As the world copes with a global pandemic, most concerns center on the healthcare system and the economy. But what about the resilience of our food system?

Despite a perceived shortage in supplies at local supermarkets due to consumer stockpiling, experts warn there is an excess of food, and it’s going to waste. Supply chains are struggling to adapt to the closures of restaurants, universities, primary education systems, and workplaces. Mid-western dairy farmers are forced to dump tons of milk because the usual markets have evaporated. Fruit and vegetable farmers are leaving ripe produce to rot in the fields. Tony DiMare, vice president of DiMare tomato company, estimates that 10 million pounds of tomatoes will go unharvested. 

Coronavirus will have both short- and long-term  impacts on food waste, especially in developed countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. In the near term, restaurants, wholesale distributors, and farms have the potential to generate massive amounts of waste; however, the long-term challenges rest on consumers as they stockpile food that will eventually “go bad.”

Why does this even matter? 

Food waste is a huge environmental and humanitarian concern. The World Resources Institute estimates that if food waste were a country, it would be the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the United States. Food loss (food wasted associated with the supply chain before it reaches retailers) and food waste (food waste associated with food retailers and consumers) account for 4.4 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. The negative impacts of food waste don’t end with emissions. Wasted food also means wasted labor, water, and land.

Even without a pandemic, American consumers waste about forty percent of the food they purchase. As consumers panic buy at supermarkets, experts suggest that food waste normally associated with retailers has shifted to households, potentially leading to more consumer food waste. As this shift occurs, will consumer stockpiling and closing of “non-essential” businesses lead to more food waste, as is feared by experts, or will people adapt to these conditions and efficiently use the supplies they’ve bought to make food last? 

Innovation, adaptability, and efficiency will be key to avoiding food waste on the consumer and industrial level in the near term.  Several pilot programs offer models for this kind of action.  

The British government is setting aside £3.25 million GBP ($4 million USD) in aid for food redistribution organizations to ensure that 14,000 tons of surplus food is redistributed to those in need. Rebecca Pow, British Environment Minister, said, “This funding will support people in need while ensuring that we minimize the amount of food which goes to waste –benefiting both society and the environment.” Restaurants around the United States are handing out unused food for free or at a reduced price to cope with reduced demand. Philadelphia-based organization, SharingExcess helps funnel excess food from grocery stores and restaurants to food relief programs such as Philabundance, Philly Food Rescue, and Share Food Program.

Wholesale food distributor University Foods has been forced to change its entire business model in the wake of the pandemic closings. With $3 million worth of inventory in their Southern California warehouse alone, the company is now turning to home delivery in order to distribute their goods. Governments, non-profits, and corporations are working together to deliver to those in need while also cutting the amount of food waste generated. 

History has shown us that food becomes more valued in times of crisis. At the household level, food that consumers usually let go to waste, such as fruits and vegetables, will be used more efficiently. However, if consumers begin buying their non-perishables in bulk , it is possible that once this is all over, foodwaste will dramatically increase on the household level.  Consumers might be throwing out a lot of food that is past its sell-by date. Scott Hurd, a food waste expert explains that “the sell-by date…is a tool for inventory control [by the retailer] more than anything else; it has virtually nothing to do with food safety.” But many people don’t realize that and, as a result, hoarding could lead to waste. 

In order to curb consumer food waste in the long term, education programs on sell-by and use-by dates would teach people that food doesn’t necessarily go bad, as many believe. A 2007 study found that nutrition and source reduction education is effective in reducing food waste. 

While many of the actions taken to remedy the immediate impacts of coronavirus on food waste are in response to the state of emergency declared by federal and state governments, they can serve as models for how we can mitigate food waste in the long-term. A net reduction in food waste is essential as the world adapts to a new “normal”. A normal that may include restructuring our food system.