The Future of Food Waste: A Journey Toward Sustainable Solutions

I remember it vividly; being six years old, growing up in a small, struggling community in Ghana. My mother, resourceful and determined, would gather remnants from the market fruits with slight blemishes, vegetables nearing their last breath, discarded head of fish and somehow, she made meals for us.

For many, reducing food waste was an ideal, but for us, it was survival. Little did I know that years later, I would stand in front of a group at the TED Countdown event in New York, facilitating a breakthrough session on the very topic: food waste.

Food waste is an urgent problem, one that stretches from our homes to vast agricultural fields, from crowded markets to the towering heights of retail chains. Shockingly, 40% of all food produced globally is wasted according to FAO. This revelation drives the question: How can we chart a future where food is not wasted but cherished?

As I welcomed the participants to the session, I invited them to reflect on their own households. “On a scale from zero to ten,” I asked, “where would you place your household in terms of eliminating food waste?” We stood as a collective, admitting our roles in the dilemma, whether at a zero (wasting nothing) or a ten (struggling to minimize waste). It was clear, we all had work to do.

The Problem of Food Waste

The numbers are staggering. Food waste is responsible for more than 14% of methane emissions due to its decomposition in landfills. It’s a dilemma that significantly affects our environment and our ability to nourish the world. For context, one-third of the world’s population suffers from food insecurity, while mountains of perfectly edible food rot in landfills across the globe.

In Africa, the problem largely stems from post-harvest losses, with inadequate storage and processing infrastructures, which means food never reaches the people who need it most. I shared examples from Ghana, where food prices have risen dramatically. Tomatoes, a once-staple ingredient, have become as expensive as luxury goods ((Global Food Losses and Food Waste, FAO, 2011). Farmers often face heart-wrenching decisions as their crops perish before they can sell them, all because the systems designed to protect and distribute food are broken.

Conversely, in the Global North, the waste predominantly occurs at the retail and consumer levels. In the U.S., for instance, ReFED estimated that consumers collectively throw away more food than retailers. In fact, U.S. households waste about 48% of the surplus food, with 44 million tons ending up in landfills.

As a group, we discussed these stark differences, realizing that food waste takes many forms, depending on the region, yet the outcome remains the same: food is lost, and people go hungry.

Temporary Actions and Immediate Solutions

One of the first steps we can take is to think locally. We discussed examples of how communities could address this issue. I shared my experience at university, where I repurposed palm kernel shells into clean cooking briquettes . It was a small innovation, but it won me an award and fueled my passion for transforming waste into valuable resources. In today’s world, similar innovations can make a significant difference.

I sheared more example of our Zero Waste Cities project in Ghana and Uganda carried out by the Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO) . Within communities, organic waste are utilized to create fertilizers that could enhance crop production. These are further used to create urban farms for growing vegetables and mushrooms in cities to nourish communities while reducing the carbon footprint of transporting food. Also, another admirable solution is the conversion of agricultural waste to Charcoal Briquette done by Green Africa Youth Organization (GAYO)-Uganda

As the discussion grew, participants shared their own stories of waste and renewal. Some had established backyard gardens, others donated surplus food to community kitchens, and many encouraged education about mindful consumption. Temporary actions like these are important because they create momentum for larger, systemic changes.

Looking Ahead: Future Horizons for Food Waste Reduction

The 3 Horizons framework served as a powerful tool during our session. As a group, we divided the issue of food waste into three stages:

1. The Present (Horizon 1): What’s not working? We recognized that food waste is embedded in a broken linear system, where food production, distribution, and consumption often operate in isolation from one another. Structural inefficiencies and outdated policies create barriers to reducing waste.
2. Pockets of the Future (Horizon 2): What solutions already exist but are not widely distributed? Beyond composting systems, we identified more robust interventions, like food banks and community kitchens, secondary markets for surplus food, and penalties for businesses that generate excessive food waste.
3. The Visionary Future (Horizon 3): What could a future without food waste look like? This future would involve circular economies where food waste is repurposed, and excess is shared, rather than discarded. Policies would encourage donations, infrastructure for food storage would be strengthened, and awareness campaigns would ensure that communities everywhere were educated about the importance of zero food waste.

Our discussions led to some exciting ideas: working with local governments to implement stronger food donation laws, encouraging retail chains to establish partnerships with food banks, and launching educational campaigns to shift consumer behavior. These solutions, though varied, all pointed to a common goal: a world where food is no longer wasted.

A Hopeful Ending

As the session came to a close, I invited everyone to take a moment to look at the map of post; its we had clustered on the wall. “What do you see?” I asked. There was a tangible sense of possibility in the room. We had moved from problem to solution, from discussion to action.

In reflecting on our time together, I shared a story from the day before. We had visited City Harvest, an organization that rescues surplus food to feed the hungry. This year alone, they have diverted 77 million tons of food from landfills. They are proof that individual and collective actions matter.

“We are the future of food waste,” I said. “Every meal we save, every policy we change, and every community we nourish brings us closer to a world where food is valued, not wasted.”

The room filled with hope, and as I closed, I reminded everyone that the path to a sustainable future is one we walk together. The future of food waste is within our reach if we are willing to take the first step.

Green Regards,