What a simulated Mars mission taught me about food waste

Header image: George Frey/EPA

By Dianne McGrath, RMIT University

As a food waste researcher, I’m interested in how humans prepare food, eat and manage leftovers. This interest is not just confined to Earth – it extends to other planets.

I recently spent two weeks at the Mars Desert Research Station in the US state of Utah, and experienced the intimate and challenging conditions of a Mars mission simulation. I was part of a small, isolated team of four with limited choice of food, preparation and cooking options.

I wanted to know how these conditions would affect the food waste we generated. This research is particularly pertinent now, as COVID-19 forces people into social isolation and raises the (real or imagined) risk of food scarcity.

According to the latest figures, in 2016-17 Australia produced 7.3 million tonnes of food waste. And every year, each one of us sends almost 300kg of food to landfill.

Meanwhile, an estimated 5% of Australians experience food insecurity – inadequate access to, supply of and use of food.

Food waste in landfill produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Tackling this is a key part of taking action on climate change.

The Mars Desert Research Station is run by the Mars Society, a volunteer-driven non-government organisation dedicated to the human exploration and settlement of the red planet.

The first agenda item of the daily team meeting each morning was developing the day’s menu. Sharing meals encouraged social cohesion.

My research involved detailing the quantities and nutritional profile of our food waste over the fortnight, comparing inputs with the waste generated.

I collected data for spoilage, preparation and “plate waste” – the food served but not eaten. It was a painstaking process. For