Today’s episode focused on food waste, a topic that I love talking about as it’s one of the most accessible ways for pretty much anyone to make a difference on climate change.

Wasting food is a huge problem. Roughly 40% of the world’s food is wasted each year, while almost a billion people are undernourished. Further, wasted food adds up to 8-10% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

Like many people working on this issue, my understanding of the food waste opportunity was shaped by an organization called ReFED. They launched in 2015 and have been one of the best examples of an effort to accelerate investment and entrepreneurship through data, storytelling and partnerships.

We’re fortunate to be joined by Dana Gunders, Executive Director of ReFED. Prior to joining ReFED, Dana wrote the book, The Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money By Wasting Less Food.

We were also joined by Gaeleen Quinn, Head of Impact for the fast growing food waste startup Too Good to Go, which enables retailers to offer soon to be wasted food to consumers at a discount.

We discuss a wide range of opportunities for eliminating food waste, and tap into Gaeleen and Dana’s insights to growing this emerging innovation space. No matter who you are, if you buy and eat food, I’m sure you’ll find something immediately useful in this episode.

In today’s episode, we cover:

• [4:44] Why does food waste matter & why it matters to climate change
• [8:18] What is ReFED & what is their role
• [9:51] Food waste categories & which ones offer the most leverage
• [11:55] Where we need to focus most & where there’s most opportunity for impact
• [13:44] The problem that Too Good to Go aiming to solve
• [16:22] The hardest part of gaining market adoption
• [19:47] What can retailers do about food waste
• [21:43] The importance of Gaeleen’s role as Head of Impact
• [23:27] Examples of partnerships with schools and community organizations
• [25:21] The most effective way for us to reduce or eliminate food waste
• [31:30] The status on ReFED’s goal to cut food waste in half by 2030
• [37:10] Making immense amounts of data inspiring & actionable
• [43:19] The most exciting things that Gaeleen & Dana are working on right now

Resources Mentioned

• ReFED
• Too Good to Go
• World Resources Institute: Creating a Sustainable Food Future
• United Nations: The Global Issue of Food
• San Francisco-Marin Food Bank
• City Harvest
• Philaabundance
• Great Chicago Food Depository
• World Wildlife Fund: Food Waste

Connect with Dana Gunders and Gaeleen Quinn

• Connect with Dana on LinkedIn
• Connect with Gaeleen on LinkedIn

Connect With Jason Rissman

• https://InvestedInClimate.com
• On LinkedIn
• On Twitter

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