Wang Yingcheng, Ying Hao, Stefanovski Darko, Shurson Gerald C, Chen Ting, Wang Zihan, Yin Yulong, Zheng Huifang, Nakaishi Tomoaki, Li Ji, Cui Zhenling, Dou Zhengxia
State Key Laboratory of Nutrient Use and Management, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
Department of Clinical Studies-New Bolton Center, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, PA, USA.
Nat Food. 2025 Mar 11. doi: 10.1038/s43016-025-01140-z.
Global food loss and waste continues to increase despite efforts to reduce it. Food waste causes a disproportionally large carbon footprint and resource burdens, which require urgent action to transition away from a disposal-dominated linear system to a circular bioeconomy of recovery and reuse of valuable resources. Here, using data from field-based studies conducted under diverse conditions worldwide, we found collective evidence that composting, anaerobic digestion and repurposing food waste to animal feed (re-feed) result in emission reductions of about 1 tCOe t food waste recycled compared with landfill disposal. Emission mitigation capacity resulting from no landfill disposal in the United States, the European Union and China would average 39, 20 and 115 MtCOe, which could offset 10%, 5% and 17% of the emissions from these large agricultural systems, respectively. In addition, re-feed could spare enormous amounts of land, water, agricultural fuel and fertilizer use. Our findings provide a benchmark for countries developing food waste management strategies for a circular agrifood system.
尽管人们努力减少全球粮食损失和浪费，但这一现象仍在持续增加。食物浪费造成了不成比例的巨大碳足迹和资源负担，这需要紧急行动，以从以处置为主的线性系统过渡到对宝贵资源进行回收和再利用的循环生物经济。在这里，我们利用全球不同条件下实地研究的数据，发现了共同的证据，即与填埋处理相比，堆肥、厌氧消化以及将食物垃圾重新用作动物饲料（再喂养）能够使回收的每吨食物垃圾减少约1吨二氧化碳当量的排放。在美国、欧盟和中国，不进行填埋处理所产生的减排能力平均分别为3900万吨二氧化碳当量、2000万吨二氧化碳当量和1.15亿吨二氧化碳当量，这分别可以抵消这些大型农业系统10%、5%和17%的排放。此外，再喂养可以节省大量的土地、水、农业燃料和化肥的使用。我们的研究结果为各国制定循环农业食品系统的食物垃圾管理策略提供了一个基准。
