No Food Left Behind Part 1: Underutilized Produce Ripe for Alternative Markets

The report analyzes on-farm losses of specialty crops in the US, finding significant waste in fresh produce like romaine lettuce (56%) and tomatoes (40%) during the 2017-2018 season. It identifies drivers of loss including strict retail cosmetic standards, labor shortages, and unpredictable weather. The document argues that improving supply chain transparency, diversifying markets (e.g., frozen and canned), and reforming buyer-seller contracts could reduce environmental impacts and address food insecurity.

• For the 2017-2018 growing season, measured losses at harvest for specific crops varied significantly: fresh romaine lettuce had the highest loss at 56%, followed by fresh tomatoes at 40%, fresh peaches at 39%, and processing potatoes at 2%.
• On-farm food loss is primarily driven by a combination of weather, labor availability, and market conditions. Retailers' strict cosmetic and quality standards often lead to the culling of edible produce that is misshapen, overripe, or damaged.
• Life-cycle assessments indicate that processing peaches have the highest direct water use per kilogram of product and are tied with potatoes as the most carbon-intensive crop to produce per kilogram.
• Growers often view on-farm loss as more resource-efficient than downstream waste, as produce left on the farm avoids the additional labor, refrigeration, and transportation energy embedded in the supply chain.
• Current food recovery methods include diverting culls into value-added processing (juicing, drying, freezing) and donating to food banks, though farmers often find that tax credits do not fully cover the variable costs of labor and logistics for donations.
• The report suggests that the US could increase fruit and vegetable availability without increasing land conversion or water use by improving transparency, shifting consumer perceptions of 'ugly' or processed produce, and adopting 'whole-farm purchasing' models.

APA

WWF International (n.d.). No Food Left Behind Part 1: Underutilized Produce Ripe for Alternative Markets. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/329/1o0so2isvb_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind820_2.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. No Food Left Behind Part 1: Underutilized Produce Ripe for Alternative Markets. n.d. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/329/1o0so2isvb_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind820_2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=No Food Left Behind Part 1: Underutilized Produce Ripe for Alternative Markets |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/329/1o0so2isvb_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind820_2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternationalndfood, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{No Food Left Behind Part 1: Underutilized Produce Ripe for Alternative Markets}}, institution = {WWF International}, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/329/1o0so2isvb_WWF_NoFoodLeftBehind820_2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }