Food waste is something we all encounter in our daily lives, arising from a wide range of activities, from households and food services to agricultural and agri-industrial production. Often, we are unaware of its wider consequences. When food is wasted, it is not only the food itself that is lost, but also the water, energy, and labor used to produce, process, and distribute it. Over time, these losses accumulate, creating significant environmental and social challenges. This is why improving our understanding of food waste and developing effective strategies to reduce it have become more important than ever.

In today’s webinar, we will look at food waste from two different but connected points of view. First, we will explore how food waste at home affects the environment and how simple models can help us better understand the real impact of our everyday choices. This will be the focus of our first talk, “From Waste to Awareness: Modeling the Environmental Impact of Household Food Waste”.

In the second presentation, “PEF Technology for Waste Food Valorization: A Sustainable Green Approach to Extracting High-Value Products”, we will see how innovative green technologies can turn agri-industrial food waste into something useful. In particular, we will learn how pulsed electric field (PEF) technology can help recover valuable compounds from food waste in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.

Together, these presentations show that food waste is not just a problem, but also an opportunity—an opportunity to make more informed choices and to develop smarter, more sustainable solutions.