MAXIMIZING FARM RESOURCES AND EDIBLE FOOD RESCUE Specialty Crop Loss Report

The report analyzes food loss in fresh tomatoes, peaches, processing potatoes, and romaine lettuce across several US states. It finds that loss rates vary significantly by crop, with romaine lettuce seeing the highest losses (average 56%) and processing potatoes the lowest (average 2.6%). Key drivers of loss include strict cosmetic standards, market price fluctuations, and labor shortages. While most lost produce is tilled back into the soil or used for animal feed, the report argues that creating secondary markets and improving information flows could reduce this waste and address food insecurity.

• Romaine lettuce exhibits the highest in-field loss among the studied crops, with a calculated average loss of 56% (approximately 417 million pounds), largely due to the trimming of outer leaves to produce hearts and heads.
• Processing potatoes are the most efficient of the studied crops, with a measured in-field loss of only 2% and a transloading site loss rate averaging 2.6%.
• Fresh market tomatoes in Florida showed an average measured in-field loss of 40% and an average packinghouse loss of 39%, with 39% of in-field culls having no visible quality problems.
• Fresh market peaches in New Jersey had an average measured in-field loss of 37% and a packinghouse loss of approximately 14%.
• The primary drivers of food loss are market dynamics and strict cosmetic standards; produce is often left in the field if it is too small, misshapen, or if the market price falls below the cost of harvesting and labor.
• Most on-farm food loss is not sent to landfills but is instead tilled back into the soil, used as animal feed, or left to decompose, meaning growers often do not view it as 'waste'.
• Food recovery efforts, such as gleaning, are hindered by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), which limits the ability of untrained persons to enter fields, as well as grower concerns regarding liability and operational disruption.
• Life-cycle assessments indicate that the environmental burdens of processed peach production are higher than the other annual crops studied, with diesel use and N-based fertilizers being top contributors to impact.

APA

Spang, E., Gillman, A., Winans, K., Marvinney, E., Pearson, P., McBride, M., & Prezkop, L. (2018). MAXIMIZING FARM RESOURCES AND EDIBLE FOOD RESCUE Specialty Crop Loss Report. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1165/50prkclal9_WWF_Farm_Loss_Technical_Report_Redacted_0619.pdf

Chicago

Spang, Edward, Anne Gillman, Kiara Winans, Elias Marvinney, Pete Pearson, Monica McBride, and Leigh Prezkop. MAXIMIZING FARM RESOURCES AND EDIBLE FOOD RESCUE Specialty Crop Loss Report. WWF International, 2018. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1165/50prkclal9_WWF_Farm_Loss_Technical_Report_Redacted_0619.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Spang |first1=Edward |last2=Gillman |first2=Anne |last3=Winans |first3=Kiara |last4=Marvinney |first4=Elias |last5=Pearson |first5=Pete |last6=McBride |first6=Monica |last7=Prezkop |first7=Leigh |title=MAXIMIZING FARM RESOURCES AND EDIBLE FOOD RESCUE Specialty Crop Loss Report |publisher=WWF International |date=August 2018 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1165/50prkclal9_WWF_Farm_Loss_Technical_Report_Redacted_0619.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{spang2018maximizing, author = {Spang, Edward and Gillman, Anne and Winans, Kiara and Marvinney, Elias and Pearson, Pete and McBride, Monica and Prezkop, Leigh}, title = {{MAXIMIZING FARM RESOURCES AND EDIBLE FOOD RESCUE Specialty Crop Loss Report}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2018}, month = aug, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/1165/50prkclal9_WWF_Farm_Loss_Technical_Report_Redacted_0619.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }