Science for Food 2

From waste to treasure trove

One-third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted - but what if waste isn't the end of the story? Food waste is a global problem - but also a global opportunity. Because in a circular food system, one person's waste can become another farmer's fertilizer, another entrepreneur's business, or another animal's feed.

Join us in this Science for Food session to explore how some of our partners are putting circularity into practice, turning waste into value, and helping build more resilient food systems along the way.

Innovations for a waste-based circular bioeconomy across the rural-urban nexus
As waste accumulates in cities, soils degrade in rural areas. Hence, innovations are needed to recycle organic waste into soil amendments and animal feed, looking at the nutrient gradient between urban and rural areas. Johan Six, Professor in Sustainable Agroecosystems at ETH Zurich, one of the partners in the City Region Food System Resilience (RUNRES) programme, will present a few innovations which have been co-developed and co-tested through a transdisciplinary approach in four Sub-Saharan African countries, with their opportunities and challenges.

Opportunities for Sustainable Food Production using Black Soldier Fly Larvae
Transforming organic waste into animal feed and organic fertilizer through black soldier fly larvae can simultaneously address waste management, agricultural productivity and livelihood challenges. This approach is being researched and tested through the SWIFT project, a SOR4D-funded partnership between Mzuzu University, Makerere University, Biovision and Soil, Food and Healthy Communities (SFHC) in Malawi and Uganda. Daniela Peguero, post-doctoral researcher at the Eawag, will present a few results and lessons learnt which have stemmed out of the research project.

see recordings and slides of previous sessions