Arizona Dairy Farmers Fight Food Waste and You Can Too
Have you ever considered the environmental impact of food waste? The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that 25-40 percent of the food grown, processed, and transported each year is not even consumed. In fact, around 60 million tons of food waste is generated in the U.S., of which 40 million tons are dumped in landfills. When food waste decomposes in a landfill, it generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas with 21 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide.
Beyond supplying nutritious and delicious products, Arizona dairy farmers provide solutions for the environmental challenge of food waste. In their ongoing efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of food production in our community, farmers up-cycle food waste unsuitable for human consumption from grocers such as Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club, Safeway, and re-conserve it by using it for cattle feed. This practice, by just one dairy farm, prevents more than 1400 truckloads of vegetables and fruits, almond shells and hulls, cottonseed and gin trash, bakery products, and even ice cream from being dumped into the landfills.
Stotz Dairy
The overall goal at Stotz Dairy in Buckeye is to provide a high-quality food source that includes mindful preservation and conservation of our community’s natural resources. This approach requires placing priority on investigating and implementing economically sustainable, environmentally friendly methods into daily operations. They feel that by incorporating sustainable practices on the dairy wherever possible, the environment is improved for both the current population as well as future generations. One resource Stotz employed to complete this mission was a partnership with a solar and renewable management company. By conducting research on the feasibility of installing a methane digester, they determined the possibility of clean energy production to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They also collaborated with a local milk bottling and processing plant to dispose of their effluent through the methane digester, reducing emissions into the plant’s sewer system. The methane digester currently converts waste and manure to energy, which is used to power over 400 homes in Buckeye.
What You Can Do
Our farmers are facing incredible challenges due to the sudden decline in dairy consumption resulting from school, restaurant, and hotel closures. There is plenty of milk in the supply chain, but the shift from producing for these institutions to exclusively retail is requiring extra time in adjusting to demand. Farmers being faced with disposing of their milk due to lack of demand, coupled with the drop in price they are being paid for the milk they are able to sell has caused a serious strain on dairy farm families.
Consumers can help by donating to the United Food Bank fundraiser. Funding covers the necessary cost of processing and bottling milk required for consumption. Also, purchasing local milk and dairy product brands support Arizona’s dairy industry. Store brand milk at Safeway, Bashas’ AJ’s Fine Foods, Fry’s, and Albertsons are all locally produced milk.
You don’t have to upcycle a truckload of food waste or create clean energy to make a positive on the environment. Consider composting your food waste or securing a composting service to pick up your food waste and other compostable items from your household. Reorganize your refrigerator or pantry to keep older items near the front so they are consumed before expiring. As stewards of the land, Arizona dairy farmers have been recycling and upcycling for generations. With everyone’s efforts, we can all do our part in preserving the environment.
LOCAL BUSINESS SPOTLIGHTAPRIL 21, 2020