ReFeed: A viable pathway for managing food waste for food security and sustainability

This project embarks on a path-finding journey to address a serious and widespread problem -- consumer food waste, which is generated in large amounts (e.g. nearly 50 million tons annually in the U.S. alone), aggravating food security, resource and environmental sustainability, and climate change challenges. Current methods for dealing with the wasted food have serious limitations. This project presents a viable and superiour pathway for dealing with consumer food waste -- recovering it and converting it into value-added products, using treatment technologies, for livestock feeding (ReFeed). This option would not only return the otherwise-wasted food to the food supply chain as meat, eggs, or milk for humans, but also has a consequential cascade of efficiencies with resource and environmental benefits. The team will use the Global Engagement Fund grant to collect, synthesize, and document critical information on the successful Korean model for food waste management, focusing on key economic metrics and implementation parameters that are fundamental for adopting/adapting the model in the U.S. or elsewhere. The team also plans to convene an international workshop with interested parties in the U.S., China, and Australia to brainstorm strategies and formulate actions for promoting the ReFeed initiative.