<
https://outrider.org/climate-change/articles/climate-solution-sitting-americas-trash>
"In the United States, climate change is polarizing, but one environmental
challenge draws rare bipartisan agreement: food waste. Even as the Trump
administration rolls back key climate and environmental protections, in July,
senators from both parties reintroduced legislation to simplify food expiration
labels — one longtime driver of unnecessary waste. In September, the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency launched a national initiative to connect food
donors with communities and keep edible food out of landfills. Under the Biden
administration, the U.S. unveiled a national strategy to reduce food waste and
expand recycling of organic waste.
Despite this rare consensus, progress has been slow. In 2023, the U.S. still
squandered roughly a third of its food supply, according to the food waste
nonprofit ReFED. Food waste is responsible for 8-10% of all global emissions —
about five times the emissions from the entire aviation industry. The United
Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that if food waste were a
country, it would be the world’s third-largest emitter of greenhouse gasses,
after China and the U.S.
Experts tell
Sentient that the problem persists because political
follow-through is limited, climate action still focuses heavily on energy and
transportation and ultimately, food waste itself is difficult to tackle. It
occurs at every stage of the supply chain, from farms to fridges, making
comprehensive action essential.
It’s also a missed opportunity, especially since wasting food is widely seen as
wrong. “Nobody wakes up wanting to waste food,” said Dana Gunders, president of
ReFED, during a summit at New York City Climate Week on Sept. 22.
Many people don’t realize that food waste reduction is a crucial and often
overlooked climate strategy. Addressing food loss and waste has enormous
climate potential, “but it’s still an underexplored area,” says Brian Lipinski,
head researcher on food loss and waste at the environmental research nonprofit
World Resources Institute."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-competitive-sport-spogomi/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
