What is the most food waste in the world? A message from a woman in China, whose grocery shopping goes beyond the “clean plate” campaign
She had a shopping cart with hamburger buns and cookies in it. She was aware there must be more. Within minutes, she had persuaded the staff members to give her several crates of milk marked “best by” the next day, as well as buttermilk and boxes of brussels sprouts, kale, cilantro, cut melons and corn. She asked them if there were eggs.
Food waste is the largest volume of material that is sent to landfills in the United States. Worldwide, food waste accounts for 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, at least double that of emissions from aviation. According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, that is enough food to feed more than a billion people.
Governments and entrepreneurs are coming up with ways to waste less food as the world gets hotter. In the United States, one start-up makes it easier for people to buy misshapen produce that grocery stores don’t want, and another has developed an invisible, plant-based coating to make fruits last longer. A Kenyan entrepreneur has built solar-powered refrigerators to help farmers store produce longer.
In Asia, Europe and the United States, several new mobile apps offer discounts on restaurant food that’s about to be thrown out. The leader of China, called for an end to the “shocking and distressing” spending of food and started a “clean plate” campaign.
The role of traffic-light warnings in encouraging more consumers to opt for more climate friendly foods, according to a randomized clinical trial in the US
The study, published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, found that the traffic-light climate labels were effective at encouraging people to opt for more climate friendly foods, and that the red warning labels were most effective.
To try to help fill that gap, researchers conducted randomized clinical trials asking more than 5,000 adults in the US to imagine they were in a fast-food restaurant, and pick an item from a menu with options including beef, chicken, fish, plant-based meat substitutes and salads.
But, she added, these may not be the only effective design. “Other future research could be required to investigate different design options that may have a higher impact still using that positively framed label.”