Sustainable Agriculture Lesson: Strategic Reductions in Food Waste

Preparatory homework: Prior to class, have learners read the study by Read et al. (2020), linked below, paying special attention to the highlighted portions, as well as the discussion and conclusion. Additionally, direct the learners to the non-profit organization ReFED to explore the website and carefully review its Roadmap to 2030.

(10 min.) To begin class, review the major insights from the homework in the lesson PPT slides below. 

(5 min.) Divide the class into groups of 3–4 people each and assign each group to collectively represent the role of one of the three food service sectors: manufacturing, food service, or residential. It is okay if multiple groups are working on the same target, based on the number of people in the class.

(15 min.) Have each group discuss the specific causes of, and challenges related to preventing food waste in their sector. This discussion should begin as a general conversation based on their experience. As residential consumers, where have they seen food waste? As restaurant customers or employees (some will have food service experience), where have they seen food waste? The third sector, manufacturing, may be less experiential, but learners may refer back to the PPT slides, the Read article, and ReFED’s Roadmap to 2030 as resources that describe causes and challenges of FLW in this sector. Learners may devote this portion of the discussion to personal experience, psychological and cultural factors to waste, household adoption of best practices including composting, and other sociological challenges that they have encountered.
 

(15 min.) Have each group create a three-column list: causes, challenges, and solutions. List 2–3 causes of waste, and pair each cause with a challenge to reduction and a potential solution. Have each group compare their solutions to those found on the ReFED Solutions Analysis page. Here, solutions are paired with data-backed estimations of potential benefits, which are broken into three categories: financial benefit, tons of waste diverted, and reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The group should tally their gains in each category for each solution they’ve listed. Some solutions, like reducing portion size, will show monumental gains across benefit categories. Others, like centralized compost, are quite modest in terms of money saved but show major advantages in waste diverted and GHG emissions. Groups should consider the quantitative gains expected from a given intervention versus their subjective sense of how difficult the solution would be to implement in our society. For example, portion size and centralized compost are two solutions that may encounter major challenges to implementation because of social, psychological, and economic factors.  

(20 min.) Convene all of the participants again and ask for volunteer groups to share their cause-challenge-solution ideas, including positive environmental impact quantities, with their sociological analysis of challenges. Lead a discussion of ways that we may shift the culture of food consumption along with its technologies, industrial processes, and agricultural practices. This is the essence of a wicked problem: interdisciplinary, complicated, and working against entrenched cultural and psychological practices. Take a vote and highlight the top solution that the group finds to be the most actionable in terms of technology, culture, and provision of environmental benefit for each sector.

(10 min.) Have each group sketch out a local implementation strategy for this solution within their sector that would take place in their college, town, or city. As homework, have a volunteer from each group post these implementation ideas to a class discussion board.