The world produces a lot of food, enough to feed billions more than are living right now. There is a distribution issue, which will be solved as science engineers more crops that can grow in more local conditions, but one way to make more food available right now will also save people money - reducing food waste.
4 out of every 10 pounds produced in the United States alone goes to waste, claimed John Floros, Ph.D., dean of the College of Agriculture at Kansas State University, in a keynote talk at the American Chemical Society meeting.
Government estimates are that the average family in the United States throws away 20 pounds of food a month, more than $2,000 worth every year for a family of four. It includes food that has gone uneaten and spoiled in refrigerators and on pantry shelves, as well as food that people throw away after cooking. Uneaten food actually rivals paper, plastic and other refuse as the No. 1 material in some municipal landfills.
"We will need another 'Green Revolution' to feed the world by 2050," said Floros, referring to the modern development of high-yield, disease-resistant grains and other agricultural innovations of the last few decades. "That will mean scientific innovations, such as new strains of the big three grains — rice, wheat and corn — adapted for a changing climate and other conditions. It also will require action to reduce a terrible waste of food that gets too little attention."
Floros cited estimates that in many developing countries up to half of the food harvested from farmers' fields is lost before reaching consumers. That waste can occur due to spoilage from improper storage of grain during transportation or from pests. Rats and mice alone eat or spoil 20 percent of the world's food supply due to contamination with their urine and feces.
"A different kind of waste occurs in the United States and some other developed countries," Floros said. "Developed countries have much more efficient systems for preserving, storing, transporting and protecting food from spoilage and pests. But as a nation — households, supermarkets, restaurants, other food-service providers — we throw away about 4 out of every 10 pounds of food produced each year."
Food waste in landfills releases methane gas as it decomposes. Methane is about 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas that fosters global warming. Floros pointed out that reducing food waste would contribute to solving other great global challenges that society faces in the 21st century, beyond feeding a booming population. Wasting food wastes the freshwater needed to grow it, at a time when 1.2 billion people lack access to clean water. It also wastes energy, fertilizers, pesticides and other resources used in the food supply.
Supplying more food, however, is only part of the challenge, Floros emphasized. "Millions of people in some developing countries are becoming more affluent. In the past, people were satisfied with food that filled them up and sustained life. Increasingly, they will demand food that is convenient to prepare, certified as safe and highly nutritious and tastes good."
He cited the People's Republic of China, where the middle class is now larger than the entire U.S. population and is increasing in size year by year. Those wealthier people in China are now consuming almost 3 times as much meat compared to a few decades ago. Demand for convenience foods also is rising with the growth of the urban population.
Several other food-related challenges lie ahead, Floros pointed out. The demand for sustainable energy may divert more cropland to production of crops for biofuel production - easy enough to solve, though - stop subsidizing biofuel until it is viable. Economic conditions threaten less investment in agricultural research and development.
"We're not doing enough to resolve these complex issues that are critical for providing 9-10 billion people with a nutritious diet," said Floros. "Consumers, industry, universities and governments all need to pitch in. The first step is more awareness of these issues and the need for action on multiple levels of society."
