Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 8/17/15

University of Missouri researchers are reporting that foodservice and consumer waste from meat products has a greater impact on the environment than food waste from starches and vegetables.

The wasted energy is usually in the form of resources that may have negative impacts on the surrounding environment, such as diesel fuel or fertilizer being released into the environment.

During the study, pre- and post-consumer food waste was collected from four all-you-can-eat dining facilities over three months in 2014. The researchers created a detailed inventory of the specific types of food waste: meat, vegetables or starches. The food waste also was categorized as either edible or inedible (such as peels and ends of fruits and vegetables).

Once the food waste was categorized, the researchers analyzed greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions resulting from fertilizer use, vehicle transportation and utility use on the farm. GHG emission estimates were measured from cradle (land preparation or animal birth) to farm gate (when the grain or animal was sent to a processing facility).

Previous studies have analyzed GHG emissions in the production stages prior to the farm products’ leaving the farm. In 2011, for example, a study published in the Journal of Animal Science found that raising a pound of beef in the United States today uses significantly fewer natural resources, including land, water, feed and fuel than in the past. And previous research showed that each pound of grain-finished beef requires 45 percent less land, 76 percent less water and 49 percent less feed and at the same time generates 51 percent less manure and 42 percent fewer carbon emissions than grass-finished beef.

But it is the post-production practices examined by the University of Missouri researchers that were found to have a significant impact on the environment.

“Based on the findings, we recommend consumers pay special attention to avoiding waste when purchasing and preparing meat,” said co-author Ronald G. McGarvey, assistant professor at the Harry S. Truman School of Public Affairs and Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering. He also addressed the challenges faced by foodservice providers, which don’t always accurately predict demand.

“If they knew what the demand was [in advance],” food service providers would produce exactly what was needed. “We wouldn’t see any waste from pre-consumer food,” he said.

The study, “Food waste in campus dining operations: Inventory of pre- and post-consumer mass by food category, and estimation of embodied greenhouse gas emissions,” was published in “Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.”

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