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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania » Eastern Regional Research Center » Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #407141
Research Project: Chemical Conversion of Biomass into High Value Products

Location: Sustainable Biofuels and Co-products Research

Title: Food waste: environmental impact and possible solutions

Author
item KOHLI, KIRTIKA - Indian Institute Of Petroleum
item PRAJAPATI, RAVINDRA - University Of Illinois
item SHAH, RAJ - Koehler Instrument Company, Inc
item DAS, MRINALENI - Koehler Instrument Company, Inc
item Sharma, Brajendra - Bk

Submitted to: Sustainable Food Technology
Publication Type: Literature Review
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/13/2023
Publication Date: 12/5/2023
Citation: Kohli, K., Prajapati, R., Shah, R., Das, M., Sharma, B.K. 2023. Food waste: environmental impact and possible solutions. Sustainable Food Technology. https://doi.org/10.1039/d3fb00141e.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d3fb00141e

Interpretive Summary: It has been shown that food waste is a big contributor to greenhouse gases (GHG). Many solutions have been proposed earlier, but still no resolution to the problem. Avoidance in combination with the conversion of food waste to methane for energy generation is one of the effective sustainable ways to deal with food waste. This mini-review discussed some of the solutions proposed by researchers. These approaches are effective campaigns intended to target specific demographics to encourage sustainable consumer behavior, successful models designed to implement a systemic production process, and sustainable waste management programs. Some of these approaches have the potential to be applied on a larger scale, which will reduce food waste by consumers and producers in the long term, thereby reducing GHG. This will help farmers by reducing the food waste generated at the source and also is an effective utilization of any food waste generated during the entire chain.

Technical Abstract: Food waste-induced environmental damage has been a primary concern for environmentalists for decades. Several studies have proven greenhouse gases emitted by food waste worldwide is causing more damage than coal power plants in some cases. Over the year, many solutions have been proposed, but the problem has yet to have any resolve. This mini review aims to discuss some of the recent solutions proposed by researchers around the world. A discussion about the effective campaigns intended to target specific demographics to encourage sustainable consumer behavior, successful models designed to implement a systemic production process, and sustainable waste management programs are presented. This study emphasizes taking successful small-scale campaigns and models and utilizing them on a larger scale. It will help in reducing food waste by consumers and producers in the long term. In addition, this article focuses on the possible solutions and challenges related to the proposed successful campaign.