Giving Compass' Take:

· To reduce agricultural emissions and the use of soy-based animal feed, The Naked Scientist explains why using human food waste that would otherwise be disposed of is a great alternative.

· How would this method reduce carbon emissions from agriculture? How will it help fight deforestation?

· Here are a few ways you can help reduce food waste.

Every year around a third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted, according to the United Nations. That equates to 1.3 billion tonnes of food down the drain and huge amounts of avoidable greenhouse gas emissions.

'Food loss and waste also amount to a major squandering of resources including water, land, energy, labour and capital,' said Professor Montse Jorba Rafart, an expert in agrifood technologies from Leitat, a Spanish technological centre.

Instead, this waste could become a sustainable solution for another resource-heavy agricultural sector – animal feed.

Prof. Jorba coordinated the NOSHAN project where researchers from seven European countries investigated turning fruit, vegetable, cereal and dairy waste into pork and poultry feed. They found the most nutrient-rich sources of waste came from pumpkins, rapeseed, cheese and yoghurt production, barley, mushrooms and olives.

Read the full article about turning food waste into animal feed at The Naked Scientist.