Carnival Cruise Line has made reducing food waste one of its key missions.
It has tackled that in a number of ways, from some that are passenger-facing, like changing its main dining room menus, to having food biodigesters on all its ships.
“Think of a food waste biodigester as a large, stainless steel stomach that digests food waste – if you can feed it to people, you can feed it into a digester,” said Carnival Corporate Environmental Compliance Vice President Chris Donald.
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The end product dramatically cuts down on the harmful waste the cruise line would otherwise be producing. The EPA says the output from biodigesters can be used as gas for fuel and as fertilizer, among other applications.
Carnival also has a plan to cut food waste that's being pioneered by its Costa brand.
"As the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (Sept. 29) approaches, Carnival Corporation and its Italian cruise line, Costa Cruises, are sharing inspiring achievements and progress on food waste reduction goals that help support a more resilient food future," Carnival shared.
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Carnival's Costa expands food donation program
Carnival's Costa Cruises brand recently expanded its 4GoodFood program, which donates prepared but unserved food to local community food banks.
"Originally created in 2017 in what was a first for global shipping, Costa Cruises, together with the food bank charity Fondazione Banco Alimentare, introduced the surplus food donation program, which involves the retrieval of 'ready to eat' meals prepared on board but not served in the ships' dining establishments," the cruise line explained on its website.
Costa has reached an agreement with Palma de Mallorca and Valencia to become the 15th and 16th ports to benefit from the program. To date, more than 300,000 portions of food have been donated throughout the Mediterranean and the Caribbean since the program's inception.
"Our goal is to have less uneaten food and, with the remaining food, find ways to ensure it doesn't go to waste, like doing our part to help communities facing food scarcity," said Jan Swartz, Carnival's executive vice president for strategic operations.
In addition to meal donations, phases of the 4GoodFood program have included revising more than 500 recipes to make meal production more efficient; using Winnow kitchen scales that analyze waste and losses to adjust food production and reduce the amount of food thrown away during meal prep; training and engagement for galley staff; and implementing the "Too Good to Waste" campaign to raise awareness on the topic for guests and crew on board.
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Carnival "is seeking to expand the meal donation program to other communities and is working with officials in the Caribbean and Latin America to determine its feasibility," according to the company.
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