Foodinstitute.gwu.edu Website Review

2030 SDG GOAL ON FOOD, LOSS AND WASTE: ARE WE STILL ON COURSE FOR PROGRESS? The facts are clear. We waste or lose 30%-40% percent of our food every year. One recent estimate reports that Americans are throwing away the equivalent of $165 billion each year. This is a policy imperative and one that should be in the interest of all sides – producers, retailers, communities and families. This is an issue that with the right policies will bring wins to all sides as well, including more products in the market, more food to feed a growing world population, and less waste in landfills. The U.S. has one the of the most advanced food production and food delivery systems in the world, we can also step up with advancements in science and technology As I write, final touches are being made to the highly anticipated TEEBAgriFood report. It has been my honor and joy to serve on the Steering Committee overseeing this initiative supported by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. From the onset, our TEEBAgriFood goals were bold and ambitious: to contribute a framework approach for understanding the externalities of food production and to incite a global network of scholars dedicated to disclosing and valuing those externalities. The perfectionist in me knows that our work surely needs fine-tuning – how could it not, given its breadth and depth – but I am satisfied that this work is ready for prime time and as written, could potentially be a game-changer. When you hear the term “hydroponic,” do you first think of basement marijuana growers or boutique microgreens destined to garnish a cafe’s offering of avocado toast? Instead, what you should be thinking of is feeding the planet and conserving natural resources. We face a number of challenges as an increasingly global and complex food system struggles to feed an ever-growing population with an ever-growing appe*ite for more resource-intensive food. This increased demand is spurred by both population growth and rising incomes, with