The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly $1.5 million in grants that will allow two universities - The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Drexel University- to research ways to reduce food waste, a news release said.
The grants will enable the identification of successful strategies to empower communities to reduce food waste while improving food security. Wasted food typically decomposes in landfills, releasing methane and carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will work with households in Raleigh, NC, to evaluate a set of household food waste prevention interventions developed by researchers and local health, food, and environmental organizations. This project will also simulate the impact of the interventions on environmental outcomes and cost-effectiveness for national-scale application. Meanwhile, Drexel University will develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a series of culinary education videos for home cooks focused on food waste prevention and minimization.
Reducing and preventing food waste can increase food security, foster economic efficiency, promote resource and energy conservation, and help address climate change. The EPA’s grants will aid research to support these goals, and the results of these studies could be applied to promote food waste reduction and environmental benefits on a larger scale.
“Preventing food waste at home can help fight climate change and save money for U.S. families,” said Chris Frey, Assistant Administrator of EPA’s Office of Research and Development. “The research funded by these grants will help us identify successful strategies to empower communities to reduce food waste while improving food security.”
When food is wasted, "all the resources used to grow the food (water, energy, and fertilizers) along with the resources used to transport it, are also wasted," the news release said.
Wasted food is typically deposited in a landfill where it decomposes, "and the main byproducts are methane and carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases that trap heat and contribute to climate change," the agency said.
