We are recently witnessing a new drive towards healthy eating habits. This is one of the many changes that have been induced by the Covid-19 pandemic. While this is good news overall, but are we also concerned about the global quantum of food wastage?
The answer to this question, sadly enough, is generally in the negative. The situation becomes more ironic when we find that nearly 800 million fellow humans do not have access to food as per their biological needs.
This disturbing statistic was put forth by none other than the United Nations World Food Program. According to an estimate by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a whopping 2.5 billion tons of food is wasted every year at the global level.
In terms of the food production at farms, this translates into a food wastage that is to the tune of nearly 40% of the global food production. This is not only a huge financial loss, but also adversely affects humans and the environment that we will in.
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The Environmental Impact of Food Waste
As per another estimate by WWF, nearly 2.2 giga tons of carbon dioxide is thrust into the environment due to food waste. To put things in a much better perspective, this whopping figure is equal to 75% of the emissions of all the cars across USA and Europe.
This is a problem so multi faceted that only a holistic solution can minimize its adverse effects. The most effective and meaningful intervention to curb global food waste begins at the cultivation stage, which is mostly based on upcoming food demand estimates.
Shelf Engine and Freshspire – A Breadth of Fresh Air
Two companies, named Shelf Engine and Freshspire are leveraging Cloud Computing and other digital technologies to their utmost advantage, in their meaningful efforts to curb global food wastage at every stage possible.
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Freshspire – Bridging the Gap b/w Farmers and Buyers
As discussed earlier, a large chunk of food waste originates from arbitrary demand forecasts. Based out of North Carolina, Freshspire is leveraging the power of Cloud Computing to minimize food wastage at its very source, the cultivation phase.
The technology driven company offers vendor management, management of food item ordering and data analytics solutions, all under one roof. The company also serves as a bridge between small to mid sized farms and stores, restaurants and non profits etc.
This in turn enables the small and medium sized farmers to better forecast the demand for food items, prior to cultivation. So, instead of producing food that rots away due to oversupply, farmers are using this company’s insights to regulate the supply side.
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Shelf Engine – Managing Post Cultivation Food Loss
As the name suggests, Shelf Engine takes a whole lot different approach to curbing food loss, which is the isles of grocery stores. The company’s founder was motivated to design this Cloud Computing powered solution mainly due to the extent of food loss at stores.
By relying upon Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Shelf Engine suggests just the right amount of food ordering quantities for some of the largest grocery store chains across USA.
The key metrics upon which these ordering quantities are based include sales figures, delivery information, upcoming promotions or deals, weather forecasts and even school schedules, as they are also a sizeable source of food demand.
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By using the immense processing muscle of Cloud Computing, the company is able to suggest fairly accurate ordering quantities to these large grocery brands. The insights gained from the above parameters form the basis for the next food order.
Conclusion
The fight against global food wastage has just begun. Cloud computing and digital technology driven companies like Shelf Engine and Freshspire are the torch bearers for this issue of global proportions, one that impacts our coming generations as well.
It is also a great example of how technologies like Cloud Computing are playing a “larger than life” role in creating a global impact, and improving the quality of life of the millions of underprivileged fellow humans.
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