01. Dana Gunders, ReFED

Dana Gunders is the Executive Director of ReFED, a national nonprofit that advances data-driven solutions to help train, inspire, and strategize around food waste reduction. By taking a holistic view of the food system, and focused, purposeful action, ReFED is working to achieve a 50% food waste reduction in accordance with the United Nations’ 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. On this episode of “Food Lab Talk,” Michiel speaks with Dana about why tackling food waste requires a full-supply-chain view, what Dana views as the biggest barriers and opportunities, and how solving for waste will impact our global food system. 

 

Dana Gunders: “It is just the dumbest problem out there and one that is so solvable. I think we look at climate change and it feels so big and daunting, but wasting food is not. Wasting less food is not rocket science, right? It’s something we all can do, we have control over and it feels very much within our reach and I think that helps keep me motivated.” 

 

01:01 Intro on Dana and the food waste problem 

03:34 Background on ReFED 

07:55 Long-term progress on food waste reduction 

09:32 How to stay motivated to fight food waste 

12:08 Tools and potential solutions to stop food waste 

15:55 Barriers to scaling progress 

17:51 Opportunities for reducing waste across different food groups 

00:21 Tracking, measurement and metrics 

23:42 Motivating individuals and organizations to act 

26:41 Addressing skeptics by sharing individual impact 

28:14 What’s on the horizon? 

 

Links 

• Learn more about ReFED 
• The ReFED Catalytic Grant Fund 
• ReFED Insights Engine 
• Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill 
• Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money by Wasting Less Food 
• ReFED Roadmap to Reduce U.S. Food Waste by 20 Percent 
• North American Leaders Make Historic Commitment to Food Waste Reduction 

 

Subscribe, rate, review the show at foodlabtalk.com 

 

*The views expressed by the guests in this podcast don't necessarily represent the host’s views, nor those of his employer. 

 

What is Food Lab Talk?

A better food system starts with one thing: vision. Food Lab Talk gives global food system changemakers a platform to articulate their vision for the future of food.

The series features interviews with inspiring individuals who are working on the frontlines of many of our most pressing food issues: reducing food loss and waste, enhancing food system transparency, facilitating shifts toward more balanced plant-forward diets, enabling informed individual choices for sustainable lifestyles, and accelerating the transition to a circular food economy. 

Join Google’s Michiel Bakker to meet the leaders taking bold action and answering what each of us can do to create a better food system for us all.