Food Loss and Waste Research

To measure progress on reducing food loss and waste in the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) needs updated estimates of consumer-level food loss for the periods before and after the announcement of USDA’s food 2030 loss and waste reduction goal in 2015. The overall objective of this study is to calculate updated consumer-level loss factors (percentages) for the edible share of commodities in USDA’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability (LAFA) Data Series to assess progress in reducing food loss and waste over time. RTI is calculating consumer-level food loss estimates using IRI Consumer Network household-based scanner data, IRI InfoScan store-based scanner data, and National Health and Examination Survey (NHANES) dietary recall data for two time periods: the year immediately before the announcement of USDA’s food loss and waste 2030 goal (pre-announcement) and the most recent year for which data will be available (post-announcement). Collaborators at Penn State University are validating the estimates using a household production inefficiency approach.

A collaborative research team led by Dr. Mary Muth at RTI and including colleagues from the University of Virginia, University of Georgia, University of Texas, Austin, Duke University, Microsoft, LeanPath, and SESYNC, conducted research to characterize the food system, identify sources and types of food waste at different stages of production, identify types of environmental and ecological impacts of food waste, identify relevant models and data sources, and compile information on public and private food waste reduction initiatives. The research team developed a synthesis paper to provide a framework for assessing the full environmental and economic impacts of food waste and loss in the United States. We then developed a modeling framework based on the EPA's Environmentally-Extended Input-Output model that was used to assess the environmental impacts of food waste, assess the improvements in environmental impacts if food waste was reduced by 50%, conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of food waste interventions, and assess the effects of food waste on biodiversity.

Under a grant with the Environmental Protection Agency, RTI is supporting a study being conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, to develop and test a household food waste intervention among low-income households. RTI is collecting data on the costs of implementing the intervention, estimating the environmental impacts, and calculating cost-effectiveness if scaled to the national level. To estimate the impact of estimated food waste reduction on environmental measures (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, blue water withdrawal, land use, energy use), we are using an adapted version of EPA’s Environmentally-Extended Input-Output Model and RTI’s Municipal Solid Waste Decision Support Tool. The outputs from this project will include an intervention toolkit for households, estimates of environmental impact and cost-effectiveness, dissemination materials, and scientific publications.