The spoiled milk, moldy vegetables and expired meat we discard when cleaning out the fridge make a surprisingly large contribution to global warming.

One-third of all food produced is wasted, a problem responsible for carbon emissions equivalent to all road transportation, said Elena Belavina, associate professor at the School of Hotel Administration in the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

Her newly published research suggests one strategy for reducing food waste’s environmental impact: Open more grocery stores.

“The more stores you have, the lower food waste is going to be,” said Belavina, an expert in operations management and supply chains. “Very small increases in store density can have a very high impact.”

For example, Belavina found that in Chicago, which she said is typical of many American cities, adding just three or four markets within a 10-square-kilometer area (about four square miles) would reduce food waste by 6% to 9%.

Read more at Cornell University

Image: Dr. Elena Belavina.  CREDIT: Cornell University

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