Symposium: Towards a True Systems Approach to Reducing Food Loss and Waste from Farm-to-Table

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2022	12:00 pm to 4:00 pm EST (US & Canada)
Wednesday, March 16, 2022	12:00 pm to 3:00 pm EST (US & Canada)

 

All sessions will be held online via Zoom

 

Reducing food waste and loss and enhancing the sustainability of global food systems is clearly a hot topic. However, the subject is a lot more complicated and complex than some may think. This virtual symposium will not only address different implementation ready and emerging technology solutions, but also will discuss the economics of food waste and loss reduction and the implementation challenges. The symposium is designed to provide valuable information for industry and those interested in making decisions as to how to reduce food waste and loss as well as funding agencies and academics, who would like to better understand the challenges and opportunities in this field.

Hosted by the Cornell University Department of Food Science   in partnership with the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research
co-sponsored by
Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability	Cornell SC Johnson College of Business Business of Food Initiative	Cornell Institute for Food Systems Industry Partnership Program

 

Registration required:	Please register HERE After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with Zoom link and other information to join the Symposium.
Cost:	Free

 

AGENDA

Roundtable panelists are listed in alphabetical order.

 

Tuesday, March 15, 2022, commencing at 12:00 pm (Noon) EST
12:00 – 12:30 pm	Welcome and Opening Remarks: An Overview of Current Challenges in Reducing Food Loss and Food Waste Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University
12:30 – 1:30 pm	Roundtable I: Opportunities and Challenges in Food Loss and Food Waste Reduction Moderator: Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University Caitlin Dow, Center for Science in the Public Interest Nicole Flewell, Taylor Farms Pete Pearson, World Wildlife Fund Paige Sorensen, Cargill Kathleen O’Donnell-Cahill, Wegmans
1:30 – 2:00 pm	Material Science Approaches to Reducing Food Waste and Loss Julie Goddard, Cornell University
2:00 – 2:15 pm	Bio-Break
2:15 – 2:40 pm	Upcycling approaches: Focus on Use of Bioconversions Sam Alcaine, Cornell University
2:40 – 3:05 pm	Established and Novel Approaches to Modelling Food Loss and Waste and Effectiveness of Reduction Strategies Renata Ivanek, Cornell University
3:05 – 3:45 pm	Roundtable II: Research Needs in Food Waste and Loss Reduction Moderator: Julie Goddard, Cornell University Sam Alcaine, Cornell University Renata Ivanek, Cornell University Alejandro Mazzotta, Chobani Turner Wyatt, Upcycled Food Association Abby Snyder, Cornell University
3:45 pm approx.	Day 1 Closing Remarks Martin Wiedmann
Wednesday, March 16, 2022, commencing at 12:00 pm (Noon) EST
12:00 – 12:10 pm	Day 2 Welcome; Day 1 Recap Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University
12:10 – 12:35 pm	The Economics of Food Waste Reduction Harry de Gorter, Cornell University
12:35 – 1:00 pm	Strategies to Reduce Farm-level Food Waste: Food Banks’ Gleaning Programs Miguel Gomez, Cornell University
1:00 – 1:25 pm	Addressing Food Waste in CPG Retailing Operations Vishal Gaur, Cornell University Retailers and manufacturers can undertake a number of steps in their supply chains to measure and mitigate the occurrence of food waste. Our research shows that traceability and packaging technology, innovative new business models, and using data in fulfillment and logistics decisions can be impactful in reducing food waste and creating new business value. I will describe examples from our research in this talk.
1:25 – 1:50 pm	Date Labels, Food Waste, and Implications along the Supply Chain Bradley Rickard, Cornell University We developed a survey to collect information on consumers’ intentions to discard 15 food products when exposed to different date labels including biosensors. Results show that the use of certain date labels has the capacity to reduce food waste, but the reductions would happen differentially across food groups and, in some cases, would lead to a relative decrease in household purchases of carbohydrates, sugar and lead to an increase in the relative purchases of fats, cholesterol, and protein.
1:50 – 2:05 pm	Bio-Break
2:05 – 2:30 pm	The Role of Nudges in Reducing Food Waste David Just, Cornell University
2:30 – 3:30 pm	Roundtable III: Implementation of Food Waste and Loss Reduction Strategies and How to Avoid Unintended Negative Consequences Moderating: Aaron Adalja, Cornell University Vishal Gaur, Cornell University Miguel Gomez, Cornell University Bradley Rickard, Cornell University
3:30 pm approx.	Closing Remarks Martin Wiedmann, Cornell University

 

This Virtual Symposium is supported in part by Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR, Washington, DC; award no. CA18-SS-0000000206). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in event are those of the participant(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.

 

Speaker Biographies

Aaron Adalja is Assistant Professor in The Hotel School, SC Johnson College of Business. Dr. Adalja’s research interests include a range of topics in food and agricultural economics, drawing on consumer theory, industrial organization, and marketing to examine empirical questions in food labeling and quality certification, food safety, and agricultural marketing.  Faculty Profile

 

 

Alejandro Mazzotta is Senior Vice President of Quality for Chobani. He previously worked for Campbell Soup, McDonald’s Corporation and Pillsbury. Dr. Mazzotta was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods, serves on the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia and the BioMerieux Industry advisory boards and served as IAFP president. He earned a Master’s in biology from the University of Buenos Aires, and a Doctoral Degree in Food Science from Rutgers.

 

Sam Alcaine is Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science. Dr. Alcaine’s overall research program focuses on developing technologies that improve the quality, safety, and potential novel applications of fermented dairy products and co-products.  Faculty Profile

 

Caitlin Dow is Senior Nutrition Scientist at Center for Science in the Public Interest. She evaluates nutrition science and translates it into useful information as a writer for Nutrition Action Healthletter, the largest circulating nutrition newsletter. She also provides scientific analysis for CSPI’s advocacy and food & nutrition policy efforts.

 

Abby Snyder is Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science. Her research is focused on the development of scientifically valid intervention strategies that improve food safety and microbial quality. Through research, teaching, and extension, she works to develop interventions that: 1) mitigate cross-contamination and 2) enable targeted recognition of microbial spoilage potential and environmental persistence. Faculty Profile

 

Nicole Flewell is Director of Sustainability at Taylor Farms. She leads the company’s national sustainability program and is an advocate of sharing best practices throughout the industry’s supply chain, from growing, to facilities, to distribution and has worked with state and local governments and utilities across the country to maximize impact of sustainability decisions.

 

Vishal Gaur is the Emerson Professor of Manufacturing Management, and professor of operations, technology and information management at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. His research deals with data-driven analysis, modeling, and optimization of problems in retailing and supply chains. One of his current projects focuses on the reduction of food waste in supply chains through technology and analytics. Faculty Profile

 

Miguel Gomez is the Robert G. Tobin Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management & Director of the Food Industry Management Program.  Dr. Gomez’s research program focuses on interrelated areas under the umbrella of food marketing and distribution, with respect to supply chains competitiveness, retailing and channel relationships, and sustainability.  Faculty Profile

 

Julie Goddard is Professor, Department of Food Science. Dr. Goddard’s research program focuses on understanding the interface between food contact materials, food, and microorganisms and how to modify food contact materials to improve the quality, safety, and sustainability of our food supply.  Faculty Profile

 

Harry de Gorter is Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. His research focuses on applied welfare economics and political economy of agricultural policy and trade.  Faculty Profile

 

David Just is the Susan Eckert Lynch Professor in Science and Business, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. His research focuses on food and agricultural economics and behavioral economics. Faculty Profile

 

Renata Ivanek is Associate Professor, Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine. The overarching goal of her research is to advance One Health — the interconnected health of people, animals, plants and their shared environment. Her computer lab develops new and sustainable data- and model-driven approaches for improving food safety, controlling infectious diseases, and optimizing food production systems. Faculty Profile.

 

Paige Sorensen is a Technical Sustainability Analyst for Cargill’s Protein North America Sustainability Team. She leads Cargill Protein’s Food Waste reduction strategy, a core component of the company’s BeefUp Sustainability Program which aims to reduce the climate impact of the North American beef supply chain. Before Cargill, she received a Master of Science in Environmental Conservation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

 

Pete Pearson is Senior Director of Food Loss and Waste at World Wildlife Fund. He works on food waste prevention and food recovery, helping businesses understand the intersection of agriculture and wildlife conservation.

 

Bradley Rickard is Associate Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management. His research focuses on economic implications of policies, innovation, and industry-led initiatives in food and beverage markets.  Faculty Profile

 

Martin Wiedmann is the Gellert Family Professor in Food Safety in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University.  His research interests focus on farm-to-table microbial food quality and food safety and the application of molecular and modelling tools to study the biology and transmission of foodborne pathogens and spoilage organisms. Dr. Wiedmann also serves as co-director of the New York State Integrated Food Safety Center of Excellence.    Faculty Profile.

 

Kathleen O’Donnell is the Chief Food Scientist at Wegmans Food Markets. Her responsibilities include regulatory compliance, food safety, emerging issues, and developing quality/food safety programs for various operations at manufacturing and retail.

 

Turner Wyatt is the Co-founder and CEO of Upcycled Food Association. He is a social entrepreneur focused on reducing food waste and improving our environment and economy. He oversees capital investment strategy, attracting venture capitalists to impact investing in startups in the upcycled product space and builds revenue-generating programming to reduce reliance on philanthropy.