Today, USAID celebrates Stop Food Waste Day. Over one-third of the world’s food is lost or wasted, undermining efforts to end hunger and malnutrition while contributing 8 to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Eliminating food loss and waste (FLW) would provide enough food to feed two billion people, as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Addressing FLW is critical to global food security, nutrition and climate change mitigation, with food systems sustainability playing an important role in these efforts. Stop Food Waste Day encourages us to “Prevent, Inspire and Repurpose” — prevent food waste through proper storage and handling, inspire others to waste less, and repurpose food through circular economy efforts. 

In order to raise awareness, exchange information and share success stories of food waste prevention, USAID’s Food Loss and Waste Community of Practice created the USAID Kitchen Sink Food Loss and Waste Podcast. Our goal is to share monthly, bite-sized episodes that highlight the approaches USAID and the U.S. government are taking to address FLW. We hope these episodes provide a valuable resource for those interested in why we should care about FLW and how we can reduce it. 

To celebrate Stop Food Waste Day, our latest episode of the USAID Kitchen Sink Food Loss and Waste Podcast is with Pete Pearson, the Global Lead for Food Loss and Waste at World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Pete and Ahmed Kablan, Senior Science Advisor at USAID, discuss how addressing FLW can serve as a catalyst for sustainable food systems, forcing us to measure the impact of food systems on the environment. Pete shares the collaborative global network of WWF, which includes 80 offices worldwide. This network helps WWF tackle FLW to increase sustainability and preserve biodiversity. Lastly, we wrap up our episode with Pete’s wishlist of the top 2-3 advances he’d like to see in FLW and circular economy. 

Through monthly, bite-sized episodes, the USAID Kitchen Sink Food Loss and Waste Podcast aims to share the work of USAID, its interagency partners, the research community, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector to “Prevent, Inspire, and Repurpose” food waste. The podcast raises awareness, exchanges information and shares success stories of food waste prevention. You can subscribe to receive the latest episodes of USAID’s Kitchen Sink and listen to our episodes on the platform of your choice: Apple, Spotify, and more! Video recordings of the episodes are available on YouTube. Check in every month for new episodes as global experts discuss a range of issues about FLW and methane emissions - from the critical role of youth to the staggering economic costs - and learn about specific ways that USAID is tackling FLW around the world. 

Are you interested in participating in an episode of USAID’s Kitchen Sink to share how you are tackling FLW by preventing, inspiring, and repurposing? Please reach out to Nika Larian.

There’s no time to waste!