No Food Left Behind Growers’ Perspective on Measuring Fresh Produce Left in the Field: A Summary Business Case

The document argues that measuring on-farm food loss is a low-cost, resource-efficient process that provides growers with data to improve operational efficiency and identify new markets for edible but unmarketable produce. Based on a 2021 pilot with seven growers in the US, it highlights that food loss is often driven by strict retail specifications, labor costs, and market dynamics. The SISC Food Loss Metric tool allows growers to categorize unharvested crops as marketable, edible but not marketable, or inedible, with the sampling process taking approximately one hour for two people. The report concludes that while growers see the value in this data, systemic change requires buyers and policymakers to create financial incentives and new sales channels for 'ugly' or surplus produce.

• Global food loss on farms is estimated to be as high as 1.3 billion tons, which represents nearly 15% of all food produced.
• Several systemic factors drive the loss of produce on farms, including strict retail quality specifications, labor shortages, high labor costs, unpredictable weather, and inflexible short-term contracts.
• The SISC Food Loss Metric tool provides a low-cost method for growers to track crops that reached maturity but did not enter the human consumption supply chain, categorizing them as marketable, edible but not marketable, or inedible.
• Pilot participants found that in-field measurement is not resource-intensive; sampling and data collection typically take about one hour for two people, with sorting and analysis taking an additional 1 to 1.5 hours.
• Growers use the resulting data to improve internal operations, such as assessing workforce performance, refining planting schedules to avoid 'pile-ups', and identifying potential secondary markets for cosmetically imperfect produce.
• Growers indicate that they lack the financial incentive to measure or harvest edible surplus unless there is a direct request from a major customer or a clear economic reward, as harvesting at a loss is not viable given rising input costs.

APA

Lawrence, I. (n.d.). No Food Left Behind Growers’ Perspective on Measuring Fresh Produce Left in the Field: A Summary Business Case. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/605/1dyzojtuj0_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind_PART5.pdf

Chicago

Lawrence, Isabel. No Food Left Behind Growers’ Perspective on Measuring Fresh Produce Left in the Field: A Summary Business Case. WWF International, n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/605/1dyzojtuj0_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind_PART5.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lawrence |first1=Isabel |title=No Food Left Behind Growers’ Perspective on Measuring Fresh Produce Left in the Field: A Summary Business Case |publisher=WWF International |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/605/1dyzojtuj0_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind_PART5.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lawrencendfood, author = {Lawrence, Isabel}, title = {{No Food Left Behind Growers’ Perspective on Measuring Fresh Produce Left in the Field: A Summary Business Case}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/605/1dyzojtuj0_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind_PART5.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }