IMPROVEMENT OF SOIL RESILIENCE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES USING DIFFERENT FOOD WASTES AS SOIL AMENDMENTS

Abstract

Waste and by-products from the food industry put pressure on the environment. FAO defined food losses as losses along the food chain between producer and market, while safe and nutritious food is thrown away as waste. About a third of the food produced is wasted. A significant amount of food is disposed of as waste, especially in developed countries, and this also means the disposal of resources used to produce food. Food waste is not only an economic problem, but also an environmental and moral problem. Food diverted to landfills directly contributes to climate change by emitting methane (CH4), a significant greenhouse gas 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2) Even when all actions have been taken to use the waste food, some inedible parts will remain and can be turned into compost to feed and nourish the soil. A promising approach for improving soil services and crop productivity is the transformation of food by-products and waste into soil amendments. Industrial by-products of food processing and manufacturing represent 14% of the total food waste generated. These by-products of food processing present a significant opportunity to reuse the waste by transforming it into amendments for degraded soils. The purpose of this work is to present how different types of by-products from the food industry (bentonite, keratin) can be used as soil improvers, reducing the impact of food production on the environment