Food waste isn’t just a matter of leftovers, it’s a major environmental challenge. This semester, the Food and Ideas Gathering (FIG) is focusing on food waste, its impacts, and how it might be mitigated.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2019 Wasted Food Report, food waste accounts for over 24% of the material sent to landfills in the United States, more than any other category. Globally, about 30% of all food produced is lost or wasted each year. The impact of this food waste goes far beyond discarded vegetables or uneaten hamburgers, it includes the environmental, economic, and labor costs of growing, packaging, and transporting food that ends up in a landfill instead of feeding people.
In the first event of the fall semester, Matthew J. Scarborough, Assistant Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, presented his talk “Biorefining wastes from food systems” to students, faculty, and staff.
He spoke about the greenhouse gas effects of food waste in landfills and talked about anaerobic digester currently being used in the region to turn food waste and cow manure into other resources such as natural gas. He also shared his research on using microbiomes to create valuable medium-chain carboxylic acids which can be used in bioplastics, vitamins and dietary supplement.
Some of his research was done in conjunction with former FSRI PhD Fellow Panagiota "Yiota" Stamatopoulou which she speaks about it in a video recorded last year.
The event concluded with a lively Q&A session over apple-themed refreshments including cider, donuts, pie, and more.
The series on Food Waste continues on Friday October 17th at 3:00pm in Leahy 102. Alyssa Eiklor from the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Solid Waste Program and Emily Belarmino, Assistant Professor in Nutrition and Food Sciences at UVM, will give a talk on “Impacts and Experiences of VT’s Comprehensive Food Waste Policy.” There will be spooky Halloween-inspired food and time for Q&A and discussion!
Save the date for November 14th at 3:00pm where Food Systems PhD Candidate Sarra Talib will hold a panel with local business owners about food waste in their industries.
Hosted by the Food Systems Research Institute, FIG is a monthly seminar series aimed at fostering research collaboration, building community, and sparking conversations about transdisciplinary food system solutions.
