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A team of researchers from Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University is studying how choices about food impact water use, energy consumption and health across the state.<\/p>\n
Credit: Getty Images<\/p>\n
About 30 to 40 percent of the food supply in the United States goes to waste, according to the\u00a0U.S. Department of Agriculture<\/a>. That waste represents more than just uneaten meals \u2014 it also represents wasted water, lost energy and missed opportunities to improve health.<\/p>\n A team of researchers at Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University is seeking answers on how food waste connects to broader systems and how decisions in one area affect others.<\/p>\n Connecting the dots<\/p>\n The Food-Energy-Water-Health (FEWH) nexus Sustainability team examines how these essential resources interact in everyday life, rather than in isolation.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you throw away food, you\u2019re not just wasting food,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Konstantinos Pappas<\/a>, associate director of the\u00a0Texas A&M Energy Institute<\/a>. \u201cYou\u2019re also wasting the water and energy that went into producing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Pappas co-leads this interdisciplinary project with\u00a0Dr. Khalil Dirani<\/a>, head of the\u00a0Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development<\/a>\u00a0at Texas A&M\u2019s College of Education and Human Development. The team also includes\u00a0Dr. Beth Racine<\/a>\u00a0of Texas A&M AgriLife Research and\u00a0Dr. Jennifer Quinlan<\/a>\u00a0of Prairie View A&M.<\/p>\n This interdisciplinary team, joined by several other scholars, collaborated on research that focuses on an important but often overlooked aspect of sustainability: How people behave.<\/p>\n Why everyday decisions matter<\/p>\n While technology and infrastructure are important, researchers say many challenges with sustainability come down to social behavior and the decisions people make at home.<\/p>\n \u201cA large amount of food waste happens at the household level,\u201d said Quinlan, director of\u00a0Prairie View A&M\u2019s Food Security Research Center<\/a>\u00a0in the\u00a0College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can make food production efficient, but if people are still throwing away 30 percent of it, you\u2019re still wasting a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n Food insecurity also plays a role. According to\u00a0Feeding Texas<\/a>, more than 17 percent of Texans are struggling to access enough nutritious food. Meanwhile, nutrient-rich foods such as produce, meat and milk are among the most often wasted. Researchers add that limited access to resources in some communities can make matters worse.<\/p>\n Focus on Texas and the digital footprint<\/p>\n The Lone Star State provides a unique environment for this study, with the\u00a0Texas Demographics Center<\/a>\u00a0predicting the population to grow from about 30 million to nearly 50 million by 2060. The rapid growth means more demand for food, water and energy, and each community will experience these challenges differently due to factors such as climate and infrastructure.<\/p>\n To better understand these differences, researchers are using the\u00a0Greater Texas Community Panel<\/a>, a large-scale survey of residents in Dallas, Tarrant, El Paso and Hidalgo counties that is funded by the\u00a0Texas A&M AgriLife Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture<\/a>. The survey captures what people know, how they behave and what influences their choices about food, water and energy.<\/p>\n