Agriculture

Article 5: Food Waste and New Consumer Products

gillj7 Agriculture

Article 5: These startups are turning surplus food into new consumer products

We live in a country where perfectly good food is wasted because of cosmetics—it doesn’t pass the beauty test. People have been trained to think if food is ugly it bad. And it has led to countless to a lot of waste as vegetables that look hideous are tossed out and never make it to the stores. I thought we should follow Europe’s example and start selling the “Ugly” vegetables for less. Then I ran across this article and I was intrigued by these individuals who came up with ideas on getting more products and food that’s already been consumed and considered as waste. Some of the companies include:

  • Drexel University Food Lab – America loves avocadoes. And graduates Sheetal Bahirat and Christa Kwaw-Yankson came up with a fruity tasting pink tea made from avocado pits.
  • Lazy Bear Tea – Daniela Uribe founded it with Erik Ornitz and Drew Fink. Lazy Bear Tea sells a drink made from dried cascara and “when steeped in hot water tastes not like coffee but like a smooth black tea” and is sold in more than 30 Boston stores.
  • ReGrained – A certified B Corporation in San Francisco that takes used grains from mid-sized breweries to create snack bars. This provides the breweries with another source of revenue and they can tell their customers about their sustainable cause. It was founded in 2013 by Daniel Kurzrock and Jordon Schwartz.

Two of the biggest issues with the idea of turning the surplus food into a new product are the fears associated with health risks as well as the fact you don’t want to add more ingredients to save one. One way ReGrained has tackled the issue of the fear of being liable for food safety is by partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The job of the USDA was to assure consumers “that ReGrained’s process was operating safely and efficiently.”

 

Source: GreenBiz

Author: Danielle Beurteaux

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/these-startups-are-turning-surplus-food-new-consumer-products

 

 

 

Article 1: Vertical Farming

gillj7 Agriculture

Article 1: Is the future of farming vertical?

Last week I read a case study “Lufa farms: High yields, high above the city.” The growing urban world population and rural land being taken over to develop cities was described as the problem at hand. The solution was to utilize the unused acres of land on rooftops to grow crops. Such farms are perfect for rainwater irrigation; the crops get free energy from the sun and heat that comes from the buildings below them. Intrigued by the idea, I chose this week’s current article to be about rooftop farming.

The article explored this idea, presenting strong points in its favor. Because of the changing climate, states such as California—one of the three biggest producers of the U.S.’s vegetables—are impacted through hot, dry weather. By taking farming vertical, you can reduce expanding into grasslands and instead seek benefits from unutilized areas. The article also stated that people don’t take advantage of stranded assets, abandoned buildings, such as old thermal power plants. Usually such buildings are in low-value areas and food deserts—poor neighborhoods where people do not have proper access to grocery stores—thus they can be acquired cheaply. Energy generation at thermal power plants results in heat, water, energy, and slipstream emissions. It can be annoying and costly to dispose of but it could be used in the production of food instead. I think this method is an excellent example of heading toward a more circular economy. It also cuts down on waste as the produce is close to its consumers thus cutting down the time it takes to harvest, move, and sell the product, extending its life. Considering the fact that nearly half of the fruits and vegetables in the U.S. end being discarded, this is a step in the right direction. In fact, the U.S. should follow Europe’s example in selling “Ugly” fruits and vegetables at marked down prices. Trashing produce simply for cosmetic reasons is ridiculous and only contributes to unnecessary waste.

One issue with vertical farming is that there is not enough research done. Questions such as how much sun or soil is required or what the costs will need to be answered first. And you must also consider other implications such as if it would give corporations more power than they already have in the food system. Still, in industrialized countries such as the U.S., expanding farms to concrete jungles rather than eating up land already used for crops is the more efficient way to go.

 

Notable vertical farms:

AeroFarms

Plenty Inc.

 

Source: GreenBiz

Article: Is the future of farming vertical?

Author: Jason Clay

https://www.greenbiz.com/article/future-farming-vertical