Food Waste and Climate Change

About this Episode

Only the USA and China produce more greenhouse gases than food wastage. According to FAO estimates, the food that is lost and wasted could feed 1.26 billion hungry people every year. Brett Rierson has spent many years in the agricultural sector in Africa, and he's got some great perspectives on the causes of food wastage, how exactly it makes climate change worse, and what can be done to stop it. And you know, it turns out there are some very simple solutions that can make a very big impact.

This is the first of two linked episodes - the second will feature two Ugandan entrepreneurs who are developing accessible, innovative ways of combatting post harvest food wastage by prolonging the shelf life of fruit and vegetables.

If you'd like to get hold of some of the bags and other storage equipment Brett mentioned, you can contact the supplier here:
Belinda Celeste at SmilePlast: 0751-890-890

If you'd like to read more about food waste from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation in 2022, you can find it here:
https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/fao-unep-agriculture-environment-food-loss-waste-day-2022/en

And more info about some of the solutions Brett was speaking about can be found here:

From the World Food Programme, "Empowering smallholder farmers to reduce post-harvest loss":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7mNzlqtFm8&t

Properly Storing Dried Grains and Legumes Using Hermetically Sealed Bags:
https://youtu.be/1KIO-P1ZsL8?si=67o67q9_Pet4WLOu

Information about YieldWise, a Rockerfeller Foundation (USA) funded initiative to eliminate wastage:
https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/initiative/yieldwise/