a remarkable program called farmers of the future in the greater kruger region of south africa focuses on empowering unemployed youth with their own farm. the program webpage says,  “we believe in the principals of the saying, rather than giving a man a fish to eat, rather teach him how to fish so he can eat forever.”

at this stage, it was more than just about cooking. i wanted to figure out the impact food has on the world around us, and search for new ideas about how food shapes our economies, environment, health and, ultimately, survival. it’s something we experience everyday, yet is facing a growing dilemma.

by 2050, the world population will stand at 9.7 billion. that’s a third more mouths to feed. the solution may seem to be a no-brainer — just raise the amount of food grown globally — a 70% increase to be exact. but it doesn’t happen this easily. studies have shown that there is only 11 percent of arable land left in the world, and that almost all land expansion would occur in developing countries, where most of the global demand for food will come from. these heightening pressures for food production, inequitable food distribution and an impending environmental crisis make for a multi-dimensional problem at our hands. and the clock is ticking.

this complex debacle is what drew me to the global food challenge. over the past year, i’ve taken a journey to explore these philosophies, and met people who strive to make a difference for food security in their community. i’ve learned many things along the way, and questioned the feasibility of that seemingly obvious solution mentioned above. if increasing food production is not a sustainable possibility, why don’t we look at the way it’s distributed world-wide? what if food waste is the real culprit for food inequality?

to tackle this issue, you have to look at the way we value food. with the amount of food that is thrown out each year, it’s easy to say that we do give the respect that it deserves. we let produce be ridiculed for its size and appearance; unattainable aesthetic standards for fruits and vegetables, food safety misguidance, and outright ambiguity on sell-by dates have created hysteria over a bruised apple. i believe that by changing perspectives on food, we can help solve this future enigma.

(sources: “how to feed the world 2050,” un-fao; “feeding 9 billion,” national geographic magazine)

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about the project

this is final piece in a six-part series. waste not wednesday is a community engagement project created by ayse muratoglu, a 2015-2016 emerging leader for food security for the land o’lakes global food challenge program. the yearlong program takes 10 college sophomores who will work with land o’lakes experts to explore issues of food security, and find ways to feed the world. to learn more about the global food challenge, join the conversation at http://foodchallenge.landolakesinc.com/

as a kid, you were always told to finish your plate. there’s a huge stigma against this misuse of resources, yet a very paradoxical relationship between the amount of food we produce as a nation and the number of people that are hungry. approximately one-third of all food produced worldwide results in food waste or loss within food production and consumption systems. when this data is converted to calories, this means that roughly 1 in 4 calories intended for consumption is never actually consumed.

food waste is more than just scraping off your mashed potatoes after sunday dinner. in addition to households, food waste can be recovered from schools, grocery stores, and restaurants, many of which are prohibited from donating the excess to charities. food waste can occur at every step of the supply chain, streaming from producers, distributors, and finally, the consumer. every group involved is accountable for the overall problem.

in farming, fruits and vegetables that are either never harvested or lost between the harvest and the sale constitutes food waste at the production level. farmers also overproduce in an effort to compensate for inclement mishaps such as harsh weather events, or infestation. furthermore, farmers need to have a good eye for style — food style, that is. the aesthetic value of food is of huge concern to farmers for fear of not being able to sell the so-called “ugly produce.” as a result, only the best-looking produce is harvested, with the rest of this unappealing, yet perfectly edible food piling into a rotting heap.

at a glance, these truths can be very overwhelming. however, the solution to the food waste epidemic really starts with you—the consumer. anyone can reduce your foodprint by incorporating preventative steps into your daily life.

start out small

begin at home:

• save those scraps! repurpose leftover peels and rinds from kitchen prep and use them for homemade stocks and broths.
• fridge real estate: learn how to store your groceries in the fridge properly so that they don’t go bad early on you.
• preserve and please: preserving is so easy and can be actually be quite fun. get creative with pickled watermelon rinds, apples, and cherries.
• compost! no backyard? no problem! place a small compost bin under the sink or collect food scraps into a paper bag and stash it in the freezer.
• get the deets on the dates: you know those arbitrary deadlines stamped onto food labels? turns out they’re pretty flexible — it’s more of a suggestion for peak freshness. our sense of smell is a much better tool to gauge a food’s edibility. if you’re getting an offish vibe from your produce, it’s probably time to toss it — or compost it (please!) 

shop smart

• stick to your list: keep a running list of your favorite home meals and plan your grocery shopping accordingly. only buy what you need.
• know yourself, know your (food’s) worth: how often do you cook? are you really going to eat a week’s worth of quinoa? if you’re a college student vs. the head of a family of four, your shopping cart is going to look different. keep that in mind as you’re strolling through the aisle.
• buy ugly produce: it’s still pretty — and delicious — on the inside. if weird-looking fruits or vegetables freak you out, blend them into soups, smoothies, or spreads. it’s all the same anyway. no one will ever know.

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about the project

this is part five of a six-part series. waste not wednesday is a community engagement project created by ayse muratoglu, a 2015-2016 emerging leader for food security for the land o’lakes global food challenge program. the yearlong program takes 10 college sophomores who will work with land o’lakes experts to explore issues of food security, and find ways to feed the world. to learn more about the global food challenge, join the conversation at http://foodchallenge.landolakesinc.com/

by 2050 there will be 9.6 billion mouths to feed. providing food to nourish this ever-growing population presents a daunting challenge — to address this critical issue, we will have to produce more food in the next 50 years than we have in the past 10,000. experts say that we will have to produce 69% more calories to feed this many people.

there are solutions to this global food challenge. one is around food production. much emphasis is placed onto the production of food as a solution to the challenge, but we face a number of environmental and economic constraints on global food production. currently, the limited price and availability of fertile land and energy have proved to be problematic for food security strategy. and it may take more than a few decades to transition to a system that embraces more sustainable, efficient farming practices.

maybe the solution isn’t food production. perhaps we can do more around food conservation. some experts argue we produce enough food as it is, we just don’t distribute it equitably and we waste a lot of it. most americans do not realize we have a food waste problem. it is estimated that we waste 25% to 40% of the food produced globally. instead of putting resources into growing our food, why don’t we try to see how we can more efficiently consume it?

this blog is part one of my six-part series called waste not wednesday, which will provide an overview of how food waste is a critical issue in food sustainability. i will examine how people and organizations are developing solutions to food waste through community and corporate initiatives.

i’ll cover how a university strives to reduce its “foodprints” through composting programs, as frank fritz did with the washington compost at gw.

i’ll introduce innovative entrepreneurs like elizabeth bennett of fruitcycle, and philip wong and ann yang of misfit juicery, who whip up delicious snacks and beverages using re-routed ugly produce that was once bound for the landfills.

lastly, i’ll profile dc central kitchen, a food-recycling nonprofit revolutionizing the soup kitchen by cooking nutritious meals with surplus foods. and i’ll even try my hand at cooking a meal in my dorm kitchen using “ugly produce.”

i hope to inspire my readers to realize how much can be done to address food waste in your own kitchen, dorm, campus and community.

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about the project

waste not wednesday is a community engagement project created by ayse muratoglu, a 2015-2016 emerging leader for food security for the land o’lakes global food challenge program. the yearlong program takes 10 college sophomores who will work with land o’lakes experts to explore issues of food security, and find ways to feed the world. to learn more about the global food challenge, join the conversation at http://foodchallenge.landolakesinc.com/