2024 ReFED Food Waste Solutions Summit
June 11-13, 2024 | Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Convention Center
Minnie Ringland
Climate Analyst
ReFED
Bio:
Minnie Ringland is a Climate Analyst with ReFED, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending food loss and waste across the food system by advancing data-driven solutions. ReFED provides the most comprehensive insights on where and why food waste takes place, and connects organizations working to address these problems. Minnie's role at ReFED includes studying the emissions factors used to link food waste to climate change, translating these findings to support ReFED's partners and solution providers, and generally working to improve our understanding of food waste's impact. Minnie has followed an interest in food systems since college, where she led the Food Action student club, working on food waste and nutrition issues, and helped organize the annual Yale Food Systems Symposium in 2015. She recently graduated from the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, where she worked on a master’s capstone project studying emissions and carbon sequestration associated with Santa Barbara County's agricultural lands.
Schedule
Wednesday, June 12
11:00am - 12:00pm
Methane Matters: Merging Climate Strategies with Food Waste Solutions
Breakout Session 1
As methane takes center stage in climate strategy discussions, the GHG contributions of the food system — and food waste in particular — have come under scrutiny. Slashing methane, a shorter-lived but potent greenhouse gas, could have cooling effects in the next decade, acting as an “emergency brake” for the climate crisis. Policymakers have honed in on landfill management systems that capture methane from decomposing food, but food waste prevention strategies would not only keep food out of landfills in the first place but also avoid the 93% of food waste emissions that are generated before food becomes waste. Join us in exploring new food waste and methane emission insights, how the food system fits into climate and methane strategy, and specific steps that will act to reduce methane quickly.