Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Businesses and Food Waste:
What Story Should Be Told?
Overview: This Mini-Q investigates the problemsthat result from food waste within the supply
chain. Currently, 42 percent of the food we produce never makes it to our stomachs.It either rots in
the field, is discarded during processing, is thrown out by grocery stores, or is thrown out by us. This
Mini-Q examines waste during the production stage, that is, from harvest to the grocery cart. It also
looks at how some businesses are using market-oriented strategies to solve the problem.
Documents:
Doc A: Global Food Waste
Doc B: Food Waste at Harvest
Doc C: Food Waste in Processing and Packaging
Doc D: Food Waste at the Grocery Store
A Mini Document Based Question (Mini-Q)
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Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Background Essay
Businesses and Food Waste: What Story Should Be Told?
In the United States, about 40 percent ofthe
food that is produced never gets eaten.It is
wasted. This amounts to 20 pounds of food per
month per American citizen. That’s some $160
billion worth of foodthat is left in the field,
thrown out by the grocery store, or tossed into
the garbage at home. Andthis happensina ~
nation where one
Jog, Production
out of every six
people-does not
have a secure daily
supply of food. The
amount of food we
Negative externalities are the hidden,
secondary costs ofproducing a good. For
example,the fertilizer and other chemicals used
to produce foodthat is never eaten ends up
polluting our water supply. It costs money to
clean that water. Another example of negative
externalities is wasted food that rots in landfills.
This rotting food
releases methane, a
{es ine’
destructive green-
7
ao"
house gas. Problems
like water pollution
and greenhouse gas
create costs that are
waste, and the
often not dealt with
resources we waste
in producingit, isa
for years or even
problem that de-
mands our attention.
In this unit, food
waste is seen as a
microeconomic
problem,that is, a
problem for businesses, not the
government, to solve.
The food waste path extends from farm to
fork. This path has two stages—production and
consumption. The production stage includes
food wasted at harvest, during processing and
packaging, and in stores. The consumption stage
represents food wasted further down the path-
—at home, school, and restaurants. The focus of
O
this Mini-Q is food waste during production.
Whenlooking at food waste, we must
consider two important economic ideas: oppertunity cost and negative externalities. The
opportunity cost is the alternative action that is
not taken.In other words,it is the opportunity
lost when a decision is made, Whatalternatives
did we give up when we devoted time, resources, and labor to growing food that did not get
eaten? How else could those resources have
been used? What other work could the laborers
have done?
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decades. But eventually, we, the taxpayers, will pay the bill.
- The war against
food waste must be
fought on many
Restaurant fonts. Here is your
task in this Mini-Q:
You are awriter for an investigative journalism
firm called BetterWorld Media. Your producer
summons you to her office and hands you four
documentsrelated to your next project, a podcast raising awareness on how businesses can
fight against food waste. You are to write a short
proposal on how the material will appear in the
podcast. You must follow the 30-20-10 program
format, meaning that one stage of foodloss gets
30 minutes of air time, another gets 20 minutes,
and another gets 10 minutes. Your editor asks
that you explain your time allotments in the
proposal, Thetentativetitle for the podcast is
“Businesses and Food Waste: What Story Should
Be Told?”
As you walk out of her office, your producer
cheerfully calls out, “Good luck!” We wish you
the same.
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Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Background Essay Questions
C)
1. Accordingto the essay, aboutwhatpercentage ofthe foodthat is produced in the United States does not
get eaten? Whatis the dollar amount of that waste?
2. According to the essay, whyis the issue of food waste connected to microeconomics?
3. Whatare the two main stages of food waste in the United States? Which of these two stages is the focus
of this Mini-Q?
4, According to the essay, whyis it important to think about opportunity cost when studying the issue of
food waste?
5. “The invisible hand ofthe marketplace”is a phrase often used by economists, What might this phrase
mean in relation to food waste?
6. Define these terms:
food waste
O
microeconomics
opportunity cost
negative externalities
Timeline
10,000 BCE — Agricultural Revolution begins a transition from hunting and gathering to farming
1492 — Columbian Exchange begins a transfer of foodstuffs from Eurasia to the Americas
1550 — World’s first café opens in Constantinople
1834 — World’s first vapor-compression refrigerator built by American Jacob Perkins
1946 — Tupperware is invented, preserving household food in airtight containers
2010 — 10 percent of US energy consumption is used to produce food
2011 —A UKreport claims food in landfills produces greenhouse gas equal to 20 percentof
cars on roads
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Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Document A
(™
)
Source:Brian Lipinski, “What's Food Loss and Waste Got to Do with Sustainable Development?
ALot, Actually.”, World ResourcesInstitute, September 23, 2015.
Food Waste Around the World
Total Food Waste in Five Selected Regions
North
Industrial
Asia
Europe
America
Latin
Sub-Saharan
42%
25%
22%
15%
23%
America
Atrica
Food Waste by Stages In Five Selected Regions
North
America
Industrial
Asia
Europe
.
Latin
America
Sub-Saharan
Africa
food wasted during consumption (homes, schools, restaurants)
EE] food wasted during production (harvest, processing / packaging, grocery stores)
Document Analysis
Whatregion of the world wastes the most of its food? What percentage of food is wasted in the
following regions: Europe, Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and industrial Asia?
2. What two stages of food waste are shown for each region?
3, Which region of the world wastes the most food during the consumption stage? Which region of
the world wastes the most food during the production stage?
4. What might be one reason why Sub-Saharan Africa (poorest region of the world) has so much of
its food waste occur during the production stage?
()
5. What might be one reason why wealthier regions of the world (North America and Europe) have
more food waste during the consumption stage?
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Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Document B
Source: Adapted from “Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percentof Its Food from Farm to Fork to
Landfill’ by Dana Gunders, Natural Resources Defense Council, August 2012,
Food Waste at Harvest
According to the World Resources Institute, 17 percent of food waste in the US occurs during
harvest. Nearly halfofthat is wasted fruit and vegetables. This harvest waste is caused by a number
of factors, including crop damage due to pests and weather, overplanting, and labor shortagesat
picking time.
Problem: Ugly Food
“Ugly” food is produce that does not pass quality standards in terms
of shape,size, color, and ripeness. This couldbe an ill-shapen apple,
apuny plum, or a green orange. This imperfect fruit or vegetable is
often left in the field because it is considered unsellable.
Solution: Home Delivery of Ugly Food
Imperfect Produce is a California-based produce-delivery service focused on selling ugly fruit and
vegetables that usually go to waste on farms. A large box ofmixed produce—about 20 pounds—
costs approximately $18. The equivalent “perfect” produce sells for twice that much in grocery
stores.
Solution: Creating Baby Carrots from Ugly Carrots
In 1986, a California farmer who was wasting 70 percent of his carrot crop
because ofirregularities in shape or size had an ingenious idea: Cut
down ugly carrots to “baby” size. He couldsell these mini veggies
for three times the cost of regular-sized carrots.
DocumentAnalysis
1. According to the document, how much produce is wasted during harvest in the US?
2. According to the document, what are three reasons food is wasted at harvest?
3. Describe ugly food and how it contributes to food waste.
4, Why would businesses want to solve the food waste problem at harvest?
5. According to the document, what are two ways businesses are solving the ugly food problem?
O)
6. Whyis the harvest story an importantstory to tell in your radio program?
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Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Document C
Source: Adapted from “Wasted: How America !s Losing Upto 40 Percentof Its Food from Farm to Fork to
Landfill’ by Dana Gunders, Natural Resources Defense Council, August 2012.
Food Waste During Processing and Packaging
According to the World Resources Institute, 15 percent of food waste in the US occurs during
processing and packaging.
Problem: Too Much Trimming
.
Whenfruits and vegetables are put into machinesthat trim it of
skins, peels and endpieces, a lot of food goes to waste. Accordingto- .
one plant engineer quoted in the Natural Resources Defense Council
article, “The rule of thumb in processing potatoes is that 50 percent
of the potato goes out the back dooras finished product.”
Solution: Food Scraps Turned to Fuel
Acompany called Waste Managementcollects food scraps, such as potato peels, from food
proecessing plants and grinds them into a slurry. That liquid is taken to a wastewater treatment plant,
whereit is mixed with treated sewage. The result is a biogas that can be burnedas fuel.
Problem: Stubborn Ketchup
More than 50 years ago, a limerick writer named Richard Armour wrote the
immortal words, “Shake and shake the catsup bottle, none will come and then a
lot’Il.” Often leading to a hamburger with too much ketchup and therefore waste.
Solution: Upside-down Bottles
The ketchup problem, which was also a mayonnaise problem and a mustard
problem, presented opportunites for manufacturers. A simple design change helped
combat waste. The inverted bottle, which allowsthe productto settle around the opening, is one way
that manufacturers have addressed the food waste problem. Since introducing the inverted bottle in
2002, sales of Heinz products have grown by 25 percent per year.
Document Analysis
1. According to the document, what percent of produce in the US is wasted whenit is processed
and packaged?
2. What is one reason food is wasted during processing? What is one reason food is wasted during
packaging?
3. How are businesses solving the food waste problem during processing and packaging?
4, Why would businesses wantto solve the food waste problem during processing and packaging?
5. At this point in your thinking, will food waste at harvest or food waste during processing and
packaging receive more time in your radio program? Why?
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Food Waste/Businesses Mini-Q
Document D
Source: Adapted from “Wasted: How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percentof Its Food from Farm to Fork to
Landfill” by Dana Gunders, Natural Resources Defense Council, August 2012.
Food Waste at the Grocery Store
According to the World Resources Institute, 7 percent of food waste in the US occurs at the grocery
store. Most ofthis waste is in perishables, such as milk, eggs, meat and, especially, produce.Fruit
and vegetable waste alone costs grocery stores about $15 billion a year.
Problem: Overstocked Produce Bins
Most grocery stores follow the adage “pile ‘em high, watch ‘em fly”
when stocking displays. Customersare attracted to full produce bins,
but this practice leads to food spoiling or getting bruised.
Solution:
The grocery chain Stop&Shop reduced food loss at 550 stores. The
company challenged conventional wisdom by reducing the amount
pee.
iS
of produce on display so that it would stay fresh longer. For example, rather than displaying 24
avocadoes in a bin, they displayed eight, adding a false bottom to the bin to make it appear full.
Problem: Expiration and Sell-by Dates
©
he,
To present an image of selling only the freshest food, stores discard
products that are past or near their expiration dates, even when the food
can still be safely consumed,
Solution:
.
In 2015, Doug Rauch, former president of Trader Joe’s grocery stores,
opened Daily Table, a Massachusetts storethat offers food near its
expiration dates at greatly reduced prices, In-store chefs also prepare foodto sell as take-home meals.
Document Analysis
1. According to the document, what percentage of food waste in America occurs at the grocery
store? How muchofthis is produce alone?
2. What are two reasons food is wasted at the grocery store?
3. How are businesses solving these two problems? |
4, Beyond cost savings, why else might grocery stores want to reduce food waste?
5. Having now read all four documents, what are the arguments that food waste at the grocery store
should receive the most time in your radio program?
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