Mentor/s
Professor Wellner
Participation Type
Paper Talk
Abstract
Food waste is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. Food waste mainly occurs at two separate stages in the food supply chain. These distinct points in the cycle are called food loss and food waste. It will be important to define these terms going forward. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food loss refers to unused product from the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, food waste refers to food that has been served but not eaten, spoiled food, or inedible byproducts of food processing. When looking at the food supply chain, food loss occurs in the beginning of the process at farms and production facilities, and food waste occurs on the consumer side of the food supply chain, such as during distribution and consumption. In less developed countries, food loss is much more of a concern due to less effective farming practices and production facilities. On the other hand, America produces most of its waste during the consumer stage of the food supply chain. In fact, “each American generates nearly 200 pounds of food waste a year, estimated to be the highest amount of any country” (Bloom). This paper looks at both points of loss during the food supply chain and then goes into possible solutions for reducing and managing food waste.
College and Major available
Welch College of Business, Business Economics, Finance BS
Location
Session O: West Campus West Building W138
Start Day/Time
4-29-2022 1:15 PM
End Day/Time
4-29-2022 2:15 PM
Prize Categories
Most Creative
The Economic and Environmental Impact of Food Waste
Session O: West Campus West Building W138
Food waste is becoming a bigger and bigger issue. Food waste mainly occurs at two separate stages in the food supply chain. These distinct points in the cycle are called food loss and food waste. It will be important to define these terms going forward. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food loss refers to unused product from the agricultural sector. Meanwhile, food waste refers to food that has been served but not eaten, spoiled food, or inedible byproducts of food processing. When looking at the food supply chain, food loss occurs in the beginning of the process at farms and production facilities, and food waste occurs on the consumer side of the food supply chain, such as during distribution and consumption. In less developed countries, food loss is much more of a concern due to less effective farming practices and production facilities. On the other hand, America produces most of its waste during the consumer stage of the food supply chain. In fact, “each American generates nearly 200 pounds of food waste a year, estimated to be the highest amount of any country” (Bloom). This paper looks at both points of loss during the food supply chain and then goes into possible solutions for reducing and managing food waste.
Students' Information
Joe Rice, Finance and Business Economics, Honors, 2022