What’s the Deal with the Rising Upcycled Food Trend?

What are upcycled foods?
Photo by LYFE Fuel on Unsplash

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, or at least that seems to be the idea behind one of the latest emerging food trends. Upcycled foods are taking the world by storm, putting usually thrown-out ingredients to some good use and reducing food waste.

What It Is

This rising eco-friendly trend is all about breathing a new life into foods that are usually tossed away during the production process. Some of the most notable examples of upcycled foods are banana chips, protein powders, and drinks made with surplus fruits and vegetables.

What People Are Doing About It

The Upcycled Food Association is trying to push this trend into the mainstream, in an attempt to reduce 1.3 billion tons of food waste produced every year. Together with companies that embrace this eco-friendly concept, they’re trying to change our perception of upcycled foods, and encourage people to treat them as a useful ingredient instead of seeing them as waste.

The main benefit of upcycled foods is the crucial role they play in reducing food waste, but they can also be packed with a lot of great nutrients and add value to certain products. In addition to buying upcycled foods, you can also embrace this trend by trying to reduce food waste in your daily life by looking for ways to fully utilize each ingredient you have at your disposal.