The Rant

People closest to me know that I am a huge proponent of recycling. It’s not hard to recycle or upcycle, just do it! Working at Creative Energy, which is an agency that primarily focuses on food marketing, naturally, I watch and read food related stories along with my other interests, including recycling. This past weekend, one video to another led me down a path of food waste, and it was shocking. But there is hope.

The Rant with Facts

Did you know that according to the USDA Americans waste about 60 million tons of food every year? This is 30–40% of the entire U.S. food supply. Worldwide that number grows to about 2.5 billion tons of food going to the landfill. Seriously?!?! Aren’t there still millions of people with food insecurities in the U.S. alone? Why? Why is this a thing?

Not only could the waste be used to feed hungry families, but it also contributes to the decline of the environment. Not only is the food wasted, but also the energy it took to produce it. Not to mention that food waste contributes to roughly 11% of the world’s emissions. According to the World Wildlife Federation, the food waste in the United States alone is equivalent to the greenhouse emissions of 37 million cars. Let that sink in.

What’s Being Done

A handful of states across the country are taking action to reduce food waste and gain food recovery. Vermont’s “Universal Recycling Law” went into effect in July 2020, banning food scrap waste completely. According to the Vermont Foodbank, as a result of this new law, food donations statewide have increased 40%. As of this writing, there is pending legislation in California, Colorado, and Massachusetts that would establish programs to fund private-sector composting and collection programs. In addition, several states, including my home state of Tennessee, and Washington, have created food waste task forces to reduce waste, creating composting education and infrastructure on reducing food waste from U.S. landfills.

Some countries are ahead of the United States when it comes to managing food waste. For example, France requires restaurants to donate food that is at risk of being thrown out, but is still safe to consume. Cities in Sweden use food waste to create fuel to power public bus transit. In Denmark, there is an app to find restaurants and bakeries that are about to close and purchase their remaining food at a fraction of the cost. Come on America, let’s get back to leading!

Growing Business from Waste

Back to the Roots – A couple of entrepreneurs who were classmates heard their professor make a passing comment about growing mushrooms from spent coffee grounds. This comment stuck and they started experimenting and sourcing used coffee grounds. The pair believed they could succeed and started a company Back to the Roots as a grow-your-own mushroom kit company aiming to get kids and adults back in the habit of cultivating their own food. Today, the company has expanded into a ready-to-eat line of products that includes cereal made from real corn and biodynamic cinnamon. Just this year, Back to the Roots secured a $10 million round of funding led by Acre Venture Partners—the VC backed by Campbell Soup.

Kipster Egg Farms – Kipster, known as “The Farm that Gives a Cluck” in the Netherlands and United States, feeds their chickens bi-products from crop and food processing, like damaged or faulty pasta or unwanted pastries and bread. This will help Kipster cut their carbon footprint by up to 60%, rather than growing and harvesting grain specifically for chicken feed.

Trashy – Trashy in the United States turns unwanted produce and bi-products from juice manufacturers into fiber-rich, gluten-free, and vegan snack chips. Utilizing this method, they save 38 gallons of water going to waste per pound of pulp. Between 2020 and 2024, Trashy has kept ~170,000 pounds of food from going to the landfill. Any bi-product they produce goes on to be feed for livestock.

Too Good To Go – Ever wondered what happens to the leftover food from restaurants, bakeries, and foods close to expiration at grocery stores? Most of it goes to the trash bin and then straight to the landfill. Too Good To Go is trying to change all of that by creating an app that allows food companies to list their end of day food, or items about to expire for a reduced cost. Users can purchase these goods, at half-price or lower. Started in 2015, to date TGTG has saved 300+ million meals, has 90+ million registered users and 155,000 business partners.

It’s refreshing to see businesses starting to thrive while reducing food waste through the use of food upcycling. 

Own or operate a food upcycling business? Contact us, we know food.