Mario Herrero, professor of sustainable food systems and global change, is studying circular food systems that seek to reduce the more than 30% of food wasted in production and consumption. “Lots of that food can be recycled and repurposed as feed, as fertilizer or as energy,” Herrero said. Managing a dairy farm early in his career, Herrero saw how growing food demand could contribute to deforestation in Latin America, and the need for better planning and incentives. His research since has led him to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, and at Cornell he’s among scholars working to improve crop yields, feeding and management strategies and policy solutions. Important upcoming work, he said, will investigate the “true cost of food” – accounting for its environmental and social costs, potentially through smart pricing systems and revised subsidies. “There’s just so much that ends up in landfills,” Herrero said. “We really need to move towards a more regenerative culture.”