Very interesting and informative piece, but it includes an assumption without evidence - which is, food that’s unwanted in its first use on a shelf is not put to its best possible use after it proves unwanted.

Where does “wasted” food actually go? The article claims it ends up in landfills and plowed into fields, but doesn’t give examples or evidence to back that up.

If more research is done and it’s uncovered that wasted food does have some sort of afterlife, that’s a sign of the market at work. No doubt some unwanted food isn’t used in an optimal way, but if for example, some gets turned into feedlot and others into pet food, it radically changes the narrative.

A well-researched article about broadly what happens to “wasted food” would really help. But right now it’s not clear if there’s anything here to fix.