4 Reducing Food Waste and Loss
Sarah Mustain; Tori Booker; Sara Loss; and Beatrix Haggard
Introduction
Food waste and loss throughout the supply chain is an increasing problem affecting individuals around the globe. According to the Food and Agriculture Association (2011), about one-third of food produced annually for human consumption (1.3 billion tons) is lost or wasted globally. In higher-income countries, food is wasted at the consumer level, where it is discarded despite being suitable for human consumption. Consumer-level waste can include household behavior, improper storage, or purchasing more food than can be consumed before expiration (Shafiee-Jood & Cai, 2016). In lower-income countries, food is lost earlier in the production stages (Gustavsson, 2011). The earlier production stages include weather conditions, poor drying practices, and inadequate storage infrastructure (Hodges et at., 2010). On average, 500 million tons are lost in the field, 350 million tons are lost or wasted post-harvest and in storage, and 350 million tons are wasted at the consumption level (The World Counts, 2024).
Both food waste and loss are problems, but people disagree about who is more responsible. Because food loss at the production stage tends to occur in greater quantities, should efforts focus on reducing production losses in low-income countries? Or is it more practical to address consumption habits in higher-income countries by encouraging individual households to reduce food waste?
As the global population continues to grow, coordinated efforts to reduce food waste and loss are essential to ensuring global food security. However, the solutions for food loss (in production) and food waste (consumer level) are not a one-size-fits-all situation. In this simulation, you will learn ways food is lost and wasted and find workable solutions. In the next section of this chapter, you will learn more about food loss and waste, and about the important skills you will gain by participating in this simulation.
Overview of the Simulation
This simulation engages you in critical discussions about food loss and waste as well as practical solutions. The chapter begins with an opportunity for you to discuss how the themes of the simulation relate to your own lived experience. You will engage with reading, listening, and research activities to help build your knowledge of food loss and waste. After reflecting on the role-play, you will either write a letter to the editor, create an infographic, or write an academic essay about this topic.
As shown below, the simulation has five distinct phases.
How the simulation works
| Phase | Phase Description | Activities |
| 1 | Activation | Discussion 1 & 2
Reading 1 |
| 2 | Comprehension | Listening 1
Reading 2 Role Assignment / Role Preparation |
| 3 | Simulation | Role Play |
| 4 | Reflection | Debriefing Activity
Critical Reflections |
| 5 | Application | Letter to the Editor, Infographic, or Essay |
You will gain a number of important skills as you participate in the simulation. These skills are sequenced from simple tasks, such as defining and describing, to more complex tasks such as synthesizing and evaluating.
After completing this simulation, you will be able to:
- make connections between consumer roles in food loss and waste
- define key terms relating to food loss and waste
- describe major impacts of food loss and waste
- make predictions about possible solutions to the problems
- summarize issues related to food loss and waste
- synthesize knowledge about solutions to global issues
- evaluate the positions we have in the food sector
Phase 1: Activation
In this phase of the simulation, you will draw on your background knowledge about food loss and waste. This will help prepare you for the listening, reading, and research activities in Phase 2 of the simulation. It will also allow you to share your experiences and ideas with your classmates.
Discussion Activity 1
Work in a small group. Discuss the following questions and be ready to share your responses with the class.
- Have you ever thrown food away that was still okay to eat?
- Have you ever bought more food than you can consume?
- Have you ever seen food at a store/market that was unfit for consumption?
- Has there ever been a time when you couldn’t afford groceries?
- What are some potential problems in your area that contribute to food loss or waste?
- What are some ways we can minimize food loss in our own homes?
Discussion Activity 2
Watch the short video Tossed Out: Food Waste in America and discuss the causes, effects, and solutions to food loss and waste in a developed country.
- How many tons of food does America throw away each year?
- According to Dan Nickey, what percentage of food never makes it to the table?
- How many people in America suffer from food insecurity?
- List some reasons the video mentions that food is wasted.
- How is the University of Arkansas’ “Razorback Recovery” contributing to reducing food waste?
- What is the Bill Emerson Act?
- At ConAgra, what percent is diverted from landfills?
- What innovation is the Colorado School of Mines working on with food waste?
- What tips were listed to reduce food waste?
Reading Activity 1
Read Tackling Food Waste at Home (Harvard, 2024) and then answer the following questions.
- What do climacteric and non-climacteric fruits mean?
- What produce should you keep in low humidity?
- What produce should you keep in high humidity?
- What produce is best stored at room temperature?
- Which three ingredients are required for compost?
Phase 2: Comprehension
The purpose of this phase is to help you expand your knowledge of challenges and practices regarding food waste and loss. You will listen to one podcast episode and read one text. The podcast will provide you with information about ACES Illinois’ findings on global food loss and local food waste. It will also provide insights into solutions they have found and collaborations with other institutions. For Reading 2, you will write a descriptive summary of the text.
Listening Activity 1
Listen to the selection from the ACES Illinois podcast, Reducing Food Waste and Food Loss, and then answer the following questions:
(0:00-7:10)
1. Who is being interviewed?
2. What are two ways food is lost or wasted, according to an interviewee?
3. Who has to implement policies and practices?
4. What are the benefits of reducing post-harvest losses to farmers?
5. Give examples of things farmers need to know to reduce losses.
6. Who is funding the work that farmers are involved in?
(7:10-9:33)
7. What do processors need to focus on to reduce loss?
8. What new technology are they working on to reduce grain loss?
9. What challenges do institutions face when repurposing food?
(9:33-10:46)
10. What is a direct way consumers can reduce food waste?
11. What do they mean by “voting with your dollars”?
(10:46-16:12)
12. In what ways can food that is already going bad be used?
13. Who does the ADM Institute partner with to prevent post-harvest food loss?
14. What do the farmers’ affordable low-technology methods help with?
15. How does the student-created app at ACES help with food waste?
(16:12-19:23)
16. What does P.U.S.H. stand for?
17. What percent of college students in the U.S. suffer from hunger?
18. Which colleges have a higher rate of student hunger?
(19:23-24:00)
19. Name some departments at ACES Illinois that offer education regarding food loss and waste.
20. List academic majors that study factors related to food loss and waste.
Reading Activity 2
Read Food Waste is a Solvable Problem-Here’s How to do it, navigate through the key action areas, and then write a summary using the prompt provided:
Summary Prompt: Based on the key action areas, provide a brief overview of the 7 areas and solutions they discuss (word limit: 100-200 words). Then, summarize which changes you think would be the quickest to implement (word limit: 100-200 words).
Phase 3: Simulation
In this phase, you will be given a role to play in a simulated discussion event (e.g., a 45 -minute panel discussion). It is important that you understand the context and your role to prepare for the role-playing.
The Context
Individuals at your university have strong opinions about how we should focus our efforts to reduce food waste and loss. Everyone agrees that food waste is a problem, but not everyone agrees that it needs to be addressed at the university. Some believe that focusing on personal food waste is inconvenient (too hard, expensive, and reduces variety), while others think the bigger problem is food loss and that we should focus our attention on that, if anything.
Agenda
Your agenda is to defend your position in the discussion by delivering a 3–5 minute presentation in support of your perspective on food loss and waste.
Roles
You will be assigned a role to play in this phase of the simulation. There are five participant roles on each side of the debate and one moderator role. Five participants believe reducing food waste is too difficult, and the other five participants believe we should focus on reducing food loss instead.
Moderator. University President
Description
- Your task is to introduce the issue at the beginning of the panel discussion, welcome the participants, and moderate the discussions. Allow every participant (role) about 3-5 minutes to talk and make sure that everyone gets a turn to express their personal causes and solutions. Develop one question for each group’s presentation and ask the question after their presentations. The moderator role can be played by students or the instructor of the course.
For Reducing Food Waste
Role 1. Sustainability Club President
Description
- As the club president, you believe there are simple solutions that can be implemented on campus to reduce food waste.
Potential Sources:
Role 2. Local Food Bank Director
Description
- As a local food bank director, you have seen, firsthand, how reducing food waste at local campuses can positively impact your local community. You rely on donations to give back to your community and feel that everyone has a responsibility to reduce waste.
Potential Sources:
Role 3. Young Greens Oklahoma Chapter President
Description
- With ecological wisdom as a cornerstone of your founding principles, the Green Party looks for ways to improve policies on all levels of government. You believe reducing waste at all levels is important.
Potential Sources:
Role 4. Student: Food Insecurity Advocate
Description
- You are a third-year student who has witnessed many fellow students experiencing food insecurity on campus. You would like to see the university redirect surplus dining hall food to a campus food pantry to support students in need.
Potential Source:
Role 5. Food Service Worker/Student
Description
- You are a student who works in the campus dining hall and have witnessed significant food waste resulting from inadequate meal planning. You have been raising awareness among fellow students about the need to reduce food waste on campus.
Potential Sources:
Against Reducing Food Waste
Role 6. Director of University Dining Services
Description
- As the Director of University Dining Services, you understand the complexities of serving the entire university. You believe that changing the way you handle food would be too difficult and require more workers. This will, in turn, come at a cost that the university cannot afford.
Potential Sources:
Role 7. University Waste Management
Description
- You are an employee of the university for waste management. You see firsthand how well students and staff effectively separate their waste, and don’t think everyone is collectively good at it. You also know how much work it takes to separate trash and collect separate bins all around campus. The workload and complications with implementing a new collection system would be too big a strain on the current employees, with little reward.
Potential Sources:
Role 8. Student: Food Loss Critic
Description
- You are a student at your university and feel that separating your own waste is too time-consuming and difficult in your small dorm room. You think the bigger issue is food loss and should be addressed at a higher level.
Potential Sources:
Role 9. Student: Dining Hall Advocate
Description
- You are a student at your university and enjoy the variety in the dining hall. You believe that fueling your mind starts with fueling your stomach and that should include a wide variety of foods to stay on top of your educational needs.
Potential Sources:
Role 10. Food Service Worker
Description
- You work at a dining location in the student union. You are concerned with the additional work and preparation that will be needed to sort all the trash and food waste and process it on-site. Additionally, your supervisor wants you to log how much was wasted and thrown away. You have been short-staffed and do not see that improving soon.
Potential Sources:
Phase 4: Reflection
The objective of the reflection is to discuss as a group all aspects of the chapter.
Debriefing Activity: In small groups, discuss the following questions. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the whole class.
- What did you think about the topic for this simulation? Were you already familiar with it?
- Was it easy or difficult to think of issues and solutions to food loss and waste?
- What did you think of your role in the simulation? Do you think your role has bigger issues than other groups?
Critical Reflection Activity
In small groups, discuss the following questions. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the whole class.
- Did any of the participants/ groups depend on other groups for their solutions? If so, which ones and how were they dependent?
- Were there any roles that you thought of other possible solutions? If so, which roles and what solutions did you think of?
- Which individual role did you find most interesting? Was there a role you didn’t know had such a big impact on food loss and waste?
Phase 5: Application
The purpose of this phase is to showcase your ability to expand on what you have learned through the chapter. When developing one of the options below, you are demonstrating your ability to take a stance on a topic and persuade people to your side of the argument.
OPTION 1: Newspaper Article
As a student reporter, you will report on food waste practices at your university. Observe campus practices and interview stakeholders, including fellow students, dining hall staff, and university administrators, about their perspectives on food waste on campus.
Prompt: Write a 300-word article to be published in the university newspaper. Your article should either report on the current state of food waste at your university or argue for or against efforts to reduce it.
OPTION 2: Infographic
You want to raise awareness about this topic and create an infographic or poster for display on campus to help members of the campus community better understand their role in addressing food loss and waste.
Prompt: Using a graphic design tool such as Canva or Adobe Express, create an infographic or poster that incorporates images, graphics, and text to support your chosen topic. Select one of the following topics:
Prompt A: The difference between food waste and food loss.
Prompt B: Why food waste matters despite occurring in smaller quantities than food loss.
Prompt C: How to avoid food waste.
OPTION 3: Short Presentation
Prompt: Using Microsoft PowerPoint or another presentation software, develop a five-slide argumentative presentation arguing your position in the food waste debate.
References
Gustavsson, J. (2011). Global food losses and food waste: extent, causes and prevention : study conducted for the International Congress “Save Food!” at Interpack 2011 Düsseldorf, Germany. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. (2024, May 9). Tackling food waste at home. The Nutrition Source. https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/sustainability/food-waste/food-waste-home/
Hodges, R. J., Buzby, J. C., & Bennett, B. (2010). Postharvest losses and waste in developed and less developed countries: Opportunities to improve resource use. The Journal of Agricultural Science, 149(S1), 37–45. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0021859610000936
Nebraska Public Media. (2014, September 26). Tossed out: Food waste in America. YouTube. https://youtu.be/mLRjb6LdUFM?si=Dr2Bc19IevFu2Si-
Shafiee-Jood, M., & Cai, X. (2016). Reducing food loss and waste to enhance food security and Environmental Sustainability. Environmental Science & Technology, 50(16). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b01993.s001
Shike, J., Stasiewicz, M., & Kalita, P. (2018). Reducing Food Waste and Food Loss. SoundCloud. other. Retrieved from https://soundcloud.com/aces-illinois/askaces-reducing-food-waste-and-food-loss?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing.
The World Counts. (2024). https://www.theworldcounts.com/challenges/people-and- poverty/hunger-and-obesity/food-waste-statistics
