Shuyu Qiu

Food Waste in Business Sustainability

Introduction:
In the United States, people waste 80 million tons of food every year, equivalent to 149
billion meals. In other words, people throw away approximately 444 billion dollars annually1.
Food waste is defined as high-quality and safe food being thrown away instead of eaten. Some
common reasons are that people throw away uneaten food due to fullness, farmers leave
unharvested crops in fields due to low production prices, retailers reject food that doesn’t meet
appearance standards and transportation problems. All these combined reasons can have an
overall unfavorable result on the rise of climate change. When people waste food, they also
waste the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. Food
transported to the landfill as garbage will produce methane, a popular greenhouse gas that
harms the environment. The most obvious food waste is probably in food-related industries such
as supermarkets, restaurants, and buffets. The top waste generation companies are Nestle,
Mondelez, General Mills, and Hershey producing 1568, 275, 337, 61, and 400 tonnes of waste in
2021, respectively.2 Food waste should be minimized to prevent climate crises, and it can be
reduced a major amount just from consumers.

Figure 1. Waste Generation in Top Food Companies3

1
Feeding America. 2022. “Food Waste in America | Feeding America.” Www.feedingamerica.org. Feeding America.
2022. https://www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste.
2
“ShieldSquare Captcha.” n.d. Www.globaldata.com.
https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/consumer/waste-generation-in-top-food-companies-2096301/.
3
Ibid

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Current Policies:
On December 2, 2023, the Biden-Harris administration announced a draft of the national
strategy to reduce US food loss and waste4. Some key highlights are:

● Investing $30 million in the Composting and Food Waste Reduction (CFWR) Cooperative
Agreements.
○ The CFWR program helps local and municipal governments with projects that
develop municipal compost plans and food waste reduction plans.
● Expanding partnerships with NIFA food system programs to develop further educational
materials, research, and outreach for food loss and waste prevention.
○ The NIFA is a federal agency within the USDA to provide leadership and funding
for programs in agriculture-related science.
● Funding research and development on innovative new packaging technology to extend
the shelf life of food and prevent loss.

Moreover, from 2021 to 2023, congress passed two acts -Zero Waste Act5 and the Compost Act6 -
to encourage farmers to implement more sustainable farming practices and collaborate with
local governments with strategies to reduce food waste that the local community would
generate. The Compost Act specifically makes composting a conservation practice and activity
under USDA conservation programs and would authorize grants and loans to expand food waste
composting. The US Environmental Protection Agency set a goal to reduce food waste by 2030.
The USDA joined efforts to reduce the nation’s food waste by
50% by the end of 20307. But in reality, there is no official
policy for food waste, and food waste in the US is not strictly
implemented in businesses. There are only 6 more years to go
to reach the goal, but there are many companies that are still
in the struggle of producing food waste. Is the goal of reducing
food waste by the end of 2030 sustainable?

4
“Biden-Harris Administration Announces Draft of the National Strategy to Reduce U.S. Food Loss and Waste.” n.d.
Www.usda.gov.
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/12/02/biden-harris-administration-announces-draft-national-strategy.
5
Brownley, Julia. 2021. “Text - H.R.4444 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Zero Food Waste Act.” Www.congress.gov. July 19, 2021.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4444/text.
6
Review of S.179 - COMPOST Act. 2023. Congress.gov. Library of Congress. January 31, 2023.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/179#:~:text=This%20bill%20makes%20composting%20a,access%20to%2
0food%20waste%20composting..
7
US EPA, OLEM. 2016. “United States 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal.” Www.epa.gov. April 14, 2016.
https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-2030-food-loss-and-waste-reduction-goal#:~:text=The%202030%2
0goal%20aims%20to.

2
Current problems
Consumers play an important role in food waste because they contribute to the largest
component of food waste in the US, approximately $2760 per year for an average household of
four people8. Business strategies and promotions can influence their behaviors. Businesses such
as buffet restaurants provide excess food on the table so people have the choice to choose more
than they can eat. Because in economical explanation: more is better. In supply and demand
matters, businesses would order more food than usual to meet the demand of the customer to
avoid stockouts. During promotions, people would like to buy more because prices are cheaper,
so they would stock up in fear of running out. Americans are often impulsive in their food
purchases, unrealistically assessing how much food is required, and as a result, buying more
than they need. This is due to the prosperity of the food supply in the United States, so food cost
is fairly less expensive. This often contributes to a general sentiment of not appreciating or
valuing food the way other communities around the globe do.

Figure 2. Food waste generation in different FSC levels in the U.S., As estimated by REFED. 2016

In addition, many consumers also lack the knowledge to repurpose ingredients and store food
properly. More than 80 percent10 Americans discard excellent, consumable food simply because
they misunderstand expiration labels. Labels such as “sell by”, “use by”, “expires on”, “best
before”, or “best by” are confusing to people- and to not risk the potential of a foodborne illness,
people toss food in the garbage.
8
“Consumer Food Waste.” n.d. Refed.org.
https://refed.org/food-waste/consumer-food-waste#:~:text=The%20average%20household%20of%20four.
9
Chen, C., and Rachel Chen. 2018. “Using Two Government Food Waste Recognition Programs to Understand Current Reducing
Food Loss and Waste Activities in the U.S.” Sustainability 10 (8): 2760. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10082760.
10
“Confused by Food Date Labels? Congress Aims to Set Them Straight.” 2019. Www.nrdc.org. August 1, 2019.
https://www.nrdc.org/bio/nrdc/confused-food-date-labels-congress-aims-set-them-straight.

3
Viable Policies to Address Food Waste

Food is present in everyday life, so waste will always be present. Consumers, private
firms, and the government need to work together to reduce food waste. Each stakeholder needs
to contribute so that it is efficient to reach the goal by 2030. Since consumer behaviors are hard
to control, new implementations should be added along current policies but towards a more
consumer-oriented approach so it can influence people’s behaviors.

Short-Term Awareness in Social Media:

Social media is a great platform for connectivity, creativity, and outreach for a
wider audience across all ages. On YouTube, there are tons of short videos of people
dumping food on the table to catch attention and satisfy their audience's needs.
However, governments or businesses can hire influencers who align with their core
values to make short videos on social media to impact their followers positively. Digital
Marketing Institute11 has discovered several surprising marketing statistics showing the
power of influencers:

1. 70% of teens trust influencers more than traditional celebrities.

2. 86% of women use social media for purchasing advice.
3. 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations.

12

11
Digital Marketing Institute. 2021. “20 Influencer Marketing Statistics That Will Surprise You.” Digital Marketing Institute.
October 19, 2021. https://digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you.
12
Ososki, Tana. n.d. “How Much Do Influencers Actually Influence?” The Rubicon.
https://www.rubiconline.com/how-much-do-influencers-actually-influence/.

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 The statistics above show the confidential impact of an influencer on people’s buying
behavior. Governments and businesses can use influencers as a marketing tool for food waste
awareness to alert consumers about the current situation of food waste. It can be in the form of
a short video trend encouraging people to stop unnecessary food waste and spread awareness.
Or, it can be in the form of a contest hosted by the influencers with rewards in the end by limiting
the maximum food waste in a day. For example, the Zero Waste Challenge hosted in Westport,
Connecticut helped to reduce 171 tons of food scraps by now by redistributing food and
composting food in the Transfer Station.13 Now they are still 48 tons short of their goal. But if
they collaborate with influencers on social media, maybe it will reach a wider audience and help
them achieve their goal. In the end, hopefully, consumers will react to their influences and
participate in limiting food waste. However, there are flaws in this policy. The first problem is
finding a reliable influencer that is willing to collaborate with the government and certain
companies. Especially for private firms, they have different standards and values when it comes
to food waste. Companies like Nestle, Mondelez, and Hershey are large firms that produce
inevitable food waste each year. So when comparing food companies to brands such as Nike,
Lululemon, and New Balance, their concern of food waste is not as concerning as the food
companies. Therefore, the government should specifically set targets for food companies and
retailers such as Walmart and Amazon.

Figure 3. Walmart’s nationwide Fight Hunger, Spark Change, intuitively provided 218 million meals to Feeding
America food banks across the country14

13
“Zero Food Waste Challenge – Sustainable Westport.” n.d. Www.sustainablewestport.org. Accessed April 9, 2024.
https://www.sustainablewestport.org/our-programs/zero-food-waste-challenge/#:~:text=What%20is%20the%20Zero%20Food.
14
Intern, Development. 2017. “Walmart Drive Provides 500,000 Meals.” Ozarks Food Harvest. July 20, 2017.
https://ozarksfoodharvest.org/fight-hunger-2017/.

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Long-Term Goal in Technological Advancement and Educational Policies:

Because businesses influence consumer’s buying decisions, implementing food policies

in companies should be regulated. Food-relatable businesses should make a yearly goal of
reducing food waste by a specific amount. They should have their food policy regulations on
their ESG page. Then allow the report to be shown to the public for everyone to access. The
accessibility of the report allows the public to check on the progress of businesses including the
government and people who care about the issue. In addition, businesses that have local stores
such as Walmart, Sam's Club, and Walgreens can create labels in their stores to remind their
consumers of potential food waste.
Technology advancement should be in place to contribute to solving food waste. For
example, the Icon of the Seas from Royal Caribbean International15 is a cruise ship that has
technology implemented to turn food waste into pallets to fuel the ship. Workers will divide food
waste into two piles: the waste from the preparation of the food and the waste from customers.
Then the food waste will be sucked up into the food pulpers that travel down the pipe to be
processed into pallets using a technology called Microwave-Assisted Pyrolysis (MAPS). Then the
engine will use the pallets to fuel the ship to generate about 200 kilowatts of energy. Although,
comparing the cruise ship that needs at least 40,000 kilowatts to generate enough, using MAPS
to reduce the waste by 2% is more than nothing.

Figure 4. A simple demonstration of the MAPS function16

15
“How the World’s Largest Cruise Ship Deals with Food Waste.” n.d. WSJ. Accessed April 9, 2024.
https://www.wsj.com/video/series/jamie-leventhal/how-the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-deals-with-food-waste/441631D2
-6F4E-4258-B4ED-B565DE4EE2DE.
16
Bovenizer, Noah. 2023. “Royal Caribbean to Introduce Industry-First Waste-To-Energy Systems.” Ship Technology.
July 13, 2023. https://www.ship-technology.com/news/royal-caribbean-waste-to-energy-systems/.

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 Meanwhile, the cruise ship is also operating under a sustainable plan. The Icon of the
Seas being the largest cruise ship worldwide can serve up to 7600 passengers at maximum
capacity. To fulfill the demand of the customers’ needs, chefs can cook up to 4000 lobsters and
40,000 dessert portions daily. To maintain a sustainable environment, workers measure buffet
foods before they are served. Then compare it to the weight of leftovers after the buffet closes.
By doing so, the strategy can sufficiently adjust food quantity and portion sizes. Buffet
restaurants and food companies that are relatable to the Icon of The Seas should also implement
sustainable strategies to reduce food waste. In 2023 public news, there is an analysis of Royal
Caribbean Group’s waste management where the cruise company has achieved a 24% reduction
in food waste.

To solve the issue of people misreading the labels on food products, the implementation
of educational materials in public should also be enforced by the government. USDA is
positioned to address the problem of food loss and waste through its program. But they should
publish a dummy version for the public to convey their idea through the simplest words.
Because people nowadays don’t like to read and comprehend the information that is heavily
embedded in difficult languages.

Figure 5. Average Adult Literacy in the US17

17
“NCES Data Point: Adult English Literacy in the United States.” n.d. American Institutes for Research.
https://www.air.org/resource/brief/nces-data-point-adult-english-literacy-united-states.

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 The dummy version can explain food waste, government policies, and recommendations
for limiting food waste in the simplest terms. It can lead people to learn the information better
and quicker while keeping them engaged. But in the case of people not favoring reading, the EPA
should create short videos explaining their recommendations. Government should also
incentivize businesses to put an explanation on their food products to explain the purpose of
each label to resolve the confusion mentioned earlier such as “sell by”, “use by”, “expires on”,
“best before”, or “best by”. Then combine with short-term policies by hiring influencers or
celebrities who align with the core values of the goal of EPA and USDA to spread awareness of
these educational materials.

Conclusion:
Food waste has been a prolonged problem in the United States. Many developed
countries are not blessed with food supply like the US. People should appreciate the food supply
and try to reduce food waste as much as possible. Through current government policies and
with the contribution from businesses, food waste is still a problem largely due to consumer
purchases. To resolve this issue, consumers should plan before buying and composting food
instead of depositing it in a landfill. Governments and businesses should collaborate with
influencers to spread awareness about the urgency of food waste. Then also continue to
implement new technologies to reduce food waste and prevent more in the future. Last but not
least, educational materials on food waste should also be enforced because they give people the
foundation knowledge of the reason why food waste is an urgent environmental problem. In the
end, consumers, businesses, and the government should join forces together to reach the goal of
2030. Once everyone is on duty to reduce food waste, a sense of responsibility and achievement
would help to drive motivation.

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 Bibliography

“Biden-Harris Administration Announces Draft of the National Strategy to Reduce U.S. Food Loss

and Waste.” Www.usda.gov,

www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2023/12/02/biden-harris-administration-announces-draft-natio

nal-strategy.

Bovenizer, Noah. “Royal Caribbean to Introduce Industry-First Waste-To-Energy Systems.” Ship

Technology, 13 July 2023,

www.ship-technology.com/news/royal-caribbean-waste-to-energy-systems/.

Brownley, Julia. “Text - H.R.4444 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Zero Food Waste Act.”

Www.congress.gov, 19 July 2021, www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/4444/text.

“Confused by Food Date Labels? Congress Aims to Set Them Straight.” Www.nrdc.org, 1 Aug.

2019, www.nrdc.org/bio/nrdc/confused-food-date-labels-congress-aims-set-them-straight.

Digital Marketing Institute. “20 Influencer Marketing Statistics That Will Surprise You.” Digital

Marketing Institute, 19 Oct. 2021,

digitalmarketinginstitute.com/blog/20-influencer-marketing-statistics-that-will-surprise-you.

Feeding America. “Food Waste and Food Rescue | Feeding America.” Www.feedingamerica.org,

2024,

www.feedingamerica.org/our-work/reduce-food-waste#:~:text=How%20much%20food%20goes%2

0to.

9
“How the World’s Largest Cruise Ship Deals with Food Waste.” WSJ,

www.wsj.com/video/series/jamie-leventhal/how-the-worlds-largest-cruise-ship-deals-with-food-wa

ste/441631D2-6F4E-4258-B4ED-B565DE4EE2DE.

Ososki, Tana. “How Much Do Influencers Actually Influence?” The Rubicon,

www.rubiconline.com/how-much-do-influencers-actually-influence/.

“S.179 - COMPOST Act.” Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 31 Jan. 2023,

www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/179/text. Accessed 15 Apr. 2024.

“ShieldSquare Captcha.” Www.globaldata.com,

www.globaldata.com/data-insights/consumer/waste-generation-in-top-food-companies-2096301/.

US EPA, OLEM. “United States 2030 Food Loss and Waste Reduction Goal.” Www.epa.gov, 14

Apr. 2016,

www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/united-states-2030-food-loss-and-waste-reduction-goal

#:~:text=The%202030%20goal%20aims%20to.

“Zero Food Waste Challenge – Sustainable Westport.” Www.sustainablewestport.org,

www.sustainablewestport.org/our-programs/zero-food-waste-challenge/#:~:text=What%20is%20the
%20Zero%20Food.

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