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Let鈥檚 talk trash: Each year, 45 percent of all fruits and vegetables are tossed鈥攖he equivalent of 3.7 trillion apples and 1 billion bags of potatoes.

Per the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), enough food is wasted each year to feed 2 billion people, or six times the population of the United States. Food waste also is accelerating climate change; about 10 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gases are linked to uneaten food that ends up in landfills, according to FAO. 聽聽聽

鈥淭he food system is complex. It used to be that communities only ate what they grew. Today, people don鈥檛 quite know where their food comes from. It just appears in front of them and when they鈥檙e done, it just disappears,鈥� says Samantha Kenny, CAS/BA 鈥�16, Kogod/MS 鈥�17, program officer with World Wildlife Fund鈥檚 (WWF) food waste initiative. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge opportunity for change.鈥�

And Kenny鈥檚 not afraid to get her hands dirty.聽

As an AU student, she worked on waste management projects for the Offices of Sustainability and Zero Waste. Now at WWF, she鈥檚 working with the 69传媒 Hotel and Lodging Association to measure food waste and develop strategies to curb it. US hotels serve $35 billion worth of food each year鈥攕o Kenny and the team have an opportunity to take a big bite out of the problem. 鈥淟ooking at hotels gives us a foot in the door with the larger food service industry,鈥� including restaurants and caterers.

Despite the enormity of the challenge鈥�30 percent of the planet鈥檚 food, or 1.3 billion tons, is trashed every year鈥擪enny is hungry for the future.聽

鈥淚鈥檓 working on a question that doesn鈥檛 have an answer yet, but I鈥檓 excited by the impact it could have on people and the planet.鈥�

Kenny's tips for shopping and cooking smarter鈥攁nd wasting less:

1. Designate a shelf in the fridge for food that needs to be eaten within a week.
2. Research recipes from around the globe: Often one food culture鈥檚 trash is another鈥檚 delicacy.
3. Search for 鈥渒itchen sink鈥� recipes to use up what鈥檚 in the fridge. Quiche, stir-fry, and soup are good options.聽
4. Throw meat nearing its 鈥渟ell by鈥� date in the freezer. You can disregard dates for items like honey, which never goes bad.
5. Buy frozen seafood to maintain its quality longer. Fish are often frozen 69传媒 transport, only to be thawed for retail display.聽
6. Freeze bananas and apples鈥攁mong the most wasted fruits鈥攖o use later in baked goods or smoothies. Veggies can be used for broth, which is also freezer-friendly.
7. Shop more often and buy less if you live near the store. If you live far away, make one big trip per week.
8. Make a shopping list to curb impulse buys and don鈥檛 go to the store hungry.
9. Bring your waste to a local compost collection site. Or get a backyard compost bin or worm farm to turn food scraps into fertilizer.聽