
A digger unloads discarded vegetables into a pile of vegetable residue at the Albahida vegetable recycling plant in Nijar, in the southern Spanish region of Almeria. REUTERS/Francisco Bonilla
In Fight against Food Waste, Brits Find a Worthy Battlefield: The Home
The best-documented success in reducing food waste is taking place in the UK, where most food waste happens at home, through the Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP). WRAP helped launch a countrywide campaign to cut food waste. It encouraged food manufacturers to reduce the portion sizes of pre-packaged meals and also to create food packaging that allows easier storage of leftover food.
This Indian Social Entrepreneur Has Delivered Food to a Million Needy People, and Isn't Slowing Down
Feeding India, a nonprofit launched in 2014, has a network of 2,200 volunteers across 32 cities in India. The companies and event planners with whom Feeding India collaborate inform volunteers through a mobile app about where they are located. The volunteers collect the surplus food and distribute it where it’s needed most.
Harnessing the Data Revolution for Urban Sustainability and Resilience
Our cities are places where humanity comes together. As more and more people choose to live in cities, challenges like eliminating hunger, fighting disease, ensuring quality education and jobs, and building resilience to climate change are particularly concentrated. The good news is that the data revolution is upon us, and enhancing accessibility and capacity to use data for decision-making is critical to the New Urban Agenda’s vision of action to drive sustainable urban development.
Companies and Government Seek New Answers for Food Deserts
Frustrated with years of hit-or-miss efforts, retailers and governments are still searching for ways to address food deserts. These areas, which can be in either remote rural regions or dense inner cities, don’t offer low-income residents big supermarkets where they can get fresh, healthy food. Now some big supermarket players are opening test stores that use charitable contributions and tax incentives for funding. Other companies are experimenting with online food-delivery services that bring groceries to households that aren’t served by supermarkets.
Falconers Hired to Discourage Other Birds from Eating Crops
Frustrated growers tired of seeing wild birds devastate their fruit crops are turning to raptors to patrol their fields, orchards, and vineyards. This ancient predator-prey relationship is creating work for scores of falconers, who follow seasonal fruit harvests. The falcons and hawks are trained to swoop down and scare bird pests away from fruit trees, vineyards, and shrubs or simply soar and circle above.
