WTO Session Preview: Taking a Bite Out of Climate Change through Food Waste Solutions

Today we’re previewing for you one of the great sessions coming up at WasteExpo Together Online, happening September 13-14. “Taking a Bite Out of Climate Change through Food Waste Solutions” is a presentation by Emily Broad Leib, Director of the Food Law and Policy Clinic of the Center for Health Law and Policy Innovation at Harvard Law School.  

In the session, Broad Leib sets the stage by discussing how food loss/waste is a global problem (on the order of 1.3 billion tons per year) but that, naturally, “the solutions are going to be different from place to place.” She also acknowledges that, “this food waste has a real impact on climate change.” The bulk of her talk addresses the challenge that, at the same time these 1.3 billion tons of food are wasted, more than 820 million people are suffering from hunger (she notes that these numbers are pre-COVID and are known to have increased).

So, “why isn’t more of this food going to those who need it?” Broad Leib notes that some of the biggest challenges are related to government and law. A critical solution is: to adopt clear and comprehensive laws and regulations for food donation, and the Food Law and Policy Clinic is working to make this a reality. Its “Global Food Donation Policy Atlas” is a project with support from Walmart.org, which aims to identify and analyze the most common legal barriers in a range of countries; to recommend policy change; and to create a platform for global engagement.

So far, the project’s research has identified six types of legal issues that impact whether surplus food is donated or goes to waste. Those are: food safety, date labeling, liability, tax incentives and barriers, requirement and penalties, and government grants and incentives. Broad Leib breaks down each of these issues and highlights countries that are doing well in these areas, for lessons that can be applied in other areas of the world.

Don’t miss this or any other fantastic sessions that will be happening at WasteExpo Together Online. More information and to register, please visit:   https://www.wasteexpo.com/togetheronline/en/home.html