Food Stories

  • Food Waste Warriors

    In the spring of 2019, WWF, with support from The Kroger Co. Foundation and the US EPA, looked at post-service food waste in 46 schools in nine US cities across eight states. This is what they found.

    Food Waste Education Program by the World Wildlife Fund at Seaton Public Elementary School in Washington, DC, United States of America
  • The food-climate connection

    October 16, 2019

    It seems obvious, but sometimes we need a reminder. Food comes from nature. So everything we eat has an impact on the planet—from how it's grown, to how its packaged, to how it gets where it’s going, how it's cooked, and at the end of the meal, where it winds up (say, your tummy, the trash or a compost pile).

    Food at market
  • Milk's impact on the environment

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2019
    Today milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and other dairy products are ubiquitous, consumed by more than 6 billion people worldwide. WWF is working to limit its impact on the environment.
    Cow
  • A wake-up call on agriculture’s role in climate change

    August 08, 2019

    The connection between food and land use and global climate change is the subject of a special report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a United Nations body that assesses the science of climate change for the benefit of global policymakers. IPCC’s August 2019 report focuses especially on the impact of agriculture—with good reason.

    Iowa agricultural land.
  • July 4th and food waste: Some tips from our Founding Fathers

    George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson wrote passionately about the value of using food scraps and other waste items to fertilize soil. Here are a few tips to lower your food footprint during the summer holidays.

    Family at backyard cookout
  • Eating a variety of foods is good for you—and the planet

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2019
    Americans, on average, consume more fats and oils, added sugar and sweeteners, proteins, and grains than recommended. Overconsumption of foods like these affects the planet.
    Food on a mobile
  • How can we make farmed seafood more sustainable?

    WWF Magazine: Summer 2019
    Focusing on shrimp and salmon, WWF is working to improve aquaculture practices through tech innovations like forensic analysis of farmed products and traceability software.
    20 percent of the fish harvested from the ocean are used to feed farmed fish
  • One way to tackle food waste? Eat more of what we grow.

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2019
    While most loss or waste of food takes place in restaurants, hotels, grocery stores, or our own kitchens, crops that go unharvested on farms are a piece of the puzzle, too.
    Close-up of romaine lettuce
  • The next Dust Bowl? Great Plains grassland loss slows overall, but rises in South Dakota

    WWF’s latest annual study of the extent and impact of conversion of grasslands to croplands reveals that though such activity activity generally declined across the Great Plains in 2017, it has nearly doubled in South Dakota within the same time span.
    A tractor in a field
  • 5 ways to shop and eat smarter for the climate

    As shoppers and eaters, we have immense power to save habitats, fight climate change, and keep our planet livable by taking simple actions at home and in stores every day. Here are five steps you can take right now.

    A boy in a market in Bhutan
  • WWF examines the loss of produce on farms and pathways to change

    August 21, 2018

    Did you know that food loss can occur long before you even buy it? WWF zoomed in on 35 farms across the country to assess how much produce never leaves the field after harvest. 

    Peaches in a tree
  • Congratulations, Bahamas! We Did It!

    August 07, 2018

    The Bahamas’ lobster fishers just earned certification from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for managing their fishery sustainably. The MSC certification helps ensure that the fishery can continue to produce food and jobs for current and future generations.

    fisherman and lobster Mac Stone WW1103815
  • A missing piece in the fight against climate change

    Keeping trees, grasses, and soil intact and restoring them can help get us a long way toward meeting America's urgent climate goals.

    Rockhills Ranch, South Dakota
  • Love lobster tails? Thank The Bahamas’ Mia Isaacs

    As president of the Bahamas Marine Exporters Association and managing director of Heritage Seafood, a leading lobster processor, Mia is working with her fellow exporters, fishermen, the Bahamian government, and international NGOs like WWF and The Nature Conservancy to ensure lobsters are fished sustainably. 

    Spiny Lobster
  • As monarch butterflies lose ground in Mexico, WWF seeks solutions in America’s heartland

    When we think of wild animals losing their habitats, we usually envision elephants, rhinos, and tigers in faraway places. But monarch butterflies are losing their homes right here in the US—and our food is playing a part.

    Monarch among goldenrod
  • How cover crops help keep soil healthy and productive

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2018
    Food production is a leading driver of habitat loss, overfishing, and freshwater consumption. Yet the habitat under the most direct pressure from agriculture is also the most ignored: soil.
    field of clover
  • Students step up to tackle food waste at school

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2018
    WWF’s Food Waste Warrior program for grades 5 to 12 helps students develop math and science skills as they conduct an audit of their school’s food waste and learn how food impacts the environment.
    takeaway tray spring2018
  • Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Put your food waste on a diet

    Around the world, a third of the food we grow and process to feed people never reaches our plates (or our bellies). That has serious impacts on the planet's water, energy, and wildlife! Try exercising these tips to drop those food waste pounds

    a refrigerator shelf
  • Celebrating the biggest conservation wins of 2017

    As 2017 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to highlight some of our biggest conservation successes of the year. And we couldn’t have done it without your support.

    Myanmar Elephant Restricted Campaign
  • Top chefs take on food waste: A Q&A with Chef Dan Barber of "WASTED! The Story of Food Waste"

    WWF sat down with Chef Dan Barber to discuss cooking, food waste, and what we can do improve our current food system.

    a farmer during harvest
  • How to reduce food waste this holiday season

    If you’re passionate about conservation, consider this: preventing and reducing food waste is one of the best things you can do to conserve natural resources and wildlife. Check out these tips to avoid tossing food in the trash this holiday season. 

    pies cooling
  • What is the environmental impact of sushi?

    WWF Magazine: Winter 2017
    Sushi is a global gastronomic mainstay. But our appetite for these seaweed-wrapped morsels isn't without environmental costs. Get the raw facts here.
    sushi winter2017
  • Bittersweet: chocolate's impact on the environment

    WWF Magazine: Spring 2017
    At least 2,000 years ago, people in the Americas began cultivating the cocoa tree for its dark, bitter beans, which they brewed into a drink spiced with hot peppers. Today, we blend the beans with milk and sugar and call the stuff chocolate.
    chocolate on a table
  • Will there be enough fish to feed the world in 2050?

    January 13, 2017

    The world must do more to sustainably manage fishing if we’re to address increasing global demand for protein in the coming decades. If the situation doesn’t improve, millions of people may no longer be able to afford fish by 2050. 

    Disappointingly small catch of Southern hake