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NZ’s food manufacturers are embracing the idea of a circular economy but are slow to implement it

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Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Getty ImagesAround the world, the growth of industry and consumption has escalated environmental damage through increased emissions, waste and pollution from landfills. The current linear economic model, characterised by a “take-make-dispose” approach to limited resources, is increasingly shown to be unsustainable. New Zealand’s food manufacturing industry is a major contributor to these issues. However, an alternative, more sustainable, approach exists in the circular economic model. We have explored six large food manufacturing companies in Aotearoa New Zealand committed to circular-economy practices. We wanted to understand if and how they prioritise the four circular elements of reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering. We identified a variety of drivers and barriers to implementing circularity. This includes consumer knowledge, government regulation, supply-chain issues and financial commitment. Overall, we found New Zealand food manufacturers are slow to take positive steps in all areas. They lack a working knowledge of circular processes and the old linear model still holds sway. New Zealand context We found New Zealand food manufacturers are beginning to embrace the circular economy but there is still a long way to go for them to close the loop. The current focus is mainly on three elements (reducing, reusing and recycling), but they pay less attention to recovering materials. Food manufacturers are moving towards a more circular model of resource use but face barriers and lack of awareness among customers. CC BY-SA In practice, reduction involves minimising the use of resources and avoiding unnecessary waste. Here the focus is on reducing the quantity of raw materials without compromising on quality. Reusing extends the life of products and materials by finding new purposes such as refurbishing or repairing items to prevent them from becoming waste. This is especially the case with packaging materials which can be reused, recycled or composted. Recycling refers to the process of collecting, sorting and processing materials to manufacture new products. This reduces the demand for new raw materials. For example, fruits past their use-by dates can be turned into pickles and perfumes. Recovery extracts energy or other useful resources from waste materials that cannot be recycled. For example, withered flowers and spoiled fruits are turned into biomethane for energy production. This is New Zealand’s weakest link in the adoption of the circular economy. Thousands of single-use cups are still used and thrown out. Getty Images Barriers to circularity Food manufacturers told us they face multiple barriers imposed by local and offshore factors, including a lack of awareness of circular-economy principles among consumers and industry. Research participants noted that local consumers are concerned more with price than circularity. People prefer cheaper products despite their negative environmental impact. All companies we studied expressed this perspective. One participant said: A major and continuing challenge for us, and our industry, is that of the single-use takeaway cup. Despite our best efforts to encourage and support our customers to sit in and enjoy their coffee, or bring their cups, we still distribute thousands of cups every year. Changing their mindset around it is still difficult. Offshore, major trading partners in China and Japan prefer plastic packaging for their products. The food manufacturers we studied found these trading partners valued appearance and presentation first, before environmental impacts. All companies reported being confronted with regulatory barriers. This includes lack of government support such as rebates and subsidies or robust circular-economy policies. There is no comprehensive framework on how businesses make decisions and investments. This calls for policy revisions to help companies implement robust circular-economy practices. Drivers for change The COVID pandemic had a significant economic impact in slowing down the implementation of circular practices due to supply-chain disruptions. This comes on the back of transportation challenges, a lack of low-emission freight options and increases in living costs. Based on our findings, we offer suggestions to support managers and policymakers to achieve sustainability in the food manufacturing sector. First, policymakers can play an important role through laws, regulations, fiscal incentives, public funding and a flexible legislative framework that supports circular-economy strategies. Such measures are crucial for reducing uncertainty and encouraging investment in circular practices. Second, we advise companies to concentrate on education and raising awareness among consumers about the long-term benefits of the circular economy. This is a much more urgent agenda than focusing on regulatory, technological or supply-chain issues. Policy and regulation change will happen in response to changing consumer preferences and patterns. Third, because educating the public at home and abroad is not an easy fix, companies need to collaborate with each other across all parts of the food manufacturing industry, including retailers and manufacturers. Mindsets and practices among New Zealand businesses need to shift from a linear model towards receiving training in circular-economy practices and education in sustainability and to be able to make changes for future generations. Sitong Michelle Chen works for AUT Business School, Department of Marketing and International Business. She receives funding from North Asia CAPE.

New Zealand food manufacturers are beginning to embrace the circular economy but are up against a lack of government support, customer awareness and low-emission freight options.

Around the world, the growth of industry and consumption has escalated environmental damage through increased emissions, waste and pollution from landfills.

The current linear economic model, characterised by a “take-make-dispose” approach to limited resources, is increasingly shown to be unsustainable.

New Zealand’s food manufacturing industry is a major contributor to these issues. However, an alternative, more sustainable, approach exists in the circular economic model.

We have explored six large food manufacturing companies in Aotearoa New Zealand committed to circular-economy practices. We wanted to understand if and how they prioritise the four circular elements of reducing, reusing, recycling and recovering.

We identified a variety of drivers and barriers to implementing circularity. This includes consumer knowledge, government regulation, supply-chain issues and financial commitment.

Overall, we found New Zealand food manufacturers are slow to take positive steps in all areas. They lack a working knowledge of circular processes and the old linear model still holds sway.

New Zealand context

We found New Zealand food manufacturers are beginning to embrace the circular economy but there is still a long way to go for them to close the loop. The current focus is mainly on three elements (reducing, reusing and recycling), but they pay less attention to recovering materials.

A graph to explain the differences between linear and circular use of resources. — Food manufacturers are moving towards a more circular model of resource use but face barriers and lack of awareness among customers. CC BY-SA

In practice, reduction involves minimising the use of resources and avoiding unnecessary waste. Here the focus is on reducing the quantity of raw materials without compromising on quality.

Reusing extends the life of products and materials by finding new purposes such as refurbishing or repairing items to prevent them from becoming waste. This is especially the case with packaging materials which can be reused, recycled or composted.

Recycling refers to the process of collecting, sorting and processing materials to manufacture new products. This reduces the demand for new raw materials. For example, fruits past their use-by dates can be turned into pickles and perfumes.

Recovery extracts energy or other useful resources from waste materials that cannot be recycled. For example, withered flowers and spoiled fruits are turned into biomethane for energy production. This is New Zealand’s weakest link in the adoption of the circular economy.

A stack of unrecyclable take away coffee cups — Thousands of single-use cups are still used and thrown out. Getty Images

Barriers to circularity

Food manufacturers told us they face multiple barriers imposed by local and offshore factors, including a lack of awareness of circular-economy principles among consumers and industry.

Research participants noted that local consumers are concerned more with price than circularity. People prefer cheaper products despite their negative environmental impact.

All companies we studied expressed this perspective. One participant said:

A major and continuing challenge for us, and our industry, is that of the single-use takeaway cup. Despite our best efforts to encourage and support our customers to sit in and enjoy their coffee, or bring their cups, we still distribute thousands of cups every year. Changing their mindset around it is still difficult.

Offshore, major trading partners in China and Japan prefer plastic packaging for their products. The food manufacturers we studied found these trading partners valued appearance and presentation first, before environmental impacts.

All companies reported being confronted with regulatory barriers. This includes lack of government support such as rebates and subsidies or robust circular-economy policies. There is no comprehensive framework on how businesses make decisions and investments.

This calls for policy revisions to help companies implement robust circular-economy practices.

Drivers for change

The COVID pandemic had a significant economic impact in slowing down the implementation of circular practices due to supply-chain disruptions. This comes on the back of transportation challenges, a lack of low-emission freight options and increases in living costs.

Based on our findings, we offer suggestions to support managers and policymakers to achieve sustainability in the food manufacturing sector.

First, policymakers can play an important role through laws, regulations, fiscal incentives, public funding and a flexible legislative framework that supports circular-economy strategies. Such measures are crucial for reducing uncertainty and encouraging investment in circular practices.

Second, we advise companies to concentrate on education and raising awareness among consumers about the long-term benefits of the circular economy. This is a much more urgent agenda than focusing on regulatory, technological or supply-chain issues. Policy and regulation change will happen in response to changing consumer preferences and patterns.

Third, because educating the public at home and abroad is not an easy fix, companies need to collaborate with each other across all parts of the food manufacturing industry, including retailers and manufacturers.

Mindsets and practices among New Zealand businesses need to shift from a linear model towards receiving training in circular-economy practices and education in sustainability and to be able to make changes for future generations.

Sitong Michelle Chen works for AUT Business School, Department of Marketing and International Business. She receives funding from North Asia CAPE.

Read the full story here.

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Americans will throw out 316 million pounds of food on Thanksgiving. Here's how it fuels climate change

The United Nation estimates that up to 10% of all human-produced greenhouse gases are generated by food loss and waste. That's nearly five times the emissions from the aviation industry.

Mexico City — Each day, an army of trucks delivers tens of thousands of pounds of fresh fruit and vegetables to Mexico City’s Central de Abasto, one of the world’s largest wholesale food markets. Most of the produce finds its way to people’s kitchens, and eventually their stomachs. But around 420 tons goes bad each day before it can be sold. It ends up, like so much food around the world, in a landfill.Globally, a staggering one third of all food that is produced is never eaten. That waste — more than 1 billion tons annually — fuels climate change. As organic matter decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the planet.The United Nation estimates that up to 10% of all human-produced greenhouse gases are generated by food loss and waste. That’s nearly five times the emissions from the aviation industry. For many years, scientists and policy makers have been largely focused on addressing other drivers of climate change, especially the burning of fossil fuels, which is by far the largest contributor to global emissions. But food waste has recently been drawing more international attention.The issue was on the agenda at this month’s United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan, where for the first time, leaders signed a declaration calling for countries to set concrete targets to reduce methane emissions caused by organic waste. Discarded produce is piled in a dumpster at Mexico City’s Central de Abasto, a giant wholesale market. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Only a handful of the 196 countries that have signed the Paris Agreement on climate change have incorporated food waste commitments into their national climate plans, according to the UK-based nonprofit Waste & Resources Action Program.Many more nations are like Mexico, which is just beginning to assess how it can reduce the 20 million tons of food wasted annually here.A recent report by the World Bank identified several waste hotspots in the country, including the Central de Abasato, which stretches across 800 acres on the south side of the capital. In the dense warren of stalls, the best-looking produce is displayed prominently: ripe bananas, glistening limes and orderly rows of broccoli and asparagus. In the back are fruits and veggies that no longer look perfect: mushy papayas, wilting spinach and bruised tomatoes. A few years ago, market organizers launched an initiative to collect the produce that looks too old to sell but is still perfectly usable. They donate it to food banks and soup kitchens. Organizers say they’ve reduced the amount of food that is thrown out by about a quarter since 2020 — and have provided meals to tens of thousands of hungry people. “It’s much better to donate,” said Fernando Bringas Torres, who has sold bananas at the market for more than four decades. “This food still has value.” Environmental activists say reducing food waste is one of the most attainable climate solutions, in part because its not politicized. Asking companies and consumers to cut back on the food they send to landfills is far less charged than urging a reduction in meat consumption, energy use or the number of gas-fueled cars on the road. “People on the left and the right both have a gut reaction to it because it is a waste of resources,” said Christian Reynolds, a researcher at the Center for Food Policy at City University in London. Reducing waste “is not a silver bullet” to stop global warming, Reynolds said. “But it’s up there with the things you’ve got to solve, and it’s a useful way to open doors around climate change.”Scientists say cutting back on waste is valuable because methane traps heat at a much higher rate than carbon dioxide. An average of 420 tons of produce goes bad each day before it can be sold from Mexico City’s Central de Abasto. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Methane emissions are to blame for about 30% of the recent rise in global temperatures. U.N. climate leaders say slashing them is a vital “emergency brake” that will help curb the extreme weather already seen across the world today. About 20% of methane emissions come from food loss and waste, an umbrella term that describes all food that is produced but not eaten. It includes crops destroyed by pests or extreme weather, produce or meat that spoils in transport because of faulty packaging and food that goes bad at market before it can be sold. It also includes all food purchased by individuals or served at restaurants that ends up in the trash. A vendor holds peppers at the Central de Abasto market. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) The data on food waste are stunning: It takes an area the size of China to grow the food that is thrown away each year.Globally, around 13% of food produced is lost between harvest and market, while another 19% is thrown out by households, restaurants or stores.Food waste takes up about half the space in the world’s landfills.An estimated 316 million pounds of food will be wasted in the United States on Thanksgiving alone, according to the Chicago-based nonprofit ReFED. That’s the equivalent to half a billion dollars worth of groceries thrown away in a single day.Experts say some food waste in inevitable. Humans need food to survive and it degrades quickly. Modern food systems are built around the transport of products across long distances, increasing the likelihood that some things will spoil. But they say there are relatively pain-free ways to reduce waste at all stages — from producer to consumer. The simplest thing is to reduce the amount of extra food being produced in the first place. Many vendors at Mexico City’s Central de Abasto donate their produce to food banks. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) But other solutions include fixing inefficient machinery that makes it hard to harvest all of a crop, bettering poor roads that prevent food from making it from farm to table and improving packaging, so food stays good for longer.At the end of the chain, restaurant workers can be better trained to prepare food in a way that avoids waste. Retailers can be encouraged to avoid over-buying and to stop the practice of stocking only perfect-looking produce and discarding the rest. And consumers can be encouraged to eat all of what they buy and lower the temperatures on their refrigerators to delay food from going bad. There has also been a major push to get retailers to change how they label foods, given that many consumers throw out products if they are past their sell-by date. “We should be making sure that our food safety policies are not getting in the way of our climate goals,” Reynolds said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed a bill, AB 660, that would bar food-sellers from using the term “sell by” on packages, requiring them to switch to “use by” or “best if used by.” Advocates say it would dissuade Californians from throwing away food that is still good. Each day, an army of trucks delivers fresh fruit and vegetables to Mexico City’s Central de Abasto, one of the largest wholesale food markets in the world. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times) Other efforts are focused on recovery and redistribution — getting food that is about to spoil into the hands of hungry people. Each year 783 million people around the world go hungry, with a third of the global population facing food insecurity.World leaders “are starting to make the connection between the the climate impact and social impact,” said Ana Catalina Suárez Peña, an advocate with the Global FoodBanking Network, which works with food banks in more than 50 countries. Her organization recently developed a calculator for food banks and businesses that allows them to measure the volume of methane avoided by curbing food waste. The group found that six community-led food banks in Mexico and Ecuador prevented a total of 816 metric tons of methane over a year by redistributing food that would otherwise have gone to landfill. That is the equivalent of keeping 5,436 cars off the road for a year. Tools to measure food waste — and the savings generated from avoiding it — are an important part of tackling the problem, said Oliver Camp, a food systems adviser at the COP summit.Though he was heartened by the summit declaration calling on countries to set targets for avoiding food waste in their climate plans, he said there was still much progress to be made. Countries need to implement a “comprehensive, costed national strategy based on data as to where food loss and waste is occurring, and evidence-based interventions to avoid it,” he said. The World Bank analysis of Mexico found that most of the country’s emissions come from the energy and transportation sectors, but that the food wasted here is the fifth biggest contributor. “There is an overproduction by farmers,” said Adriana Martínez, 48, who runs a stall at the Central de Abastos that she inherited from her late father. She said customers “only want food that looks perfect.” Each week, about 30% of her product begins to go bad. In the past, she would have sent it to the overflowing dumpsters that sit behind the market. But now she calls up a market organizer who connects her with a local food bank. Martínez said her father, who grew up poor, would be happy knowing that food from the stand is helping other people instead of decomposing in a dump. “He knew hunger,” she said. “And he hated waste.” Mexico City’s Central de Abasto is filled with rows after row of fruits and vegetables imported from 20 countries. (Kate Linthicum / Los Angeles Times)

Food

Climate

Waste

Meds Like Ozempic Are Causing Folks to Waste More Food

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- America's kitchen trash bins are receiving more unwanted food as...

By Ernie Mundell HealthDay ReporterFRIDAY, Nov. 22, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- America's kitchen trash bins are receiving more unwanted food as appetites falter among people taking GLP-1 weight-loss meds, a new study shows.GLP-1s like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound all work by making food less desirable, and it's showing up in more food wasted at dinner tables, said a team led by Brian Roe, of Ohio State University.The study surveyed 505 new GLP-1 users. It found 25% agreeing that they had wasted more food since taking the drugs, compared to 61% who disagreed. There was some good news, however: Food wastage appears to decline as people adjust to their GLP-1 medication.“The fact that food waste appears to decrease as patients acclimate to the medication suggests there may be a fairly simple remedy -- advising patients new to these medications about the possibility of discarding food as their diets change, which could reduce food waste and lower their spending," said Roe, a professor in the department of agricultural, environmental and development economics.According to the researchers, 6% of all U.S. adults were taking a GLP-1 medications as of spring of 2024. The medicines act on a hormone in the small intestine to help lower blood sugar, slow stomach emptying and signal fullness in the brain.In this study, almost 70% of respondents were taking semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy) and nearly a quarter were taking tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound).Many were relatively new to the drugs: Only a quarter had been using them for more than a year.Everyone was asked to agree or disagree with the statement, "Since beginning this medication, I have found I waste more of the food that I purchase."About a quarter agreed that they were wasting more food, and that rate rose to 30% among people who'd only been taking the medication for 90 days or less.Nausea was a leading cause of folks tossing out food, the study found. However, it also appeared that certain food types were looked on less favorably once people commenced GLP-1 therapy.According to the research, people tended to shy away from alcohol, pasta and other carbohydrates, fried foods, sweets and dairy once they began taking a GLP-1, added more produce, protein, fish and healthy fats to their diets instead.Once vegetable consumption began to rise, food wastage started to fall, the study found. According to the researchers, veggies have long been the most commonly wasted food group in the United States.People who'd been taking a GLP-1 for at least one year lost an average 20% of their starting body weight, the study found.The new study was published recently in the journal Nutrients.Will changing food habits also shrink grocery bills for people taking Ozempic and its kin?Maybe, said Roe, and a study looking at the household finances of GLP-1 users is planned.“People taking these medications in all likelihood will be spending less on food, but whether there is a chance to offset the cost of the drug through reduction in food spending remains to be seen,” he said in a university news release.SOURCE: The Ohio State University, news release, Nov. 21, 2024Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Food

Health

Waste

Give Beans a Chance

The unglamorous food has the potential to remake American diets, but it has an image problem.

This is an edition of Time-Travel Thursdays, a journey through The Atlantic’s archives to contextualize the present, surface delightful treasures, and examine the American idea.I love a good bean: tossed with vinaigrette in a salad, spooned over pasta, served on a plate with rice and corn. The bean is a powerful little food, all the more for its shapeshifting capacities. Many people can appreciate that these legumes are cheap and healthy, but they still fall short of widespread adoration or even respect.Yet, over the decades, Atlantic writers have turned to the bean’s revolutionary potential again and again. The humble bean, small, unglamorous, packed with protein, has been a source of inspiration for those seeking to remake the food system, fight climate change, and add some better flavors into American homes. In a 1975 article loftily titled “A Bean to Feed the World?” the historian Richard Rhodes made the case for centering the soybean in the American diet. “We continue to sing of amber waves of grain, not dusty pods of beans,” he bemoans in the opening line.Noting that the soybean was, at the time, the No. 1 cash crop in the country, Rhodes argues that Americans should be eating it as a source of protein on its own, rather than feeding it to the farm animals that then became dinner. “Conversion of soybeans to food for humans is worth looking at,” he writes. (The soybean, a cousin of the lentil and black bean, has about 30 grams of protein per cup.) Alas, soybeans remain primarily the provenance of livestock today, with the exception of the small percentage used to make popular foods such as tofu.In 2017, James Hamblin made the urgent climate case for replacing beef with legumes in Americans’ diets, given that cows are among the top agricultural sources of greenhouse gasses worldwide and take up great swaths of arable land. Hamblin explained that by swapping beans for beef, the U.S. could “achieve somewhere between 46 and 74 percent of the reductions needed” to meet the 2020 greenhouse-gas-emission goals set out by President Barack Obama in 2009. (Americans have not wholesale rejected beef in favor of beans, but, in large part because the pandemic slowed travel and economic activity, we did end up meeting those climate goals.)Part of the problem with beans is that they are not that attractive a food. In a 1992 article, the food writer Corby Kummer acknowledges the “insipid” nature of beans before walking readers through some ways to prepare tasty—and easily digestible—bean-based dishes. But for the horticultural writer Richardson Wright, the bean’s humility is what makes it heroic. During World War II, he wrote that “the coincidence of Saturday night and baked beans was of divine provenance, and with the ardor of the freshly converted, I insisted that we practice.” In a time of loss, a pot of beans—which he calls “farinaceous catechumens,” likening them to starchy bodies readied for baptism—can mean everything. The quasi-religious tone of his Proustian meditation on beans is moving; still, his dietary choice was borne out of desperation and limited rations.The image of beans as a backup when you don’t have, or can’t afford, anything better has proven hard to shake. Even as vegetarian diets are on the rise and Americans recognize the environmental impact of beef, eating meat remains an intractable part of American life. For all the trendiness of brothy beans and Rancho Gordo subscriptions in recent years, many Americans still haven’t made legumes central to their diets. One estimate found that, as of 2019, the average American ate approximately 55 pounds of chicken a year compared with roughly 2.5 pounds of cooked black beans (American bean consumption is low compared to many other countries). Still, there are reasons to hope: Americans have embraced hummus, which is made of chickpeas. Chic New York restaurants are serving bean-based dishes. And a climate campaign with ties to the United Nations is pushing to double global bean consumption by 2028. Though the bean may not be the flashiest ingredient, it is persistent—and it may even shape a better world in its image.

Food

Animals

Health

Are Americans more obese than ever?

Obesity affects more Americans than ever. Fast food is one of the main culprits.

Fast food occupies a unique spot in the proverbial gut of America. It’s irresistibly convenient when the fridge is empty —and even when it’s full — it seduces us with consistency, incredible flavors and decent prices.While it all comes with a generous serving of guilt since we kinda know it’s bad for us, Americans can’t help themselves. Americans spent a record $490 billion on fast food in 2023, up from post-pandemic levels. Despite this, surveys consistently show that many harbor deep concerns about its nutritional value, environmental impact and the ethics of its production.This love-hate tension is all part of fast food’s complex place in our lives. A report published Thursday in the journal The Lancet revealed that 75% of Americans are now overweight or obese. While fast food is not solely to blame for that, it does raise questions about the wide availability and nutritional value of ultra-processed foods.But solving an obesity crisis is not as simple as telling people to avoid it. Not everyone who consumes fast food does it because they want to. Many Americans face challenges accessing fresh fruits and vegetables, while an increase in sedentary lifestyles due to modern working practices is not yet fully understood, according to the report. Then there are social factors that limit food choices, like food insecurity, transportation, income, employment, race, educational level and whether you’re a single parent.Attempts to address the issue are not working, noted the report’s authors.“Existing policies have failed to address overweight and obesity,” they wrote. “Without major reform, the forecasted trends will be devastating at the individual and population level, and the associated disease burden and economic costs will continue to escalate.”Obesity will result in up to $9.1 trillion in excess medical expenditures over the next 10 years, according to a June 2024 report by Republicans on the Joint Economic Committee.It’s unclear if this crisis is a priority for the Trump administration, given the incoming president’s well-known love of, and brief employment at, McDonald’s. He’s also a fan of deregulation.While that chaos shakes out, let’s look at some of the leading fast-food ingredients and who let them be there.Sodium overloadThe average fast-food meal contains an alarming amount of sodium. For example, a single serving of McDonald’s fries has 230 milligrams, while a Burger King Whopper packs 911 milligrams, nearly half the recommended daily intake for adults. Consuming this much salt not only raises blood pressure but also puts us at higher risk for heart disease and stroke.Sugar and high fructose corn syrupSugary drinks and desserts dominate fast food menus. A small Wendy’s Frosty cup contains 46 grams of sugar, well above the 25-37 grams per day suggested by the American Heart Association. High-fructose corn syrup, a cheaper alternative to cane sugar, appears in sodas, sauces, and even burger buns. This ingredient has been linked to obesity and metabolic disorders.Questionable meatsWhen fast food chains claim their burgers are made with 100% beef, they’re technically correct. But that label often masks the use of unsellable cuts of meat—trimmings, connective tissue, and fat—ground together into patties. Chicken nuggets, another fast food staple, often contain a mixture of mechanically separated meat, starches, sugar, preservatives, hydrogenated oils and artificial flavorings.Artificial colorings and additivesEver wondered why fast food looks so vibrant? That’s often thanks to chemical colorings like Red 40 and Yellow 5, which have been linked to behavioral issues in children. Even “natural” options like Subway’s multigrain bread once included preservatives like azodicarbonamide—a chemical also used in yoga mats. Subway removed it after public pressure.Who Let This Happen?The fast food industry didn’t become a dietary minefield by accident. Decades of lobbying have shaped policy and regulations that some groups say prioritize corporate profits over public health.The corn lobby and high-fructose corn syrupHigh-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) owes its success to U.S. government subsidies for corn production. The Farm Bill, influenced heavily by agribusiness lobbyists, has ensured corn remains one of the most heavily subsidized crops. Between 1995 and 2020, corn subsidies amounted to over $116 billion in the U.S.This surplus of cheap corn made HFCS a low-cost alternative to sugar, leading to its widespread use in sodas, snacks, and fast food sauces. Despite links to obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic disorders, HFCS remains, thanks in part to powerful lobbying by groups like the Corn Refiners Association.Meat industry lobbyistsThe meat industry has consistently pushed back against stricter regulations on safety and labeling. One infamous example is pink slime, a finely textured beef filler treated with ammonia to kill bacteria. This filler, made from low-quality trimmings squished together, sparked public outrage when first exposed in 2012.After lobbying efforts by meat processors like Cargill and Beef Products Inc., pink slime was reclassified by the USDA as ground beef, meaning it could be more widespread than before.But “pink slime” is fattier and more likely to contain pathogens than ground beef from quality cuts.FDA and additivesFood manufacturers have fought to keep artificial preservatives and additives legal despite evidence of potential health risks. For instance, Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) are preservatives used in fast food and processed goods to prevent fat from spoiling.Both are listed as “reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens” by the National Toxicology Program, yet lobbying by food industry groups has ensured they remain approved by the FDA.

Food

Business

Crisis

What to know about HHS and how RFK Jr. could lead it

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could radically reshape the Department of Health and Human Services if he is confirmed as secretary of the agency under President-elect Trump. Why it matters: The onetime independent presidential candidate has been one of the country's most prominent vaccine skeptics for years, alarming public health experts about his nomination to lead to HHS.His appointment to HHS would also come 16 years after he was considered for a cabinet appointment by former President Obama. Obama had weighed appointing Kennedy — then an environmental lawyer — to the head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Kennedy's views range from cracking down on food additives to conspiracy-tinged ideas about fluoride in water.State of play: Kennedy's nomination to HHS Thursday came after weeks of speculation over what role he would play in the incoming administration.Trump promised in October he'd let Kennedy — who endorsed him after dropping his own presidential bid — "go wild" on federal oversight of food and medicine.Experts have warned that he could help erode key parts of the health care system and lead to an increase in preventable disease. Between the lines: Kennedy's selection has divided Republicans on Capitol Hill, though some in the GOP remain optimistic Kennedy will secure the requisite number of votes to be confirmed by the Senate.What is the HHS?The Department of Health and Human Services is a nearly $2 trillion agency is in charge of dispensing nearly 25% of the federal budget and employs more than 80,000 federal workers.HHS encompasses other departments that approve new medications, conduct infectious disease research and contribute to other public health services.It includes departments whose work touch on immigration, child support and adults with disabilities.HHS also processes Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, allowing journalists and other members of the public to request records from the federal government.What departments fall under HHS?HHS encompasses 13 operating divisions. Americans may be familiar with the FDA, CDC and NIH — particularly after the COVID pandemic — but other lesser known divisions can still impact their everyday lives.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is tasked with regulating new drugs and medical devices, approves new vaccines, and ensures the safety of the food supply. After the 2022 Dobbs decision, the FDA has also helped make medication abortion more accessible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) helps respond to infectious disease outbreaks like the bird flu and the COVID-19 pandemic. It also tracks food-borne illnesses like E. coli and listeria.The Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) overseas health insurance programs that benefit millions of Americans nationwide.The Office of Refugee Resettlement helps support refugees, unaccompanied minors and asylum seekers who are in the U.S. The National Institutes of Health oversees vaccine and other biomedical research, like cancer research. It includes the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) which was headed by Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Administration for Children and Families helps fund foster care and Head Start child care programs across the country.What could Kennedy's appointment mean for Americans?As head of a large and influential agency, Kennedy could begin implementing some elements of his "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.Kennedy has previously outlined plans to clear out entire departments from health care agencies, such as the FDA's nutrition department, in a bid to root out unspecified "corruption." He also said he would advise water districts against using fluoride, a mineral that occurs naturally in water but is often added to the water supply to help prevent tooth decay.He has also expressed interest in pausing drug development and infectious disease research at NIH for eight years, in favor of studying chronic disease. Zoom in: Kennedy has repeatedly denied that he is anti-vaccine and said he won't take away any vaccines from Americans. But he's continued to promote unbacked claims about vaccines causing various illnesses.He is also a proponent of drinking raw, unpasteurized milk, which both the FDA and CDC warn come with serious health risks. As the head of HHS, Kennedy would be able to initiate the roll back of the FDA's raw milk regulations.Go deeper:What to know about RFK Jr.'s positions on vaccines, drugs and health careHow RFK Jr.'s MAHA movement could shake up public healthWhat a Trump-empowered RFK Jr. could do on health care

Food

Government

Health

Suggested Viewing

The Divers

Talitha, who works in the non-profit sector, finds ways to make her dollar stretch by dumpster diving* to rescue and reclaim unused food. Director How is a graduate of the prestigious MFA Directing program at the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television. *Miriam-Webster: The practice of searching through public trash receptacles for edible food or discarded items that retain some use or value.

Food

Waste

Culture

Voices of Transition

Voices of Transition is an enthusiastic documentary on farmer- and community-led responses to food insecurity in a scenario of climate change, peak oil, and economic crisis. Concrete examples from Cuba, France, and the United Kingdom tell of a future society where our monoculture deserts will be restored to living soil, where fields will be introduced into our cities, and where independence from oil will help us live a richer, more fulfilling life.

Agriculture

Food

Climate

Swallowtail - An Apprenticeship Story

Swallowtail: An Apprenticeship Story follows six young aspiring farmers as they navigate the rollercoaster season of 2019-2020 in North Central Florida. The film centers on the thoughts and experiences of these apprentices who leave home to live at Swallowtail Farm and how the COVID-19 pandemic turned an already challenging learning experience into an unprecedented one. Throughout their journey, they reflect on issues of food security, sustainability practices, and community.

Agriculture

Food

Youth

Together We Grow

Together We Grow is a 40-minute documentary telling the story of Common Unity, in Aotearoa New Zealand. Introducing a thriving hub helping to build resilience into its local community by growing, sewing, repairing, sharing – you name it, Common Unity is doing it! Too many of our communities, here and around the world, are facing housing crises, food insecurity, social isolation, and more. In addition, the multiple impacts of the Covid pandemic and climate change are current and ongoing. How can we most effectively confront these challenges, and help our communities thrive in an economic system that leaves many feeling trapped in poverty? Founder Julia Milne and her team have created a completely replicable model for developing strong, connected, resilient communities – a model that could be put in place across thousands of communities in Aotearoa and millions of communities across the world. They’ve proven it can be done, this film was made to help them share the story!

Social Justice

Food

Agriculture

Better Bites with Bugs

The practice of eating bugs -- entomophagy -- has a lot to commend it. You may disagree. But try to put your preconceptions aside!

Agriculture

Food

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GoGreenNation news

NZ’s food manufacturers are embracing the idea of a circular economy but are slow to implement it

New Zealand context

Barriers to circularity

Drivers for change

Related News

Americans will throw out 316 million pounds of food on Thanksgiving. Here's how it fuels climate change

Meds Like Ozempic Are Causing Folks to Waste More Food

Give Beans a Chance

Are Americans more obese than ever?

What to know about HHS and how RFK Jr. could lead it

Suggested Viewing

The Divers

Voices of Transition

Swallowtail - An Apprenticeship Story

Together We Grow

Better Bites with Bugs

Join us to forge
a sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Cookies help us run our site more efficiently.

NZ’s food manufacturers are embracing the idea of a circular economy but are slow to implement it

New Zealand context

Barriers to circularity

Drivers for change

Related News

Americans will throw out 316 million pounds of food on Thanksgiving. Here's how it fuels climate change

Meds Like Ozempic Are Causing Folks to Waste More Food

Give Beans a Chance

Are Americans more obese than ever?

What to know about HHS and how RFK Jr. could lead it

Suggested Viewing

The Divers

Voices of Transition

Swallowtail - An Apprenticeship Story

Together We Grow

Better Bites with Bugs

Join us to forgea sustainable future

sign up for our mailing list to stay informed on the latest films and environmental headlines.

Join us to forge
a sustainable future