What Happens When We Throw Away Food

Duke World Food Policy Center led the two‑day Rethinking Food Waste – Duke Climate Collaboration Symposium. It spotlighted the staggering scale of the problem and the increasing momentum to fix it.

Harvard Law School’s Emily Broad Leib opened the event, noting that 31 percent of the U.S. food supply becomes surplus, even though 13.7 percent of households face food insecurity. “Household food waste is one of the top categories of concern. Everyone can take steps within your own home, and educate family and friends,” Broad Leib said.

With confusing date labels and inconsistent policies fueling what she calls “cash in the trash,” Broad Leib argued that reducing waste is a “triple bottom line opportunity” benefiting people, the planet, and profit. States are taking notice. Broad Leib said the issue is bipartisan. In 2025, 94 food-waste-related bills were introduced; 19 were enacted.

Panel members explored the behavioral, logistical and cultural roots of waste. Discussions underscored the trade-offs in scaling composting, donation programs, and waste‑reduction incentives.

Christine Wittmeier of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality noted that with North Carolina’s largest landfills projected to reach capacity within a decade, composting businesses could help build a circular economy. “We need to create the policy stick requiring composting and then incentives and support for composting businesses,” she said. Others discussed how to make “not wasting food” the easy choice.

The symposium, part of the Duke Climate Commitment, called for coordinated action and better data to educate consumers on the value of food and the systems that sustain it.

For more information, go to the World Food Policy Center’s website.