15 solutions to Food waste is a scourge. 1.6 billion tons of food are wasted worldwide every year . This figure is so large it’s inconceivable, but let’s try to imagine it anyway:
1.6 billion tonnes is the equivalent of 160,000 Eiffel Towers.
160,000 Eiffel Towers is a lot of wasted food, and that food has a monumental environmental impact. In fact, if food waste were a country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world , behind the United States and China.
The land used to grow food that will iraq telegram data ultimately be wasted is roughly 29 times the size of France (or almost 3 times the size of the Amazon rainforest). What’s more, according to the UN, if we could reduce food waste by just 25%, there would be enough food 15 solutions to to alleviate global malnutrition.
Fortunately, food waste is a problem that can be completely solved if consumers, businesses, farmers, and governments work together. A significant part of the solution lies in technologies that are still emerging —many incredible companies are coming up with creative ways to solve the food waste crisis. I’ve rounded up the ones I like best here.
Food is lost at every stage, from farm to plate. So I’ve organized this list into sections, based on which end of the supply chain the company is aiming to improve:
- Farms
- Supermarkets
- Restoration
- Homes
Farms 15 solutions to
1. Apeel
To extend their shelf life, food producers where to find it? have been coating their fruits and vegetables in wax since the 1920s. Apeel , a California-based company, has taken the idea much further.
It has in fact developed an edible. Invisible coating, produced from agricultural. Waste such as leftover .grape skins used in .winemaking. This coating can multiply the resistance of. Fruits and vegetables by five! According. To the new york times , apeel can even deliver. A batch of so-called “bananas of the week”: each day, a new banana becomes ripe. 15 solutions to .
It’s a promising technology, especially for farmers in developing. Countries—in these countries, the difficulties farmers face in. Getting their produce to market before. It spoils are a major cause of food waste. But for the western world, too: if the coating lives up to its .promise, it could drastically reduce fruit and . Vegetable waste in restaurants, supermarkets, and home
Here’s how a strawberry performs with and without Apeel coating
2. Full Harvest
More than 9 million tons (900 Eiffel Towers) of “ugly” fruits and vegetables are thrown away each year in the United States alone, rejected by stores because consumers prefer, superficially, perfect-looking produce.
Full Harvest prevents this waste by creating the first B2B marketplace where farmers can connect with agribusinesses to offload their surplus and imperfect produce. Those who purchase this “odd” merchandise can save up to 40% of what they would have paid to traditional producers.
3. Hungry Harvest and Imperfect Produce
Like Full Harvest, Hungry Harvest and Imperfect Produce are on the front lines of preventing “ugly” fruits and vegetables from rotting in the fields.
Operating in the United States, they target consumers directly: they deliver baskets of imperfect produce to their subscribers, who aren’t picky. Imperfect Produce claims to have “saved” 18,000 tons of food and 4.5 billion liters of water.
4. Hazel Technologies
Designed for fruit growers, Hazel Technologies ‘ small sachets release a chemical called 1-MCP. It’s a powerful plant hormone that signals fruit that it’s not yet ripe. Using a Hazel sachet is simple: simply place it in a crate containing the fruit you want b2b reviews to preserve. For three weeks, the sachet releases a harmless chemical that slows the ripening process.
Since about 45% of all ripe fruit goes to waste , technology that gives it more time to reach market could have a huge impact, especially in developing countries.
