The Future of Food Sustainability

by Sophia Wu

Avocados require a watchful eye and sensitive touch to know when best to crack open each one. An avocado you open from a typical grocery market can show brown spots when it was unripe and hard just a few days ago. The window of time in which an avocado is perfect to use is short-lived. With today’s innovation, is there a way to extend the life of avocados?

Apeel Sciences ​is a California-based company that has invented a technology that does just that. Before an Apeel Avocado gets packaged and shipped off to grocery stores, they are coated with a thin layer of Apeel, also the name of the water-based solution that works all the magic. This thin layer of plant-derived material doubles to triples the shelf life of avocados, as well as many types of fresh produce! You can see the difference between the ripening and decaying of produce in a​ time-lapse video​. 

According to​ Apeel​ Sciences, the coating is “made of plant-derived materials — lipids and glycerolipids — that exist in the peels, seeds, and pulp of all the fruits and vegetables we already eat,” so that it is safe to consume. You can think of the peel as a kind of biomimicry of the natural function of fruits and vegetables that helps keep moisture in and oxygen out, slowing down the rate of spoilage. Jess Vieira, Ph.D., Director of Sustainability at Apeel Sciences, says that the environmental and social implications of all raw materials are evaluated through the Apeel Supplier Responsibility Program, and Life Cycle Assessment is used to quantify the impacts of different inputs. The result is a non-invasive, sustainably made product that has the potential to divert a huge amount of food waste from the landfill.

Food waste is a global issue that Apeel’s founder and CEO, James Rogers, is working to tackle with this innovation. A​ 2011 study​ conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) reported that roughly one-third, or about 1.3 billion tons, of edible parts of food for human consumption gets lost or wasted globally. This loss can occur anywhere along the journey from farm to table. However, it is impossible to provide a precise answer to exactly how much is lost during the course of agricultural production, post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution, and consumption. The effects of food production and waste have become inevitably problematic as the world population continues to climb. 

According to an​ academic review​​ published by Charles Godfrey, some of the negative externalities of food production include the release of greenhouse gases (such as methane and nitrous oxide), environmental pollution due to nutrient run-off, water-shortages, soil degradation, land loss due to conversion, and intensive over-harvesting of aquatic foods. These effects will continue to exacerbate our current environmental condition unless we invest in a sustainable system of food production. Instead of growing more food, we need to conserve more of what we’ve already produced, which is where Apeel focuses its attention. The FAO study reports that “forecasts suggest that food production must increase significantly to meet future global demand. Insufficient attention appears to be paid to current global food supply chain losses, which are probably substantial.”

Many current market-oriented solutions for food waste provide solutions for the problem only after it has occurred. Companies like ​Imperfect Produce ​deliver “imperfect” produce for a fraction of grocery store prices. ​Food Forward​ in Southern California collects unwanted produce from farmer's markets, backyard fruit trees, and public orchards that would have gone unharvested. These companies redistribute the harvest to provide for communities struggling with food insecurity. Because these remedies rely on the existing problem of food waste, some individuals believe that they are ​capitalizing​ on the overproduction and ever-increasing waste.

Apeel offers a preventative solution that aims to mitigate the issue before it becomes one. ​Apeel Science’s Team​ focuses on “developing and introducing creative solutions and business models that can withstand market pressures, achieve long-term viability, and capture the economic value that Apeel Science’s technology unlocks.”

An example of their impact can be seen in their work with Kenyan farmers, where shipping containers on their way from the seller to the buyer lost power, and therefore, refrigeration. The only salvageable produce remaining was the Apeel avocados. The extension of shelf life and decreased dependency on refrigeration may be a key part of delivering fresh produce in hard-to-reach rural locations.

Since the launch of Apeel Avocados in June of 2018, Vieira says that consumer interest and support has grown globally. On September 18​thof​ 2019,​ Apeel and Kroger announced​ a coast-to-coast roll-out of Apeel Avocados, along with Apeel Limes rolling out in Cincinnati, Ohio locations. If you do not have access to a Kroger, you can​ search for a grocery store​ near you that carries Apeel produce or fill out a store request form to have Apeel produce available at your local market. Apeel extends the life of our food, giving produce more time and opportunity to fill stomachs, more potential and more reach to nourish those in need. The longer food stays fresh, the less likely it will be thrown out. The concept of longer shelf lives has the potential to change the landscape of food production and distribution as we know it.

In partnership with Apeel Sciences

Photography by Jalin Abston

Illustration by Nora Mitchell