Food waste “is essentially a $165 billion logistics, efficiency and consumer-education business opportunity,” says GreenBiz, describing a research project by investment funds and a food-services giant.
Sodexo has partnered with Deloitte Consulting, Mission Point Capital Partners and the Closed Loop Fund “to study the economics and data points of food waste in the U.S. and develop a road map for action.”
Researchers identified three broad areas for cutting waste, tagged as reduce, recycle and recover, said Sarah Vared, who is coordinating the effort. A full-scale report, with details on logistical and infrastructure changes that are needed, is expected in early March.
Some $165 billion worth of food is discarded annually in the United States. It occurs throughout the supply chain, from crops abandoned in the field and losses in transporting and processing food to food that goes uneaten after it has been cooked.
In a broad view, “reduce” means more precision in producing food in the amount that is needed, “recycle” means diverting food waste from landfills so it can be used in compost or to produce biofuels, and “recover” means sending unwanted food to soup kitchens or food pantries. As an example of the potential to reduce food waste, GreenBiz pointed to Global Green, a company in New York City that “works with restaurants in a logistical delivery system that relieves the restaurants of waste issues and provides meals to thousands of people in surrounding communities.”