Food waste is a global problem. Currently, about 24 percent of all calories produced for human consumption are lost or wasted. According to American Wasteland author Jonathan Bloom, we Americans actually waste more than 40 percent of the food that we produce for consumption. That’s about $100 billion annually.
To focus the international food movement’s attention on this vital issue, Food Tank has organized an already sold out gathering of food movement leaders set for September 19. Speakers who will be highlighting work from around the globe include:
Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland
Emily M. Broad Leib, Director of Food Law and Policy at Harvard Law School
Mary Cleaver of The Green Table: Cleaver Company
Christine Datz-Romero of the Lower East Side Ecology Center
Kevin Duffy with City Harvest
John Filippelli, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Elise Golan of the United States Department of Agriculture
Dana Gunders of the Natural Resources Defense Council
Brian Halweil of Edible Communities
Stephanie Hanson with the One Acre Fund
Diane Hatz of Change Food and TEDx Manhattan
Danielle Nierenberg of Food Tank
Nick Nuttall of the U.N. Environment Programme
Gary Oppenheimer of AmpleHarvest.org
Tristram Stuart of Feeding the 5000
Marcel Van Ooyen of GrowNYC
Musical guest Jen Chapin
When we asked Food Tank co-founder Danielle Nierenberg about why they chose NYC, she had several reasons. Specifically, it seemed logical to capitalize on the compost work being done in the city, as well as the UN’s Global Compact Leaders Summit 2013 (also scheduled for September 19-20), which will aim to link “a new global architecture for the private sector on sustainability and outline a path for business to contribute to global priorities and the public good.” Generally speaking though, one of the main purposes of the evening is to connect and begin dialogues between groups that might not otherwise have the opportunity to be in touch.
We’re excited to attend this important event and learn how food leaders think we should address the global food waste problem. For those of you who can’t attend, we’ll be posting coverage of the event on our website. Stay tuned!
Update: The public luncheon organized by Feeding the 5000 has been canceled. Keep an eye on the Food Tank website for developments and details.
