Many parts of the world with chronic and intermittent water shortages rely on informal water systems for all or part of their daily water uses, such as water deliveries from water tanker trucks, purchased bottled water, or water pumped from local wells. These alternative sources tend to burden water users with additional costs, require additional energy inputs, and are managed by informal stakeholders. Using a political ecology lens and a mixed methods approach, this research examines informal water services in Beirut (Lebanon), their socio-economic and environmental impacts, and aspects of their organization. The research analyzes affordability disparities between high- and low-income communities, considering the additional costs of informal water sources and residents’ different coping behaviors and capabilities. The research also assesses environmental impacts of informal water systems with a comparative energy-water nexus and carbon footprint analysis of formal (piped infrastructure) and informal water sources. The research also applies social network analysis to identify and characterize informal water tanker firms, and shows indirect socio-cultural and environmental driving forces influencing their organization, cooperation and competition. Finally, while recognizing the importance of informal services to achieve water security, the research addresses their social injustice outcomes through hybrid policy recommendations for hybrid systems that target formal piped infrastructure and informal sources to balance resilience with sustainability and attenuate the inequalities of those services.

In 2016, California passed Senate Bill (SB) 1383 which requires a 75% reduction in organic waste disposed of in landfills by 2025 as part of a larger mandate to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state. These targets will be achieved primarily through diversion to compost and anaerobic digestion (AD), however significant infrastructural investments are needed to capture and treat this waste stream. Food waste (FW) is the largest portion of the municipal organics waste stream and is an ideal target for diversion to AD, which can be built as self-contained, scalable units deployed throughout urban areas. Using spatial models, an optimal network of ADs can be developed that not only reduces GHG emissions associated with FW disposal, but also reduces those associated with the collection and transportation stages of the waste system. Within this context, this research presents a novel method of estimating commercial FW generation in Los Angeles County, California that can be used to model a network of containerized ADs for FW.Following a review of three classes of spatial models and their practical use in waste management modelling, a simulated “FW Geography” (FWG) dataset is developed that consists of 273,023 points representing FW generators from 16 industry groups that in total generate 1,046,713 tons FW/year. This dataset was developed using non-spatial waste generation data from California Department of Resources and Recovery (CalRecycle) in the form of Tons Per Employee Per Year (TPEPY) values as well as spatial, Census-tract level employment and business data from ESRI Business Analyst (BA) and parcel-scale land use data from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). Significant preprocessing of the datasets was needed to match the production-oriented industry groups of the ESRI BA and SCAG data to the waste-oriented industry groups of the CalRecycle TPEPY values. The FWG is less spatially aggregated than the municipal level waste generation estimates released by CalRecycle and can be used as an input to spatial models to develop a network of ADs. Using the FWG to develop a network of ADs requires careful consideration of the strengths and weaknesses of the spatial models, balancing model runtime with solution quality in real world instances. The time it takes to run a model is dependent on the number of points in the input dataset; with over 200,000 points in the FWG, these models will take an unreasonable time to solve. This problem is addressed in the discussion, which outlines methods of data aggregation that not only reduces the size of the FWG, but also increases its accuracy. These methods make use of a Tons Per Business Per Year (TPBPY) value developed for this study which captures the competing modelling goals of maximizing FW treatment while minimizing collection points and the Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) between them. The fine spatial scale of the SCAG zoning dataset can also be leveraged to reduce the size of the FWG; by aggregating FW generator points in close proximity to one another, modelling shared collection bins among FW producers, the spatial accuracy of the FWG can be increased. The resulting FWG can be used to develop a network of containerized ADs for FW that reduces overall GHG emissions of the waste management system and creates a circular economy of food.

Investment in animal cell-based meat (ACBM) or cultured meat has been increasing at a rapid pace with the total investment being greater than 2 billion USD by 2021. When the investment in ACBM initially occurred ACBM had not been economically vetted. This dissertation contains the first publicly available technoeconomic assessment of ACBM. This assessment was conducted utilizing cellular metabolic requirements and chemical/process engineering conventions. Findings of the first TEA ACBM indicate that nearly all technical hurdles would need to be resolved before economic viability could be achieved. Shortly after publication of the first TEA of ACBM, two other TEAs of ACBM were published and all three were normalized and critically examined for this dissertation. This critical examination is contained within this dissertation to provide readers with a comparison of the methods and assumptions contained within each ACBM TEA. An additional TEA was conducted for an economically viable protein alternative, mycoprotein to validate methods which were utilized in the initial TEA of ACBM. Findings of the mycoprotein TEA indicate that the utilized method provided reasonable estimates for the cost of food produced in bioreactors. The initial ACBM TEA indicated that a substantial quantity of animal cell growth medium may be necessary to produce ACBM at an industrial scale. To understand the potential environmental impact of ACBM production, quantification of the embedded resources contained within the animal growth medium was deemed necessary. Essential 8TM (E8) is a stem cell growth medium that had been suggested as a suitable growth medium for ACBM with some modification. A cradle-to-production gate life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted for E8. The embedded resources were quantified for each E8 component (when possible) and the environmental impact of a liter of E8 was calculated. Utilizing data obtained from the analyzed TEAs and E8 LCA, a LCA of near-term ACBM was conducted. The LCA of ACBM indicated that the environmental impact of near-term ACBM was likely greater than commercially produced beef potentially by orders of magnitude.

The production of rice, a globally consumed staple food predominantly cultivated in Asia's humid climates, faces the challenge of efficient drying methods. Current drying technologies often involve a tradeoff—either consuming substantial energy or compromising rice quality, leading to significant food loss. This challenge underscores the need for an innovative, sustainable solution that can ensure food security, reduce energy consumption, and contribute to climate change mitigation. In response to these challenges, our integrated research across three studies introduces a novel approach in the form of Zeolite-based Drying Beads® (DB). In our approach, humid ambient air is channeled through a chamber filled with DB to extract moisture and produce warm, dry air. The dried air is subsequently directed through the paddy to reduce its moisture content to the targeted level. Our research indicates that DB has the potential to enhance energy efficiency in paddy drying processes, particularly evident in controlled laboratory settings across varying humidity conditions. DB's adaptability, especially during its regeneration phase, enables strategic energy use, aligning with periods of lower energy costs or the availability of renewable energy sources. In terms of rice quality, including total milling yield and color, DB has shown comparable results to conventional heated-air drying technologies under temperate drying conditions. Furthermore, the drying speed achieved with DB is also on par with these conventional methods. The study identifies several key limitations in the application of Zeolite-based Drying Beads® (DB) for paddy drying. A notable issue is the inconsistency in data standards within paddy drying literature, complicating effective comparisons between different drying methods and highlighting the need for standardized reporting on operational conditions, energy consumption, and rice quality. Additionally, the research reveals challenges with DB in high humidity environments, where excessive heat generation could potentially impact rice yield, underscoring the importance of managing drying conditions to maintain quality. The investigation also extends to the DB regeneration process, which, in this study, was limited to individual beads in a lab setting. This limitation points to the necessity for more comprehensive studies to evaluate the regeneration efficiency and practical application of DB in commercial settings, with a particular focus on how these systems can be integrated with renewable energy sources. These limitations, addressed in the subsequent chapters, point to the need for standardized data reporting, careful management of drying conditions, and further large-scale studies to fully understand and optimize DB's commercial viability and integration with renewable energy.

AbstractBackground: Food loss and waste is a huge problem worldwide when it comes to the environment, economy, and society. In the United States, food waste – food that is wasted at the retail and consumer level – is more of an issue than food losses that occur upstream in the food value chain. There are strategies to valorize waste, but the most impactful strategy would be preventing waste in the first place. In order to create more effective interventions to curb food waste, drivers for this behavior must be understood. There have been many papers that have examined household food waste, but there has been a lack of studies that specifically investigate university dining commons, which have large food waste reduction potential. Objectives: The goal of this research was to understand how dining common factors (e.g., serving style, food types served) and personal factors (e.g., frequency of eating at the dining commons, meal satisfaction) were related to amount of food waste diners produced. Methods: The main study took place at five different university dining commons during Spring and Fall 2019. After intercepting 736 diners near or inside the dining commons 296 produced complete, useable data. Participants scanned a QR code which led them to a Qualtrics survey that walked them through the process. Diners were asked to get their meal, take a photo of it, and then answer questions of what they selected, how it was portioned, and how confident they were going to like the dish before taking it. After eating their meal, they were asked to take another photo of what remained and answer questions of how satisfied they were with the meal, their role at the university, and their frequency of going to the dining commons. The photos were coded to provide estimates as to how much food was taken and wasted (taken – what was leftover). Free responses for what diners took were also coded into food type categories. All the variables were first analyzed using Multiple Correspondence Analysis, then multiple linear regression models were made to further investigate different factors’ effects on how much food was taken and wasted. Results: Certain food types (animal protein and mixed dishes), pre-plated dishes, dishes with more hedonic appeal, and consumer confidence in liking an item before taking it were all factors that were correlated to more food being taken. Different factors – increased meal satisfaction and frequency of visiting the dining commons – were correlated to less food being wasted. The amount of food that was taken was also a significant predictor for estimating food waste. Conclusions: This study highlighted some significant factors that were related to diners’ food choice and waste at five different universities. Finding relationships could help inform future studies design better interventions to reduce food waste at university dining commons.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented spikes in food insecurity. In California, food banks, which were already facing high demand for emergency food assistance, rallied federal, state and local resources to help meet the challenges of the pandemic. Our study draws on interviews with food banks and their partners approximately one year into the pandemic to learn how they responded to enormous challenges in staffing, procurement, distribution and infrastructure. These interviews captured lessons for resilience planning and food security policy that might otherwise have been lost. We found an encouraging story of resilience, and a story of how government agencies and community networks can work together to create and strengthen food security policies, even under the most dire circumstances.