It’s easy to conclude that the system we have in place isn’t working. Aside from the social concern that comes with food waste, there’s also an environmental one. Growing food takes energy and resources, so those too go to waste if the produce isn’t consumed. What’s more, as uneaten food rots in a landfill, it produces methane — one of the most potent greenhouse gases. In fact, approximately 6‒8% of greenhouse gas emissions come from wasted food! So, clearly, we have a problem. But is there a way to solve it? We believe that there is, and the solution lies in the circular economy.

Kudos to Mrs. Vânia Zuin-Zeidler on this great article on sustainable chemistry's potential with regard to food safety and food supply chain managment in conformity with the SDGs. "Sustainable Chemistry in all its aspects can contribute to creating more sustainable food systems", including waste avoidance and minimal processing with maximum benefit for all, eaters and environment! Food is key and fuel for humans, but not all labels are equally reliable! #transparency #sustainablechemistry #natureknowsbest #sustainablefoodsystems #ISC3 https://lnkd.in/eg2RG3HT

🌍🍏 On this International Day of Food Loss and Waste, it is imperative to spread the message on reducing the global challenge of food wastage and ensuring a sustainable future for all. 🌱💚 🌾 Agriculture is the backbone of our society, providing food for an estimated world population of 9 billion by 2050. However, a significant portion of the world's food production goes to waste every year, contributing to environmental degradation and food insecurity. It must become a priority to ensure food loss and waste does not increase as our population rises. 🤝 CropLife UK is advocates responsible and sustainable agriculture practices to: 🌿 Promote innovative farming techniques that minimise crop losses. 📊 Support development for sustainable agricultural solutions. 🚜 Advocate for policies that encourage these solutions. 🌎 Raise awareness about the importance of reducing food waste. By making informed choices and embracing sustainable practices, we can ensure that everyone has access to safe, nutritious, and abundant food while safeguarding our planet's resources. 🌍 #FoodLossAndWaste #SustainableAgriculture #ZeroHunger #FoodSecurity #CroplifeUK https://lnkd.in/dqc58-Y

The latest Greener by Default blog post from Desman Wilson, with infographics from Olivia W. Zheng, delves deeper into food waste. Turns out that not all food waste is created equal when it comes to the environmental impacts: 🍌Fruits & veggies contribute more food waste by volume, but... 🥩 Animal products contribute more food waste emissions because meat emits over 3x more methane than plant matter when it rots 🌽 Animal products also have a greater footprint from upstream emissions because when meat gets thrown away, it includes not just all of the energy that went into transport, slaughter, and processing of that animal, but also all of the corn/soy and fertilizer grown to feed that animal. It takes 5 LB of feed for every 1 LB of chicken. 🐤 5% of broiler chickens - over 500 MILLION per year - die before they ever reach slaughter, which means their lives, bodies, and feed input all go to waste. 🌱 Luckily, there's an easy solution - eat and serve more plant-based foods! Less meat on menus means less meat wasted. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g6sFYSPG

🌱🌍 Let's talk about the power of sustainable food options! 🌿 🌿 Environmental Conservation: Practices like regenerative agriculture and organic farming reduce the environmental impact of food production, preserving soil health and biodiversity while cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Choosing sustainable food helps us combat climate change and protect ecosystems! 🍏 Health Benefits: Sustainable food choices prioritize nutrient-rich, chemical-free options, promoting better health for us and the planet. Organic produce, for example, is packed with vitamins and antioxidants, minus harmful chemicals found in conventional farming. It's a win-win! 🤝 Social Equity and Justice: Sustainable food systems champion fairness, accessibility, and community support. By backing small-scale farmers and fair trade practices, we contribute to economic resilience and fight food insecurity. Everyone deserves access to nutritious, affordable food, no matter their background. 🌾 Long-Term Food Security: With sustainable practices, we build resilience against environmental challenges like climate change and resource depletion. Diverse cropping systems and agroecological practices ensure food security for generations to come. Let's invest in a sustainable future! 🌟 Together, let's embrace sustainable food options to tackle global challenges and create a healthier, more equitable world for all! 🌍💚 Are you ready to learn more? Visit Us: www.pip-international.com Contact Us: inquiries@pip-international.com #SustainableFood #SustainablePractices #FoodJustice #PlantBasedProtein #PIPInternational #PeaProtein #AProteinLikeNoOther

Timely article given the presentation Shelley King will deliver today with the The Simpson Centre on the potential for the circular and bioeconomies to benefit the agrifood industry. Tarra Drevet, Ph.D. Rethinking is needed everywhere. #naturalproducts #upcycling #sustainability

Recently the UN environmental agency UNEP published a new report on replacing animal food products like meat and dairy with more environmental friendly and healthy food products like plant based meat and dairy alternatives. One paragraph refers to the report commissioned by TAPP Coalition about a higher and fair meat price, recycling revenues to make healthy food cheaper: CE Delft: "Sustainability Charge on Meat" (2020). The paragraph writes: A ‘meat tax’ similar to those levied on alcohol and tobacco has garnered support from some advocates. A meat tax in high-income countries could reduce demand and help to address the negative environmental and health-related externalities associated with meat consumption and pro[1]duction (Funke et al. 2022). Studies have looked at taxing meat products according to the intensity of their environmental impacts, including emis[1]sions, disease risk and impacts on biodiversity (Edjabou and Smed 2013; Vergeer et al. 2020). One concern around a meat tax is that it might unfairly affect low-income populations, but this could be addressed by a revenue recycling program (Vergeer et al. 2020). The CE Delft report, Sustainability Charge on Meat, presented at the EU Parliament, can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ejtWNAjW https://lnkd.in/e9tsdg3Z