Climate change poses serious threats to agriculture. As a primary staple crop and major contributor to agriculturally derived greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, rice systems are of particular significance to building climate resilience. We report on a participatory assessment of climate resilience in organic and conventional rice systems located in four neighboring villages in Negros Occidental, Philippines. The Philippines is one of the foremost countries impacted by climate change, with an increasing incidence of climate-related disturbances and extensive coastlines, high population density and heavy dependence on agriculture. Using the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's Self-evaluation and Holistic Assessment of climate Resilience of farmers and Pastoralists (SHARP) tool, we measured 13 agroecosystem indicators of climate resilience, and assessed the degree to which household, farm, and community mechanisms and outcomes impact adaptation capacity, mitigation potential and vulnerability. We used a participatory approach to situate these indicators in their socio-ecological context, and identify targeted interventions for enhancing climate resilience based on local farmer experiences and socio-ecological conditions. Comparison of climate resilience indicators across organic and conventional rice systems in this region indicated that organic rice systems are more climate resilient than their conventional counterparts. As such, increased policy support for the development of organic rice systems are critically important as an adaptive mechanism to augment food security, mitigate GHG emissions and improve climate resilience in the Philippines.

Organic farms are characterized as low external input agro-ecosystems. Currently, some organic dairy farmers feed higher amounts of concentrates and succulent feed, some of which is purchased, to increase the dairy performance of their cows. To assess the environmental impact of this practice, nutrient balances at the farm-gate level of 26 organic dairy farms located in two different regions in Germany were compiled and analysed. The farms are characterized by different production features and feeding intensity levels [0–2.72 t dry matter (DM) of concentrates per cow and year, which was 0–378 g kg−1 milk] yielding 5150–8790 kg milk on average per cow and year. The area- and product (milk)-related farm-gate nutrient budgets for P and K are almost balanced [mean −3 kg P ha−1, range (R): −14 to 4 kg P ha−1; −0.5 g P kg−1 milk, R: −2.8 to 0.9 g P kg−1 milk and 1 kg K ha−1, R: −13 to 15 kg K ha−1; 0.1 g K kg−1 milk, R: −2.4 to 3.9 g K kg−1 milk]. The N surplus averages only 43 kg ha−1 (R: 8–85 kg N ha−1) and 8.2 g kg−1 milk (R: 2.1–17.1 g kg−1 milk), but the correlation between the amount of feed purchased on a net basis and N surplus is significant (r=0.56, P=0.003). Average area-related nutrient use efficiency for all farms calculated as the proportion of input to output is high for N (45%), P (164%) and K (91%). The share of nutrient input and output components and correlations between parameters are presented. To classify the results, investigations comparing organic and conventional dairy farming in Europe are listed, indicating an N surplus for organic farms, which is often only half or a third of the surplus of conventional farms. However, intensification in organic dairy farming has, in some cases, significant impacts that need to be assessed to determine its environmental performance and profile.

Perennial grain crops are expected to sequester soil carbon (C) and improve soil health due to their large and extensive root systems. To examine the rate of initial soil C accumulation in a perennial grain crop, we compared soil under perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) with that under annual winter wheat 4 years after the crops were first planted. In addition, we tested the effect of three nitrogen (N) sources on C pools: Low available N (Low N (Organic N); 90 kg N ha−1 poultry litter), moderately available N (Mid N; 90 kg N ha−1 urea) and high available N (High N; 135 kg N ha−1 urea). We measured aboveground C (grain + straw), and coarse and fine root C to a depth of 1 m. Particulate organic matter (POM-C), fractionated by size, was used to indicate labile and more stabilized soil C pools. At harvest, IWG had 1.9 times more straw C and up to 15 times more root C compared with wheat. There were no differences in the size of the large (6 mm–250 µm) or medium (250–53 µm) POM-C fractions between wheat and IWG (P > 0.05) in surface horizons (0–10 cm). Large POM-C under IWG ranged from 3.6 ± 0.3 to 4.0 ± 0.7 g C kg soil−1 across the three N rates, similar to wheat under which large POM-C ranged from 3.6 ± 1.4 to 4.7 ± 0.7 g C kg soil−1. Averaged across N level, medium POM-C was 11.1 ± 0.8 and 11.3 ± 0.7 g C kg soil−1 for IWG and wheat, respectively. Despite IWG's greater above and belowground biomass (to 70 cm), POM-C fractions in IWG and wheat were similar. Post-hoc power analysis revealed that in order to detect differences in the labile C pool at 0–10 cm with an acceptable power (~80%) a 15% difference would be required between wheat and IWG. This demonstrates that on sandy soils with low cation exchange capacity, perennial IWG will need to be in place for longer than 4 years in order to detect an accumulated soil C difference > 15%.

Since the early 1980s organic agriculture has undergone enormous growth and innovation in the US and throughout the world. Some observers have pointed to the US Department of Agriculture's 1980 Report and Recommendations on Organic Farming as having provided the catalyst for many of these developments. It is important, however, to understand how the evolving character of organic ideology during the 1960s and 1970s helped lay the foundation for moving organic agriculture onto the US governmental agenda in the early 1980s. We explore these and other contextual factors surrounding the USDA Report's release, including its methods, findings and recommendations, and both positive and negative reactions, as well as those factors that led to the Report's declining influence by the decade's end. The need for agricultural sustainability has played an important role in shaping, not only the path of organic agriculture in the US but also the overall politics of American agriculture. Legislative efforts to support organic agriculture have evolved along with this altered policy environment and are considered here within the broader context of the politics of sustainable agriculture. Next, we consider the organic industry's transition from a privately managed enterprise to the pivotal role now played by the federal government in the administration of the National Organic Program. Calls to move ‘beyond organic’ are also examined. Finally, we explore the impact of sustainable agriculture, agricultural research and farm structure upon the future of organic agriculture in the US. The politics within these three interrelated domains of public agricultural policy will likely bear heavily upon the future of organic farming and the organic industry as a whole.

Weed management is one of the primary challenges for producers transitioning from conventional to organic agriculture. Tillage and the use of cover crops are two weed control tactics available to farmers transitioning to organic management, but little is known about their interactive effects on soil quality during the transition period. We investigated the response of soils to tillage and initial cover crop during the 3-year transition to organic in a cover crop–soybean (Glycine max)–maize (Zea mays) rotation in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA. The tillage treatment contrasted full, inversion tillage with moldboard plowing (FT) versus reduced tillage with chisel plowing (RT). The cover crop treatment contrasted annual versus mostly perennial species during the first year of the rotation. The experiment was initiated twice (Start 1 and Start 2), in consecutive years in adjacent fields. By the end of the experiment, labile carbon, electrical conductivity, pH and soil moisture were all greater under RT than under FT in both starts. Soil organic matter and several other soil attributes were greater under RT than under FT in Start 1, but not in Start 2, perhaps owing to differences between starts in initial field conditions and realized weather. Soil attributes did not differ between the two cover crop treatments. Combining our soils results with agronomic and economic analyses on these plots suggests that using RT during the organic transition can increase soil quality without compromising yield and profitability.

Different theories have been posited that try to explain the decision-making process of smallholders especially regarding the adoption of new technologies or new agricultural techniques. The objective of this paper is to review and re-assess the dominant household production theories to explain the decision making of smallholders practicing conservation agriculture (CA) in the southern, eastern, and central provinces of Zambia. It also discusses the potential role of CA toward economic development. It finds that the CA smallholders studied did not aim to maximize profits but tried to secure household consumption from their own production before any other considerations in risky and uncertain environments. Their response to economic incentives was contingent on minimizing risks associated with securing a minimum level of livelihood and investing into local forms of insurance. This paper concludes that the ability for CA to contribute to rural livelihoods and economic development would depend on how adequately the factors that hinder smallholder agricultural development in general are addressed.

Agriculture must face a number of very pressing environmental issues. We used the prototyping method to design three innovative cropping systems, each satisfying three ambitious goals simultaneously: (1) overcoming a major environmental constraint, which represents a major break regarding objectives to be reached in current cropping systems (differing between systems: a ban on all pesticides but with chemical nitrogen (N) fertilizer permitted; reducing fossil energy consumption by 50%; or decreasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50%), (2) meeting a wide range of environmental criteria and (3) maximizing yields, given the major constraint and environmental targets. A fourth cropping system was designed, in which the environmental and yield targets were achieved with no major constraint (the productive high environmental performance cropping system (PHEP) system). The performances of these innovative cropping systems were compared to a conventional system in the Ile-de-France region. We used a three-step prototyping method: (1) new cropping systems were designed on the basis of scientific and expert knowledge, (2) these system prototypes were assessed with tools and a model (ex ante assessment) adjusted to the set of constraints and targets, with optimization by an iterative process until the criteria were satisfied and (3) evaluation in a long-term field experiment (ex post assessment), which is currently underway. We describe only the first two steps here, together with the results of the prototypes assessment with tools and a model. The pesticide, energy and GHG constraints were fulfilled. All these innovative systems satisfied environmental criteria in terms of nitrogen and phosphorus management, pesticide use, energy consumption and crop diversity. For the pesticide-free system, the soil organic matter indicator was lower than expected due to frequent plowing (every 2 years) and yields were 20–50% lower than for the PHEP system, depending on the crop considered. We focus our discussions on the design methodology and the availability of scientific knowledge and tools for projects of this type.

Better management of synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizers in conventional agricultural systems laid the foundation for feeding the increasing world's population since the Green Revolution. However, excessive reliance on inorganic fertilizer has resulted in environmental degradation issues. Difficulties in soil nutrition management in organic cropping systems often results in lower and variable yields, also raising questions of sustainability. Improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is thus of key importance to overcome environmental concerns in conventional systems and production limitations in organic systems. The differences in the two farming systems have impacts on crop traits and N cycles, making it difficult to enhance NUE with a single strategy. Different approaches need to be adopted to improve NUE in each system. Extensive efforts have been made to better understand mechanisms to potentially improve NUE in cereal crops under both systems. This review suggests that NUE may be improved through a combination of management practices and breeding strategies specific to the management system. Diversified crop rotations with legumes are effective practices to optimize the N cycle in both conventional and organic systems. Best Management Practices coupled with nitrification inhibitors, controlled release products and split-application practices can reduce N loss in conventional systems. In organic systems, we need to take advantage of available N sources and adapt practices such as no-tillage, cover crops, and catch crops. Utilization of beneficial soil microorganisms is fundamental to optimizing availability of soil N. Estimation of soil organic matter mineralization using prediction models may be useful to enhance NUE if models are calibrated for target environments. Cereal crops are often bred under optimum N conditions and may not perform well under low N conditions. Thus, breeders can integrate genetic and phenotypic information to develop cultivars adapted to specific environments and cultivation practices. The proper choice and integration of strategies can synchronize N demand and supply within a system, resulting in reduced risk of N loss while improving NUE in both conventional and organic systems.

We conducted a cropping systems experiment in central Pennsylvania, USA, to determine the effects of initial cover crop species and soil management on the abundance and composition of the ground-dwelling arthropod community. We hypothesized that we would detect legacy effects of the cover crops planted in year 1 of a 3-yr crop sequence on the arthropod community in the subsequent 2 yrs, and that these effects would be influenced by the intensity of tillage. We compared four systems in a factorial combination of perennial sod and legumes or annual cereal grain and legume as initial cover crops and moldboard or chisel plow tillage implemented in soybeans followed by maize in the subsequent 2 yrs. The entire experiment was initiated twice in adjacent locations, starting in 2003 (Start 1) and 2004 (Start 2). We quantified soil arthropod activity-density and community composition and identified all arthropods to order or family, and the ground and tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) to species. In Start 1, but not Start 2, arthropod activity-density increased with each year following implementation of organic management. We observed few legacy effects of cover crop or tillage intensity on arthropod activity-density. The composition of the soil arthropod community was primarily defined by the initial cover crop in the first year, and by the interaction between cover crop and tillage intensity in the second and third year. A legacy effect associated with a yr-1 cover crop of cereal rye was observed for Scarabaeidae beetles and Formicidae (ants) in yr 2 and Carabidae beetles in yr 3 of Start 1, but not Start 2. Weed indicators contributed significantly to the variation in the soil arthropod community that was explained by the environment in yr 2 in Start 1, and in yr 3 in both Starts. Our observations support the concept that both immediate and legacy effects of management shape arthropod communities during the organic transition period, suggesting that transitioning systems could be managed in ways that conserve or enhance natural enemy populations.

To tackle the problem of soil erosion and moisture stress, the government of Ethiopia introduced a yearly mass campaign where communities get together and implement various soil and water conservation (SWC) and water harvesting (WH) practices. Although the interventions are believed to have reduced soil erosion/sediment yield and enhanced surface and ground water, quantitative information on the impacts of various options at different scales is scarce. The objective of this study was to assess the impacts different land uses, SWC and WH interventions on water and suspended sediment yield (SSY) at plot and watershed scales in the central highlands of Ethiopia. Standard erosion plot experiments and hydrological stations were used to monitor the daily water and SSY during 2014 to 2017. The results show differences between treatments both at plot and watershed scales. Runoff and soil loss were reduced by an average 27 and 37%, respectively due to SWC practices at the plot level. Overall, SWC practices implemented at the watershed level reduced sediment yield by about 74% (in the year 2014), although the magnitude of sediment reduction due to the SWC interventions reduced over time. At both scales it was observed that as the number of years since SWC measures have been in place increased, their effectiveness declined due to the lack of maintenance. This study also revealed that extrapolating of plot data to watershed scale causes over or under estimation of net erosion.

In spite of concerns, Minnesota‘s dominant cropping system is the corn–soybean rotation using synthetic pesticides and chemically processed fertilizers. Using experimental data from 1990–99, this study compared the profitability of organic versus conventional strategies. Net return (NR) was calculated from actual yields, operations, inputs, prices and organic premiums. Yields and costs were lower for the 4-year organic strategy. With premiums, the 4-year organic strategy had NRs significantly higher than conventional strategies; without premiums, the NRs were statistically equal (P = 0.05). Thus, the 4-year organic strategy was not less profitable nor its NR more variable than the conventional strategies in this study.

Localization is one process/outcome that is proffered as key to the ‘grand challenges’ that currently face the food system. Consumers are attributed much agency in this potential transformation, being encouraged from all levels of society to exert their consumer muscle by buying local food. However, due to the social construction of scale it cannot be said that ‘local food’ is a definite entity and consumers understand the term ‘local food’ differently depending on their geographic and social context. As such, the research upon which this paper is based aimed to provide a nuanced understanding of how consumers in the particular spatial and social contexts of urban and rural Ireland understood the concept of ‘local food’. A specific objective was to test the theory that these consumers may have fallen into the ‘local trap’ by unquestioningly associating food from a spatially proximate place with positive characteristics. A three-phase mixed methodology was undertaken with a sample of consumers dwelling in urban and rural areas in both Dublin and Galway, Ireland: 1000 householders were surveyed; 6 focus group discussions took place; and 28 semi-structured interviews were carried out. The results presented in this paper indicate that for most participants in this study, spatial proximity is the main parameter against which the ‘localness’ of food is measured. Also, it was found that participants held multiple meanings of local food and there was a degree of fluidity in their understandings of the term. The results from the case study regions highlight how participants’ understandings of local food changed depending on the food in question and its availability. However, the paper also indicates that as consumers move from one place to another, the meaning of local food becomes highly elastic. The meaning is stretched or contracted according to the perceived availability of food, greater or lesser connections to the local producer community and the relative geographic size of participants’ locations. Our analysis of findings from all three phases of this research revealed a difference in understandings of local food among participants resident in urban and rural areas: participants dwelling in rural areas were more likely than those in urban areas to define local food according to narrower spatial limits. The paper concludes with an overview of the practical and theoretical significance of these results in addressing the current dearth of research exploring the meaning of local food for consumers and suggests avenues for future research.

During the 20th century, US agriculture underwent vast transformations. The number of farmers has decreased, more farmers are relying on off-farm income, agriculture's proportion of the US GDP has declined, and a minority of non-metro counties in the US are farming dependent. Agriculture's evolution will continue and we have identified key trends and future challenges to effectively manage our changing agricultural system. Eight current trends in US agriculture were identified. These included: (1) increased land degradation; (2) competing land uses; (3) focus on single ecosystem service; (4) increase in farm size; (5) movement toward commercialization; (6) genetic engineering; (7) global markets; and (8) changing social structure. Future trends likely to affect agriculture include: (1) diminishing and increasingly volatile farm incomes; (2) reduced government involvement in food regulation; (3) continued transition from farming to agribusiness; (4) land-use will become a major issue; (5) increasing animal protein consumption in the US; (6) increased public input on livestock production practices; (7) increasing urbanization of historically rural US counties; (8) increased public concern over food safety; (9) increased medicinal production from agriculture; (10) new tastes, markets and opportunities will emerge. We further postulated that future challenges facing US agriculture might include: (1) competitive pressures; (2) sustainable development; (3) resource conservation; and (4) research and development. Integrated agricultural systems may be flexible enough to address these challenges. However, robust principles will be needed to design adaptable integrated agricultural systems. We present a nonexclusive list of preliminary principles under the four general categories of (1) economics and economic policies; (2) environmental; (3) social and political; and (4) technological.

Climate change negatively impacts rice productivity in different parts of Africa. As a matter of necessity, farmers must respond to changing the climate by choosing adaptation strategies that increase their productivities. Incidentally, studies that documented the impact of climate change adaptation actions of farmers on rice productivity are few. This study therefore analyzed the impact of climate change adaptation decisions of farmers on the profitability of rice production using cross-sectional data gathered from 240 rice farmers selected from Ebonyi State, an important rice-producing State in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country. Using descriptive statistics, multivariate probit regression, instrumental variable regression and endogenous treatment effect model, the study revealed that the common adaptation actions of rice farmers involved adoption of minimum tillage, bond and drainage, fertilizer, crop diversification, livelihood diversification, improved rice varieties, pesticide, nursery, and adjusting planting and harvesting dates. The study found several significant interactions between the choice of climate change adaptation actions and socio-economic, farm, institutional and location characteristics of rice farmers. The result further revealed that multiple adaptation decisions of farmers significantly increased returns to scale and profit of rice production. The study concludes that adaptation decisions are effective in increasing the profitability and returns to scale of rice production in the area and other regions with similar geographical, meteorological and socio-economic contexts.

Organic farming (OF) principles include the idea of reducing dependence of fossil fuels, but little has been achieved on this objective so far in Danish OF. Energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from an average 39 ha cash crop farm were calculated and alternative crop rotations for bio-energy production were modeled. Growing rapeseed on 10% of the land could produce bio-diesel to replace 50–60% of the tractor diesel used on the farm. Increasing grass-clover area to 20% of the land and using half of this yield for biogas production could change the cash crop farm to a net energy producer, and reduce GHG emissions while reducing the overall output of products only marginally. Increasing grass-clover area would improve the nutrient management on the farm and eliminate dependence on conventional pig slurry if the biogas residues were returned to cash crop fields.

Many agricultural systems around the world are challenged by declining soil resources, a dry climate and increases in input costs. The cultivation of plants that are better adapted than current crop species to nutrient poor soils, a dry climate and low-input agricultural systems would aid the continued profitability and environmental sustainability of agricultural systems. This paper examines herbaceous native Australian legumes for their capacity to be developed as grain crops adapted to dry environments. The 14 genera that contain herbaceous species are Canavalia, Crotalaria, Cullen, Desmodium, Glycine, Glycyrrhiza, Hardenbergia, Indigofera, Kennedia, Lotus, Rhynchosia, Swainsona, Trigonella and Vigna. A number of these genera (e.g., Glycine, Crotalaria, Trigonella and Vigna) include already cultivated exotic grain legumes. Species were evaluated based on the extent to which their natural distribution corresponded to arid and semi-arid climatic regions, as well as the existing information on traits related to harvestability (uniformity of ripening, propensity to retain pod, pod shattering and growth habit), grain qualities (seed size, chemistry, color and the absence of toxins) and fecundity. Published data on seed yield were rare, and for many other traits information was limited. The Australian species of Vigna, Canavalia and Desmodium mainly have tropical distributions and were considered poorly suited for semi-arid temperate cropping systems. Of the remaining genera Glycyrrhiza and Crotalaria species showed many suitable traits, including an erect growth habit, a low propensity to shatter, flowers and fruits borne at the end of branches and moderate to large seeds (5 and 38 mg, respectively). The species for which sufficient information was available that were considered highest priority for further investigation were Glycine canescens, Cullen tenax, Swainsona canescens, Swainsona colutoides, Trigonella suavissima, Kennedia prorepens, Glycyrrhiza acanthocarpa, Crotalaria cunninghamii and Rhynchosia minima.

This study evaluated the effects of a diet containing yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L.; TM) larva meal on quality parameters (pH24, color and drip losses), proximate composition and fatty acid (FA) profile of meat from free-range chickens. A total of 140 medium-growing hybrid female chickens were free-range reared and randomly allotted to two dietary treatments: a control group and a TM group, in which TM meal was included at 75 g kg−1 as fed in substitution of corn gluten meal. Each group consisted of five pens as replicates, with 14 chicks per pen. At 97 days of age, ten birds (two birds/pen) from each feeding group were slaughtered at a commercial abattoir. Quality parameters and proximate composition of breast and thigh meat were not affected by treatment. The effects of dietary TM larva meal on the FA profile of thigh meat were negligible. Breast meat from TM-fed chickens showed higher oleic and α-linolenic acid percentages as well as lower atherogenicity and thrombogenicity indexes. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that TM inclusion in diets for free-range chickens did not prejudice meat quality traits. The obtained results confirm that TM can be considered a promising insect protein source for the poultry feed industry.

Cost-effective, laborsaving, and environmentally sound weed management practices are needed for sustainable vegetable production. Organic production, in particular, precludes the use of synthetic herbicides and requires that organic farmers utilize practices that reduce harmful environmental impact. Although polyethylene film mulch is used extensively in vegetable production in Florida, its use has a number of drawbacks, among which is the susceptibility of opaque polyethylene mulch to penetration by yellow and purple nutsedge. Appreciable labor and disposal/environmental costs are associated with its removal. A durable mulch material that would effectively control nutsedge and other weeds but with no associated environmental and disposal costs is highly desirable. Hydramulch, a paper-like material applied as a slurry consisting of cotton waste, newsprint, gypsum and a proprietary adhesive, was tested as a biodegradable alternative to polyethylene mulch during the spring of 2003. Experiments were conducted in southeastern and north-central Florida to compare the effects of three hydramulch formulations, polyethylene mulch and a no mulch control on soil temperature, soil moisture and weed infestation. Soil temperature under hydramulch was 1–4°C lower than that under polyethylene. In the absence of rain, the use of hydramulch resulted in soil moisture levels that were 1–4% lower than with polyethylene mulch. Higher soil moisture with hydramulch than polyethylene was coincident with rainfall. Hydramulch remained intact on most beds and suppressed broadleaf weeds and grasses, particularly at the north-central site where the mulch was applied at a greater thickness. However, purple nutsedge readily penetrated hydramulch. Therefore, hydramulch may be applicable for use for the suppression of broadleaf weeds and grasses at sites with little or no nutsedge pressure in fall or in crops for which cooler soils are desirable or crops that are rainfed or overhead irrigated.

Various products incorporating single aspects of organic production systems such as lower inputs of pesticides, food additives or concentrated animal feed are found on the food market (referred to as low-input products hereafter). In our study, we analyzed how consumers react to low-input products in a purchase simulation with certified organic, conventional and low-input products. In the purchase simulations, each participant was asked to make three consecutive purchase decisions, one each for milk, yogurt and apples. The results of a cluster analysis revealed one cluster with a high preference for organic products and three clusters that featured considerable shares of low-input purchases. The latter clusters, however, were not characterized by a clear preference for low-input products. Rather, they bought mixed baskets of goods, i.e., low-input products in combination with either organic or conventional products. The low-input products in the categories milk, yogurt and apples did thus not necessarily attract the same groups of people. Interestingly, we found that most consumers who chose low-input products in the simulations usually buy those particular products in conventional quality. We conclude that in our study, we found a heterogeneous group of low-input buyers. For the organic sector, communicating the various aspects of organic production might be a promising strategy for gaining new customers. The low-input products in the purchase simulation only featured one special attribute, whereas organic products incorporate several.

The present study reviews previous published estimates as to the scale of food waste in the USA and its ecological toll (e.g., in terms of methane emissions and water usage to support the production of wasted food). The review further discusses recent public policy and private action designed to curb food waste or to apply wasted food toward hunger alleviation, biofuel production and soil nourishment. We further consider and expand upon previous estimates comparing the scale of food waste to the present scale of the US hunger problem. These estimates suggest that the recovery and redirection of an additional 15% of the present stock of edible food waste would meet 35% of the caloric needs of all Americans living in a food insecure household or very low food security household. Then, a modest to moderate proportional increase in edible food waste recovery could greatly reduce the US hunger problem in its present state. We estimate that the successful redirection of 15% of presently-wasted (edible) food in the USA would be sufficient to fully sustain 18.45 million individuals. Given available data, we cannot precisely assess the nutritional characteristics of this potential stock of food. The present study emphasizes the traditional and future importance of integrated public policy and private action at the municipal level, as food waste is typically disposed of or recovered at this level.