Michael Lawrence’s Post

Upcycled food is a revolutionary concept that tackles the global issue of food waste while creating delicious and sustainable food options. It involves creatively transforming food scraps, byproducts, and ingredients that would otherwise be discarded into new and nutritious food products. This approach not only reduces environmental impact but also promotes resource efficiency and innovation in the food industry. Examples of Upcycled Food: Fruit and vegetable peels: These peels, often rich in nutrients and fiber, can be transformed into various products like chips, flour, jams, or even teas. For instance, apple peels can be candied or dehydrated to create healthy snacks, while citrus peels can be zested and used to add flavor to dishes or cocktails. Spent coffee grounds: Used coffee grounds, instead of ending up in landfills, can be upcycled into nutrient-rich flour for baking, exfoliating scrubs, or even mushroom cultivation. Bread crusts: Stale bread crusts can be given a new lease on life by being toasted and used in croutons, breadcrumbs, or stuffing mixes. They can also be ground into flour for baking or used as a thickener in soups and stews. Brewery byproducts: Grains leftover from the brewing process can be upcycled into nutritious animal feed, snacks, or even flour for baking. Benefits of Upcycled Food: Reduces food waste: Upcycling significantly reduces the amount of food that ends up in landfills, thereby minimizing environmental impact and resource depletion. Promotes sustainability: By utilizing food scraps and byproducts, upcycling conserves resources and promotes sustainable food production practices. Enhances resource efficiency: Upcycling maximizes the utilization of food resources, minimizing waste and promoting efficient food systems. Boosts creativity and innovation: Upcycling encourages culinary creativity and innovation, leading to the development of new and exciting food products. Offers cost-effective solutions: Upcycled food can be a more affordable option compared to conventional food products, making nutritious food more accessible. Upcycled food presents a promising approach to addressing food waste, promoting sustainability, and fostering creativity in the food industry. By embracing upcycled food, we can contribute to a more sustainable and resource-efficient food system while enjoying delicious and nutritious meal. #snsinstitution #snsdesignthinkers #designthinking

Recently, The Guardian asked: will upcycled food save the planet? You’ve probably heard that we have a food waste problem. In the US, nearly 40% of all food grown annually goes unsold or uneaten Delicious, perfectly edible food needlessly ends up in landfills instead of mouths, hurting people and the planet. In 2018, food scraps accounted for 24% of material sent to landfill. And according to ReFED, 31.3 million tons of produce were wasted in the US in 2022. Innovators like Matriark Foods and The Spare Food Co. are creating new solutions and supply chains to save wasted food and these solutions equate to real-world emissions impact. 🍅 Matriark's upcycled pasta sauces have a 37% lower footprint than sauces using conventional tomatoes and glass jars 🥕Replacing 160 lbs of conventional vegetables each week with 5 pails of shelf-stable Spare Starter for a year saves 5800 lbs of surplus food in the food system and 4.5 US short tons CO2e of GHG emissions Companies like Renewal Mill, Pulp Pantry, Climate Candy®, Upcycled Foods, Inc. (UP, Inc.), RIND Snacks and Barnana, PBC - as well as organizations like Upcycled Food Association - are also building effective solutions to this problem (that are also delicious). What are your favorite upcycled brands? Drop them below. And you can read more about our work with Matriark at the link in the comments. https://lnkd.in/gqy9bSDT

THE GROWING TREND OF FOOD UPCYCLING Here is a bit of interesting news from the US regarding the growing trend of #UpcycledFood brands that’s taking off over there. Surplus food is diverted into #FoodManufacture, not unlike what we do here at #SugaRich, but this food is recycled into comestibles for the human food chain rather than the animal feed chain. It could be crisps made from leftover fruit pulp, surplus vegetables made into stew, plant based sweets and even carbon neutral pasta sauces. The variety is impressive, showing a really canny and creative use of #SurplusFood and reintroducing it to the market in more desirable form. In the US, this upcycled food market is growing steadily; currently there are 93 companies that are producing 480 different types of product from surplus food. The entire sector is estimated to be worth 97 billion U.S. dollars by 2031. It's no secret that America has an immense food waste problem that generates a lot more loss per capita than the UK. This enterprising sector that is diverting and repurposing food that would have otherwise been abandoned, has managed to save about 390,000 tons of food per annum for the last three years. It’s really encouraging to think that this amount is set to grow. While it’s not a cure-all for food waste in the US, it’s certainly contributing to #CircularEconomy practice, and triggering more thought in the domestic market about sourcing and saving food. To find out more about the US upcycling sector and the waves it’s making, read here: https://lnkd.in/ehdaiFVV  

Did you know that a staggering 40% of food produced in the US goes to waste annually, totaling a shocking 145 billion meals wasted each year? 🌱 Top brands like Pulp Pantry, Upcycled Foods, Inc. (UP, Inc.), RIND Snacks, The Spare Food Co., and Barnana, PBC! are leading the way in transforming surplus food into nutritious products while also combating food waste. This article, featured in The Guardian, explores the rising trend of #upcycled foods and spotlights some innovative brands leading the charge. Join me in supporting these sustainability-minded brands that positively impact our planet by reducing food waste and promoting a circular economy! 🌿 #sustainableeating #upcycled #foodwaste #sustainability #circulareconomy #foodindustry #sustainablebrands #foodtechnology #zerowaste

An elegant solution to what has been regarded as food waste, when of course it was not waste, but was being treated as such. Upcycling. When Kaitlin Mogentale was studying environmental science at the University of Southern California, she watched a friend juice a carrot and noticed the waste it produced – and wondered what was happening to all of the pulp from Los Angeles’s juice shops. She later learned that most of it was being sent to landfills, where food waste contributes to more methane emissions than any other landfilled matter. “I was a college student, very young and naive, and I think that’s the recipe you need to get into the business,” said Mogentale, who founded Pulp Pantry, makers of fiber-filled Pulp Chips, which are created from the leftover pulp from cold-pressed juice. Mogentale said the company goes to juice-production facilities and collects 10,000lb (4,536kg) of pulp at a time – one day’s worth of leftovers – then transfers it in temperature-controlled trucks back to its manufacturer to make the chips. She started with chips because they were an easy way to “bring fruits, vegetables and fiber to the nine in 10 who don’t get their servings daily”. Sold in about 600 stores across the west coast, including Whole Foods and Erewhon, Pulp Pantry says it has saved 174,165lb of nutritious veggies since coming to market in 2020. Pulp Pantry, along with other food brands such as Renewal Mill, Climate Candy, Upcycled Foods, Rind and Barnana, are part of a new crop of businesses gaining popularity for “upcycling” foods created from surplus food, edible food waste and byproducts. These sustainability-minded startups are producing everything from climate-friendly baking mixes and nutritious snack foods to plant-based candy, carbon-neutral pasta sauces and more. https://lnkd.in/dHTjgpYU

Upcycled sauces, like the imperfect-tomato marinara from Matriark Foods (founded by Anna Hammond), are proof that blending scraps and surplus into something new is a great way to make use of potential food waste. Read more about this and other trends in food upcycling: https://lnkd.in/ebARRhxK

Interesting to read - Upcycled food startups are gaining popularity as a way to reduce food waste • Nearly 40% of all food grown annually in the US goes unsold or uneaten, contributing to methane emissions and climate change. • Upcycled food startups are emerging as a way to reduce food waste by using surplus food, edible food waste, and byproducts to create new products. • These startups are producing a variety of upcycled food products, including baking mixes, snack foods, candy, pasta sauces, and more. • The upcycled food market is growing rapidly, with an estimated value of $53.7 billion in 2021 and a projected value of $97 billion by 2031. https://lnkd.in/dQuDTibT

#WhipItUpWednesdays with Palate And Beyond ***Food Upcycling: Turning Leftovers into Culinary Gold*** Food waste is a pressing global issue, with millions of tons of food ending up in landfills each year. But what if we could transform these seemingly discarded items into delicious and nutritious meals? Enter food upcycling, a creative and sustainable approach to reducing food waste while enjoying delicious cuisine. 🫶What is Food Upcycling? Food upcycling involves repurposing food scraps or leftovers into new dishes. It's a simple yet powerful way to reduce your environmental impact and save money. Whether you're a seasoned cook or just starting out, there are plenty of ways to get involved. 🫶Here are a few ideas to inspire your upcycling journey: 👉🏻Vegetable Scraps: Don't toss those vegetable peels and ends! Use them to make flavorful stocks and broths. Carrot tops, for example, can be added to soups and stews for a boost of flavor. 👉🏻Leftover Rice: Leftover rice can be transformed into fried rice, risotto, or even rice pudding. 👉🏻Fruit Peels: Citrus peels can be used to make candied fruit, marmalades, or even infused sugar. 👉🏻Overripe Bananas: Use overripe bananas to make banana bread, smoothies, or even banana ice cream. 🫶Benefits of Food Upcycling 👉🏻Reduces food waste: By repurposing food scraps, you're helping to reduce the amount of food that ends up in landfills. 👉🏻Saves money: Upcycling can help you save money by using ingredients you already have on hand. 👉🏻Encourages creativity: Food upcycling can be a fun and creative way to experiment with new flavors and textures. 👉🏻Reduces your environmental impact: By reducing food waste, you're helping to conserve resources and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. So, the next time you're faced with a pile of food scraps, don't be afraid to get creative! With a little imagination, you can turn them into delicious and nutritious meals that are both sustainable and satisfying. Follow Palate And Beyond to learn more. Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gQJEGchS Youtube: https://lnkd.in/grXE2Tcm #foodupcycling #reducingfoodwaste #socialresponsibility #careforearth #careforresources #paulamipalateandbeyond #palateandbeyond

Have you ever wondered where your food truck meal comes from? 🌮 It's not just about the delicious end result, but the journey it takes from farm to truck. Many food truck vendors are now supporting local agriculture, bringing fresh, locally-sourced ingredients to their menus. This not only enhances the taste, but also supports local farmers and promotes sustainability. Next time you bite into your favorite food truck meal, remember the journey it took to get to your plate. Supporting these vendors means you're not just enjoying a meal, but you're also contributing to a sustainable food system. Isn't it amazing how a simple food choice can have such a profound impact?