Circularize potato; more meaning to it.
Climate change crisis is expected to increase if business as usual continues in the potato production industry. Soil degradation will fail to support the production of potatoes due to climate related risks. A circular economy approach allows for recycling and reusing ‘waste’ unlike the linear approach where we take, produce and late dispose resources. It reframes by-products and wasted food as valuable and usable resources such as using them for animal feeds.
Transitioning into a circular food economy enables a transition into healthy diets by changing what we grow for example a well-adapted potato variety hence increasing value of nature by maximum utilization of soil nutrients in a given area.
Circular economy also facilitates the access of other markets where lower quality and excess produce can be utilized. For example, where potato is used as a by-product in a bakery sector.
Moreover, it promotes transparency in food supply chains by increasing access to information and utilization of data in regards to consumer patterns and behavioural change in consumption of a product.
Potato being the most popular staple food grown in most countries in the world, loss, and waste will continue to be exacerbated with the increasing population and demand.
It is therefore paramount to have a better understanding of where food loss and waste occurs in the potato production value chain and the costs of the waste and loss. This helps us establish a circular approach which as opposed to linear economy enhances sustainability. Food waste and loss reduction begin by creating awareness of the environmental impacts in terms of emission and reduction of resource wasted. A circular economy is the future if efficiency in the use of materials, lowering of GHG emissions, and sustainability is to be achieved in the food sector.
Domestic loss of potatoes in the household levels can be minimized by using leftovers to prepare different meals as opposed to disposing. Potato skin is highly nutritious in vitamins and fiber hence can be also be used as animal feeds especially at the farm levels where the harvest is lost or in excess. Potato waste can also be used as organic fertilizer as opposed to inorganic fertilizers hence put into better use instead of letting the waste accumulate in damp sites causing emission. Sustainable use of potato waste can also be enhanced by the production of ethanol as a renewable energy alternative to petroleum fuel as is the case in Pennsylvania. A circular approach will facilitate the innovation of friendly biodigesters at a household level in more households to promote ethanol production that can be used as alternative energy for house heating during the winter season.
However, behavioral change should be facilitated by setting up campaigns to discourage the wasting of potato food. Private-public partnerships would successfully drive rapid change across the whole supply chain by coordinating with other relevant stakeholders as well. Moreover, there’s a need to also facilitate resilient supply chains.