Applied Mythology: 10 Ways We Already Reduce Food Waste
Food waste is a big problem in the rich world, and even more so in the developing world. Recently, much has been written suggesting that one of the best ways to improve the sustainability and lower the footprint of food production is to reduce waste. While this is absolutely true, the missing perspective is that efforts to reduce food waste have been going on for a very long time, and significant advances have been made over the last several decades.
That does not mean there isn't plenty of room for additional progress, but that is harder than many might imagine. I think that by considering what has already been done, we can get a perspective on the remaining challenges. I'd like to focus on fruit and vegetables and to talk about just 10 of the many ways that industry routinely reduces food waste. I'll cover methods 1 to 5 here and 6 to 10 in tomorrow's post.
1. Cold Chain Management
2. Controlled Atmosphere Storage and/or Shipping
3. Bruise Prevention
4. Waxes and Coatings
5. Post-harvest Fungicides
6. Sprout Inhibitors
7. Active Packaging
8. Ethylene Management
9. Minimal Processing
10. Fresh-Cut
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