The latest episode of This is U.S. Sustainability, the U.S. Sustainability Alliance podcast, is now available to download. Tune in for the lowdown on the innovative, often surprising ways the almond industry and the wider food sector are reducing waste.
Did you know that a significant amount of food is lost before it leaves the farm? The Almond Board of California is working hard to address this issue in its industry by investing in so-called co-product innovations. We speak to Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Josette Lewis about some of the new, productive uses for those parts of the plant that might otherwise be thrown away, such as the hulls, the shells and even the orchards themselves. Jet fuel, beer, water filters and peat moss to grow mushrooms – these are just some of the many applications in use and under development, as U.S. Department of Agriculture research leader Bill Orts explains.
Also, in this episode, we chat with food scientist Maddison Gurrola about how a leading brewer is upcycling spent brewer’s grain into novel ingredients. And we hear from founder Molly Morse whose start-up is transforming methane gas into a biodegradable polymer that’s a replacement for conventional plastics.