In 2020, the company re-directed 600,000 pounds of surplus green beans to products that nourish people while reducing greenhouse gas emissions
Del Monte Foods, Inc. is helping to lead the upcycled food movement with the industry's first canned vegetable product to be Upcycled Certified by the Upcycled Food Association, the world's only third-party certification program for upcycled food ingredients and products. Del Monte® Blue Lake® Petite Cut and Blue Lake® Farmhouse Cut Green Beans are made with 100% upcycled and sustainably grown green beans from Wisconsin and Illinois.
According to the USDA, food waste is estimated to represent 30-40% of the food supply each year, which has devastating consequences for people and the planet. Millions of people globally don't get enough food to eat each day, while rotting food in landfills is a major producer of greenhouse gas emissions. It's estimated that if 50–75% of food waste is reduced by 2050, up to 26 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions could be avoided.