This article by Sentient Media is published here as part of the global journalism collaboration Covering Climate Now.
“Food isn’t waste until we waste it,” said Jonathan Deutsch, founding director of the Drexel Food Lab, at a panel during the Plant Based World Expo held last month in New York City. At Drexel University, students work with startup companies to “upcycle” food waste — taking ingredients that might otherwise have ended up in a landfill and turning them into food.
Food waste continues to be a significant problem. Globally, a third of all food produced is wasted, or roughly 1.3 billion tons per year. In the U.S., food waste generates 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent each year, around the same emissions as 42 coal-fired power plants, or 6 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. And just like climate change itself, there isn’t a single solution. According to the EPA, the best option is to “produce, buy and serve only what’s needed,” but the next best solution is to donate or “upcycle” food that would otherwise be wasted, which is where initiatives like the one at Drexel University come into play.
What Is Upcycled Food?
Upcycled foods are foods made with ingredients that would otherwise end up as food waste. The idea is not new to the culinary arts or to food science, says Deutsch, who is also trained as a research chef, someone who oversees the research and development of new food products. “It’s been happening as long as there’s been sausage and pickles,” he says.
What’s new now is that consumers are paying attention. Food companies didn’t always want to highlight their use of “rescued” ingredients, Deutsch says, as “the conventional wisdom of the industry was that we don’t want to be transparent with consumers.” That began to change around 2019, as a wave of companies found success touting their “ugly” and “rescued” fruit and vegetables (a trend that is not without criticism).
The Upcycled Foods Association also launched officially in 2019, one of its co-founders, Caroline Cotto, tells Sentient. The upcycling label, which was created by the Upcycled Foods Association, is now overseen by Where Food Comes From, a third-party independent verifier of a range of labels, including the certified organic label. The upcycled label is not regulated by the government the way the organic label is, but the association convened stakeholders from Harvard, World Wildlife Federation, the National Resources Defense Council, and ReFed to come to an agreement on a definition.
To earn the upcycled label, products must be made from at least 10 percent upcycled ingredients by weight, which could be a limitation. The upcycling label requires that companies provide auditable proof that they are using products that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill, Cotto told Sentient in an email.
Avocado Tea, Bacon Jam, and Tomato Sauce
A number of startups are working on upcycled products. Take, for example, Reveal Avocado Brew, a tangy tea made from avocado pits that are rich in antioxidants. According to the company, 15 million pounds of avocado seeds are thrown into landfills each year. While the carbon footprint of avocados is a fraction of meat, especially beef, every bit of waste averted helps to some degree. The avocado pits are saved by participating restaurants like Tacombi in New York and Rosy’s Taco Bar in Philadelphia. They are then cleaned and processed at the Rutgers Food Innovation Center.
Another product, TBJ gourmet’s bacon jam, is made from the trimmings of smoked pork belly that could potentially end up tossed into the trash. According to TBJ Gourmet, 350,000 pounds of pork belly have been upcycled to date.
Other Upcycled Food Association members include Matriark Foods, which makes upcycled vegetable broth and tomato sauce. Each carton of Matriark upcycled broth saves 102 gallons of water and nearly a pound of what would be wasted food, according to the company’s accounting.
Upcycling Works at Home Too
In the U.S., around two-thirds of food waste comes from uneaten food rather than crops left on the field. Yet at home, Americans waste an estimated 6.2 cups of food every week per household. Drexel Food Lab, with help from an EPA grant, is tackling this problem with a cooking class to teach home cooks “the same culinary techniques that chefs use to upcycle and reduce waste,” says Deutsch.