Olive Dyrbye-Wright Fights Food Waste from Dining Hall Practices to Produce Storage Tips
Olivia Dyrbye-Wright recently graduated from UW–Madison with a Bachelors of Science in Global Health and is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
BY Caitlin Warlick-Short
Olive Dyrbye-Wright joined the Climate Solutions for Health Lab in her sophomore year after transitioning her major from English to Global Health. Uncertain and a bit overwhelmed with where to start with such a big academic shift, she enrolled in Our Planet, Our Health, and quickly reached out to the course instructor Dr. Patz for guidance. After a surprise (for Olive) meeting turned interview, Dr. Patz wisely brought her onto the team.
During her tenure in the lab Olive contributed to supporting a wide-range of health and sustainability efforts including everything from menstrual poverty research in Zambia to integrating climate change content into medical curricula. Olive also found mentorship with Dr. Valerie Stull, an expert in sustainable food systems. Together, Dr. Stull and Olive worked on a campus-wide food waste reduction campaign, collaborating with stakeholders to design and implement educational materials to reach over 9,000 students to motivate sustainable behavior of individuals and also larger dining hall operations. Today, the posters (below) are still displayed across campus and have inspired other students to consider their role in food waste and opportunities to support sustainability action.
Upon reflecting on Olive’s time with the Climate Solution for Health Lab, Dr. Stull noted “I have never worked with a more self-motivated and dedicated undergraduate. We completed several long-term projects together, and throughout the process Olive was a joy to work with–even when we hit roadblocks. I have absolutely no doubt that she is going to go very far in her career and make a genuine difference in the world!”
Olive and Dr. Stull also co-authored and published a scoping review of implemented strategies on campuses around the globe targeted at reducing food waste to better understand which practices were most effective. Their work identified environmental interventions, such as tray removal, to be particularly effective, especially paired with educational visuals such as co-localized informational posters.
“Through my research I came to see food waste as an overlooked driver of greenhouse gas emissions. If we are to confront the climate crisis, it is not optional, but essential to reimagine and transform our food systems.”
In her final few months at UW–Madison, I also had the privilege of working with Olive on a new blog series for the lab titled “What are we waiting for?”. In the series we focus on climate solutions that people can implement in their lives right now that will have immediate or near-term benefits for their physical, mental, and financial health. Olive wrote three articles about the impact of food waste on climate change and opportunities to reduce waste while also gaining individual nutritional and monetary benefits. Her articles are rich with information and simple, accessible solutions like proper food storage, understanding food labels, and eating more (sometimes ugly) produce. Most importantly Olive put together resources that YOU can even print and hang on your fridge for the next time you’re not sure where to put something or how to keep it fresh until next week.
The United States leads the world in many areas—unfortunately, food waste is one of them. Roughly 40% of all edible and nutritious food produced in the U.S. ends up in our landfills, where it decomposes and releases methane. Over 60% of this methane seeps into the atmosphere accelerating the pace of climate change. It’s a tall order for us to address, but with motivated students and leaders like Olive, who are committed to understanding and implementing strategies to engage others, I believe we can move the needle one (tenth of a) degree at a time.