Eight to 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food wasted somewhere along its journey from farm to table. When that organic waste ends up in a landfill, it emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, as it slowly decomposes.
Food banks can help prevent food waste from occurring by rescuing unsold food from grocers and retailers and redistributing it to families and individuals in need. Now a small number of food banks around the world have recently started tracking their operations and quantifying how many emissions they’re avoiding — with the goal of using that data to better aid decarbonization efforts as well as to potentially sell carbon credits.
