A “Start-up Solution” to Food Waste

Statistics on food losses and waste across the supply chain are staggering. A study by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), for example, noted that global food losses and wastage could be as high as 50% from field to fork. Another study by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers noted that such wastage could total between 1.2 and 2 billion tons annually.

Such vast amounts of waste provide great opportunity for creative entrepreneurs with a mission. Enter Winnow Solutions, a UK-based start-up launched by Marc Zornes and colleagues. Marc, a former McKinsey consultant, was one of the authors of McKinsey’s 2011 Resource Revolution report. The report — which investigated the challenges and opportunities in meeting the world’s energy, materials, food, and water needs — grouped more than 130 “potential resource productivity measures into areas of opportunity” and prioritized the top 15. Of those, reducing food waste ranked third, following building energy…