Why is food waste a problem?
Did you know that more than a third of all food produced globally goes to waste? That’s over a billion tons of food every year.1 But food waste is not just about throwing away perfectly good food – it’s also a massive contributor to climate change, food insecurity, and inefficiency in our food systems.
Food waste occurs during every stage of food production, from farm to table, and tackling it effectively requires large-scale solutions that minimise waste at the source. That’s where innovation comes in, with the plant-based sector leading the way.
Turning food waste into a resource
One of the most promising solutions is upcycling – taking food by-products and waste materials that would otherwise be discarded and turning them into new, high-value products. The Upcycled Food Association defines upcycled products as those made from ingredients that would have otherwise gone to waste, produced using verifiable supply chains and with a positive environmental impact.
A huge amount of food waste comes from products that never make it to our plates. Whether it’s fruit and vegetables that don’t meet supermarket’s ‘beauty standards’ or by-products from food production that usually get discarded, plenty of food goes to waste long before consumers have the chance to buy it. While some supermarkets have started selling ‘wonky’ produce to reduce waste, other companies are taking things further by transforming surplus food into completely new products.
Take Green Bowl Foods in the US, for example, which transforms leftover brewers’ grains and fruit pulp from juice production into nutritious, shelf-stable plant-based meals. In South Korea, the company RE:Harvest has found a way to repurpose surplus grains into food ingredients, including their RE:NERGY Powder, a high-fibre, protein-rich plant-based powder used in baked goods, energy bars, and other functional foods.
In the UK, Upp is tackling food waste by upcycling surplus broccoli into sustainable plant-based protein, while Fooditive transforms food-industry by-products into natural plant-based sweeteners. Kern Tec in Austria is giving new life to fruit pits, extracting oils and protein from apricot, plum, and cherry stones to create sustainable ingredients for plant-based dairy alternatives, snacks, and confectionery. Meanwhile, Poseidona in Spain is transforming invasive seaweed into nutritious, sustainable ingredients, with the help of enzyme technology.
Other companies are showing how innovative upcycling can reduce waste and add value:
- Renewal Mill (US) upcycles okara (a by-product of soya-milk production otherwise known as ‘soya mince’) into high-protein flour used in baked goods and snacks.
- Matriark Foods (US) transforms farm surplus and fresh-cut remnants into products for schools and hospitals, helping to reduce food waste while providing nutritious catering options.
- Spare Snacks (UK) creates fruit crisps from imperfect or surplus produce, which have proved a hit with health-conscious consumers.
These companies are showing that waste doesn’t always have to be waste – in many cases, it’s simply an untapped resource. And it’s worth bearing in mind that many traditional cultures do not have a specific phrase for “throwing away”!
Minimise food waste by making your own vegetable stock
Like it or not, food waste is an unavoidable part of cooking – even when making something as convenient as soup, some bits of veggies always end up in the compost bin. However, if you’re resourceful, you can make something delicious out of your leftover vegetables.
Why consumers are paying attention
Consumer interest in upcycled products is growing rapidly. A recent survey by the Upcycled Food Association found that 60% of consumers are more likely to buy a product labelled as “upcycled”, due to its perceived environmental benefits.2 Transparency around sourcing, production methods, and environmental impact is key to building consumer trust and encouraging long-term demand.
Rethinking packaging to reduce waste
Food waste isn’t just about the food itself – packaging also plays a major role. The right kind of packaging can help food to last longer, while the wrong kind just adds to the waste problem. Smart, plant-based alternatives are providing a more sustainable way forward. This includes, of course, what happens to the packaging when it is empty.
Take Evoware in Indonesia. The company has developed edible and biodegradable packaging made from seaweed, thereby helping to cut plastic use while keeping food fresh. Notpla, a UK-based company, has also turned to seaweed, creating compostable food packaging that breaks down naturally in a few weeks. Meanwhile, Ecovative in the US is using mycelium (mushroom roots) to grow fully compostable packaging that could replace polystyrene.
By rethinking packaging, these companies are tackling waste from two angles – cutting down on plastic pollution while also helping food stay fresher for longer. And again, it’s worth considering that ‘modern’ plant-based plastics have been around for more than 150 years, while plant-oils and waxes have long been used for water-proofing and insect-proofing packaging.
Smarter ways to grow and produce food
A key element in reducing waste is preventing losses in the first place. Conventional farming can be relatively inefficient, with crops lost to pests, unpredictable weather, and the rigours of long-distance transport. But modern food tech, along with an embrace of traditional methods, offers more controlled waste-reducing solutions.
Vertical farming is one approach that’s gaining traction. Growing crops in stacked layers, reduces waste caused by climate issues and supply-chain delays. Then there’s precision fermentation, in which microbes are used to produce food ingredients, minimising the need for land-intensive farming. Scientists are also looking at new ways to ferment food waste itself, turning inedible plant fibres into proteins that can be used for human consumption, returning to a practice that has long been a staple of human food production.
With these – and countless other – innovations, we can make better use of the food we produce, while reducing what goes to waste.
A plant-based diet is better for the environment
Global warming, along with land- and water use, resource waste, biodiversity loss, and the rise of zoonoses are just a few of the global problems we are currently facing. These problems are exacerbated by a growing global population and a corresponding increase in demand for animal-based products. Dietary change is urgently needed to help solve these problems.
Cutting waste in restaurants and catering
While the hospitality industry is a major source of food waste, restaurants and caterers are finding new ways to reduce their impact. Some are adopting zero-waste cooking, making use of every part of an ingredient – from vegetable stems to coffee grounds. Others are using fermentation to upcycle kitchen waste into new dishes. And in some parts of the world, particularly in Asia, affordable takeaways in the form of street foods and small, local eateries are often more efficient – and almost as cheap – as cooking at home.
Then there’s the packaging side. Vegware, based in the UK, produces compostable food packaging that can be disposed of along with food waste, helping to cut down on landfill use. Many restaurants also use smart food-waste tracking systems in order to monitor and reduce overproduction, thus ensuring that less food is wasted in the first place.
By taking these and other steps, restaurants and caterers can serve food more sustainably, reducing waste without compromising on quality.
Why all of this matters
The re-emergence of plant-based upcycling, sustainable packaging, and smarter farming techniques is helping to make better use of the food we already produce, thus reducing unnecessary waste and improving efficiency across the system. Upcycling food waste reduces the environmental impact of the food we eat while creating new revenue streams and innovation opportunities for food-manufacturing companies.
So, next time you’re shopping, keep an eye out for brands that are leading the way in reducing food waste. Every choice we make, including the products we buy and the materials they’re packed in, helps move us towards a food system that works better for the planet and all who live on it.
Simon Middleton
Senior Writer
References
- United Nations Environment Programme (2024). Food Waste Index Report 2024. Think Eat Save: Tracking Progress to Halve Global Food Waste. https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/45230.
- Upcycled Food Association (2023). Consumer Interest in Upcycled Products. Available at: https://www.upcycledfood.org/.
