In August 2026, the Aspen Global Change Institute (AGCI) published Reducing Food Loss and Waste: Dual Impact Actions to Address Climate Change and Improve Nutrition - Final Summary Report. Dr. Robin Shrestha of Mandala Foods, who is also an Innovator in Residence at Tufts Food and Nutrition Innovation Institute, is one of the five co-authors.
The report came out of an AGCI workshop in Aspen, Colorado, in June 2024. Dr. Robin Shrestha co-chaired it in his role with the Feed the Future Food Systems for Nutrition Innovation Lab, alongside Shibani Ghosh, Ahmed Kablan, Nika Larian, and Jean Buzby. The workshop brought together 34 global experts from 14 countries, including participants from FAO, WRAP, WWF, Gates Foundation, and USDA. Nepal was represented by Dr. Kiran Rupakhetee, National Planning Commission, and Dr. Atul Upadhyay of NEFOSTA.
The synthesis report sets out the scale of the problem: Nearly a third of all food produced globally is lost or wasted, costing close to a trillion dollars a year and driving up to a tenth of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, while hundreds of millions of people worldwide go hungry. It treats food loss and waste as a combined climate, nutrition, and economic challenge, drawing on seven world regions and case studies from 13 countries, Nepal among them. Its policy, program, and financing recommendations are aimed at governments, donors, researchers, and businesses working towards SDG Target 12.3.
For Mandala Foods, this is the problem the company was built to solve. Every locally grown fruit that would otherwise be discarded because of cosmetic defects or market rejection is exactly the kind of loss the report describes. That experience shapes what Mandala Foods works on: better measurement, scaling proven post-harvest solutions, redistribution and behavior change that make imperfect food an easy choice, and alternative financing for rural Nepali food enterprises and start-ups.
Being at the table for these global conversations reflects a simple belief Mandala Foods has held since day one: local, farmer-level solutions have to inform global climate and nutrition strategy, not just follow it.
Read the full AGCI report.