1. The Art of the Food, Energy, and Water (FEW) Nexus
Debra Reinhart, PhD, PE, BCEE
Catherine Ninah

2. Food-Energy-Water Nexus
10 billion people by the end of the century
As standards of living increase, types of food produced and consumed will change which will place more stress on food production
Society is increasingly forced to choose between using land and fertilizer for food production or for bio-based or renewable energy production, and between using fresh water for energy production or for irrigating food crops.
Opportunity cost
Food
Energy
Water

3. FEW Research Needs
Ensuring a Sustainable Water Supply for Agriculture,
“Closing the Loop” for Nutrient Life Cycles,
Crop Protection,
Innovations to Prevent Waste of Food and Energy,
Sensors for Food Security and Safety, and
Maximizing Biomass Conversion to Fuels, Chemicals, Food and Materials.
Food
Energy
Water

4. Family in North Carolina
The Revis family in the kitchen of their home in suburban Raleigh, North Carolina, with a week's worth of food. Ronald Revis, and Rosemary Revis, stand behind Rosemary's sons from her first marriage, Brandon Demery, (left), and Tyrone Demery. The Revis family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 266).
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, Peter Menzel

5. Family in Ecuador
The Ayme family in their kitchen house in Tingo, Ecuador, a village in the central Andes, with one week's worth of food. Ermelinda Ayme Sichigalo, 37, and Orlando Ayme, 35, sit flanked by their children (left to right): Livia, 15, Natalie, 8, Moises, 11, Alvarito, 4, Jessica, 10, Orlando hijo (Junior, held by Ermelinda), 9 months, and Mauricio, 30 months. Not in photograph: Lucia, 5, who lives with her grandparents to help them out. Cooking method: wood fire. Food preservation: natural drying. /// The Ayme family is one of the thirty families featured in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats (p. 106). Food expenditure for one week: $31.55 USD. (Please refer to Hungry Planet book p. 107 for the family's detailed food list.)
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, Peter Menzel

6. Family in Chad
The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp. Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23. Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat.
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, Peter Menzel

7. How Much Food Waste Do We Produce?

8. Breakdown of Waste Generation in the U.S.
Origin of food waste:
Agriculture
Pre- consumer (cooking and serving)
Post- consumer
U.S. EPA 2012

9. Food Waste Facts
Over 133 billion pounds of food waste in US in 2010; the amount of uneaten food in homes and restaurants was valued at almost $390 per U.S. consumer in 2008, more than an average month's worth of food expenditures.
One-third of global food production is lost or wasted (~1.3 billion tons/year) resulting in the loss of land, energy, fertilizer, and water
Between 2009 and 2013, ~47 % of all edible seafood in the US went to waste; waste seafood old feed 1.5 million adults for a year
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy recently announced the United States' first-ever national food waste reduction goal, calling for a 50-percent reduction by 2030
Europeans and North-Americans waste 95–115 kg of food per year per person

10. Our Project
Identification of Pathways of Water and Energy Impact Related to Wasted Food
Water Footprint of Food Waste Disposal
Alternative Methods to Reduce and/or Manage Food Waste

11. Food Waste in art

12. Bread

13. Watermelon and Water

14. Jello

15. Lemons

16. Ice Cream

17. Watermelon

18. Pineapple

19. Arts & Foods: Rituals since 1851
Arts & Foods. Rituals since 1851 is an exhibition curated by Germano Celant, held at the Triennale in Milan from April 9 to November 1, 2015
Under the architectural direction of Studio Italo Rota, visitors have the opportunity to immerse themselves physically in a spectacular route where works of art, drawings and architectural models, films, objects, documents, books, menus, and album covers bring to life a narrative that set works and images in their own historical, sociological and anthropological context.
The itinerary follows the topic of food though its preparation, distribution and sharing, in both the private and public spheres. More than 15 spaces host the exhibition dedicated to the places of food and its representation in paintings, furniture, objects, sculptures, appliances, photographs, menus, books and record covers

20. Questions?