*A team of experts from Upcycled Food Association wrote this

The Problem

Over 30% of all food produced globally is lost or goes to waste, and that’s a big problem for society and the planet. Upcycled food prevents this problem by creating new, high-quality products from surplus food. 60% of people want to buy more upcycled food products, and that’s because 95% of us want to do our part to reduce food waste.

Imagine that means we grow almost 2x the amount of food we need as a society.  7 million humans on earth and enough food to feed 10-14 million people. That’s a problem!  How do we reduce that 30%-50% food waste.  Upcycled Food!

The Definition

“Upcycled foods use ingredients that otherwise would not have gone to human consumption, are procured and produced using verifiable supply chains, and have a positive impact on the environment.”

Upcycled food products prevent food waste by creating new, high quality products out of surplus food. It’s an innovative approach to food waste because it is the first consumer product-based solution, making it highly scalable and economically sustainable.  Upcycled food is the easy way for anyone to prevent food waste via the products they buy.

The History
Upcycling food is an ancient tradition based on the philosophy of using all of what you have. It’s about doing more with less, and elevating all food to its highest and best use. Most of all, upcycled food is about reducing food waste, by creating high quality, nutritious food products out of the nutrients that slip through the cracks of our food system.