"How can we reduce waste in the food chain?"

Approximately a quarter of all food produced for human consumption goes uneaten. From field to fork, losses and waste occurs along the entire food chain. The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12 focuses on "ensuring sustainable consumption and production patterns", and specially (12.3) on halving global food waste and reducing food loss along production and supply chains by 2030.

Following on from the last competition theme on increasing food resources sustainably, the 2026 BIEA STEM competition season asks you to come up with innovative solutions to reduce food loss and waste across the food supply chain, from field to fork.

What can we do?

Using your STEM knowledge and understanding, you will design an innovative solution to reduce food waste at a single point along the food supply chain. The food supply chain includes farming, transportation, retail, and at-home consumption. You will explore a single stage of the chain.

You might choose to focus on one of the following areas:

• Food loss or waste reduction technology
• Food recovery
• Sustainable packaging
• Waste-to-resource technology

The 2026 competition theme challenges you to consider how we can reduce food waste. How can we make sure all agricultural produce gets to the table? How can we reduce farming food losses? What can we do with surplus food? How can we reduce waste from retailers?

These are some of the questions you will need to ask as you take on this project on how to reduce food waste. As you complete the project, you will need to ensure that your ideas work towards enhancing environmental wellness, including both individual and social well-being.