Food Waste: A Challenge Across the Global Food System

Food waste is an issue we try to keep front and center at Lineage. Our company is emboldened by our purpose to transform the global food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world. We take that imperative seriously. Addressing food waste has inspired important initiatives like the Lineage Foundation for Good’s Customer Product Donation Program, which redirects safe, nutritious surplus food away from landfills and to communities in need. It even inspires us to partner with organizations like Economist Impact to shed light on the role food chain infrastructure plays in supporting inclusive and sustainable food systems.

That said, food waste remains a complex problem with many causes and no easy solutions.

In this two-part blog series, we’re taking a close look at the food waste challenge and the impact that wasted food has on the food system, society and the environment. In part two, we’ll highlight how Lineage, non-profit partners and others are working to reduce food waste and explore what innovations may be next.

How Food Waste Contributes to Global Hunger and Food Insecurity

The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines food waste as food that is not ultimately consumed by humans and is discarded or recycled. This includes food that is served but not eaten, spoiled food and the inedible parts of food like peels and rinds. In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply chain. While that is a staggering number, we believe it also represents a massive opportunity. Through the proactive, intentional focus of the food system and its actors we have the real capacity to make a difference by creating pathways for food to be rescued, redirected or repurposed throughout the process.

Food insecurity is widespread. Research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service found that 13.5 percent (18 million) of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2023. According to the 2024 edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, between 713 and 757 million people may have faced hunger in 2023—one out of 11 people in the world, and one out of every five in Africa. Apart from hunger, the report also highlights that 2.8 billion people could not afford a healthy diet in 2022.  

Despite these staggering numbers, it’s important to understand the problem isn’t one of food production. Global food producers now raise or grow enough caloric nutrition to feed 10 billion people – which amounts to everyone currently living as well as those expected to be here by 2050.  

As one of the world’s largest providers of temperature-controlled warehousing and integrated solutions, we at Lineage see food waste as, among other things, a supply chain problem, the result of inefficiencies in our current food supply chains as well as many obstacles to getting food to people where they live. While agricultural practices may continue to improve, we believe it’s imperative that cold chain companies, food growers and public and private sector partners work together to rethink global food supply chains to address food waste and create a more sustainable food system.

Food Waste Happens Everywhere in the Journey from Farm to Fork

As consumers, most of us can relate to the feeling of finding a sad, wilted bag of spinach at the back of the fridge. Whether it’s because the spinach was forgotten, meal plans changed or the product spoiled before it could be consumed, the result is the same. Food waste happens.

According to the 2019 Wasted Food Report, residential households generate approximately 338 pounds of wasted food per household each year. But food loss or waste can happen at every step in the food supply chain – from where our food is grown and harvested to retailers or restaurants and, ultimately, your plate.    

Wasted Food at the Production Level has Many Causes

Meeting consumer demand for fresh or frozen perishable food while eliminating loss or waste is a challenge for growers, who may be inhibited by multiple forces outside of their control.

Take a fresh crop of produce for example. While a grower’s intent can be to deliver their entire crop to market fresh, factors like weather, labor availability and costs or pests can impact either the quality of the crop or the ability to harvest it at its peak to meet that market and premium. Furthermore, a narrow window for harvest can limit the marketing time for local, regional or even international customers. Additional losses can happen because some portion of the crop may be declared imperfect or unsellable. Preventing at least some loss of product is difficult, given these constraints. Without options and contingencies in the supply chain, including better immediate storage options and secondary markets, imperfect or extra produce is far more likely to be wasted or discarded instead of feeding people.

Climate change also means that farmers contend with an increasingly unpredictable natural world. A common solution is to raise as much produce as possible as insurance against any unforeseeable loss. Furthermore, like everyone else in business, farmers respond to consumers’ market demands, which can change quickly. These incentives to overproduce can result in unintended food waste when the costs of harvesting aren’t offset by potential profits of selling.

Food Loss can Occur During Transport, Especially Where Infrastructure is Insufficient

Once food is harvested, it begins its (oftentimes long) journey through the food supply chain or cold chain. Perishable food may be loaded onto temperature-controlled trucks, rail cars or containers to keep it cool through transport. However, availability of refrigerated transportation options can vary widely. In places where there is inadequate or even non-existent infrastructure, that means that there are plenty of opportunities for food to be lost or to spoil during transit.

The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that 14% of global food is lost in transit between harvest and retail, with poor infrastructure being a major culprit. A 2024 study from the University of Michigan estimates that poor or outdated cold chain infrastructure is responsible for up to 620 million metric tons of lost food.

The importance of agricultural and food supply chain infrastructure is further illustrated in research published by Economist Impact which explores how quality infrastructure can enhance access to markets, facilitate the delivery of food to combat food waste and enable healthier diets.

Food Waste at the Manufacturer and Processer Level

For some foods products, like strawberries that are harvested fresh but destined to become ingredients in pastries or other packaged goods, the first stop in their journey is a food processing facility. Food waste can occur at this level in the supply chain due to normal production practices that include trimming or peeling and product line changeovers. These inedible parts can end up in landfills unless the manufacturer has a solution in place to redirect or repurpose organic waste.

Moreover, labeling practices can lead to food waste further down the supply chain. For instance, in the US, the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture do not currently require standardized food date labeling, and some manufacturers may utilize vague terms – like “best before”, “sell by” or “use by” – which can inadvertently contribute to food waste when cautious consumers toss perfectly edible food based on their interpretations of these labels.  

Causes of Food Loss at Restaurants and Retailers 

Retailers and restaurants are affected by some of the same issues facing manufacturers and processers. During the preparation of ready-to-eat foods and individual dishes, food scraps may pile up and be tossed in the garbage. Unsold food may also be destined for an unfortunate end when alternative channels like food donation programs aren’t available.

Handling errors can also result in food being damaged and deemed unsuitable to sell. Even portion sizes may contribute to wasted food if consumers don’t take home the leftovers or take them home but don’t eat them.

Other Less Predictable Causes of Food Waste

Additionally, food can be lost when the unexpected happens. Equipment malfunctions or power failures can shut down refrigeration systems. Produce left outside for extended periods after delivery can be damaged by exposure to heat, the elements or pests. One small error can potentially ruin a shipment, even if everything else in the chain functions as it should.

Global food supply chains are also subject to unpredictable stresses, and a disruption in any single producer or region can impact the entire chain – a lesson the world was reminded of during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moreover, government policies are sometimes obstacles to food distribution. “Even countries with relatively normal trade relations – i.e. with no state of war or sanctions – often have different standards regarding what counts as ‘safe’ food, and thus are limited in what they can trade,” said Dr. Stephen Neel, VP of Global Food Optimization at Lineage. According to the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, countries that want to “export meat, poultry or egg products to the United States must demonstrate that they have a regulatory food safety inspection system that is equivalent to that of FSIS.”

The Social and Environmental Impacts of Food Waste are Too Big to Ignore

ReFED – a nonprofit research group dedicated to reducing food waste in America – estimates that, in the U.S., 63 million tons of food per year either goes to a landfill, is incinerated or rots in the field. Further, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that food loss and waste amount to over a billion tons of food and $940 billion annually.

This waste is a significant factor in global hunger and also an environmental problem. Food waste that decays in landfills or in cropland is a major contributor to greenhouse gases. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says that food waste is responsible for the equivalent of 55 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year. The methane produced by decomposing food in landfills is an even more potent greenhouse gas, adds the USDA.

Furthermore, wasted food begets other wasted resources and negative environmental impacts. According to Food Foolish: The Hidden Connection Between Food Waste, Hunger and Climate Change, the water needed globally every year to grow discarded food is more than is used by any single country in the world. That waste is further compounded by all the additional inputs needed for production – the fertilizer, seeds, fossil fuels and labor.

Beyond the environmental costs, food waste contributes to global food insecurity. Ultimately, food insecurity occurs when there is not adequate food in the right place at the right time to support the people living there.

The World Health Organization defines food security as “when all people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences.”  

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification considers a region to be in a state of famine when “at least 20% of the population is affected, with about one out of three children being acutely malnourished and two people dying per day for every 10,000 inhabitants due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease.”

War or natural disasters can cause food insecurity anywhere, even in historically stable countries.

“Additionally, in places like the U.S., socioeconomic factors like income level, employment status, race, ethnicity or the possession of a disability can determine whether a person or family can get adequate nutrition,” said Hannah Hoskins, Executive Director of the Lineage Foundation for Good. 

It is also important to note there are areas where access to affordable, nutritious food is limited or absent altogether; this is often due to lack of investments by the public or private sectors and especially affects communities with higher rates of poverty – urban and rural.

A Better Food System is Possible

Given the scale of the problem and its impact, taking action to reduce food waste should be a no-brainer across the food system.

That’s why Lineage is driven to reimagine our food supply chain and help eliminate waste. In fact, our company co-founders set out to transform the cold chain industry and the food supply chain from the very beginning of their journey.

We believe innovation and improved supply chains are indispensable to achieving this; however, it will take a full court press that includes consumers, businesses, non-profits and the public sector to tackle the root causes of food waste.

In our next post, we’ll look at ways companies like Lineage are using data-driven insights and technology to create a more resilient and sustainable food supply chain. We’ll also spotlight non-profit organizations who are working to rethink our food chain. Finally, we’ll explore a few other new ideas and innovative solutions that show promise in the fight to prevent food waste. Stay tuned for part two.

Note: The authors of this blog extend our deepest thanks to the many subject matter experts who contributed to this blog series by sharing their knowledge of the food supply chain, causes of food waste and its connections to food insecurity. We also acknowledge the many authors of the reports and articles referenced throughout this blog; their work is an invaluable resource.