Episode
Don't Waste Good Food: Food Insecurity and Climate Crisis in the Caribbean with Sian Cuffey-Young
- Published
- Jan 4, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2766
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://straight-talking-sustai.captivate.fm
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/straight-talking-sustainability-7096932/episodes/don-t-waste-good-food-food-insecurity-and-climate-crisis-in-the-caribbean-with-sian-cuffey-young/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/straight-talking-sustainability-7096932/don-t-waste-good-food-food-insecurity-and-climate-crisis-in-the-caribbean-with-sian-cuffey-young.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
In this powerful and eye-opening episode of Straight Talking Sustainability , host Emma Burlow sits down with Sian Cuffey-Young , founder of SAEL Environmental in Trinidad and Tobago, to explore the intersection of food waste, food security, and climate action in Caribbean island states. With 20 years of experience in waste management and a mission statement that "waste is sexy," Sian brings infectious energy and unflinching honesty to one of the most overlooked sustainability challenges: the fact that our largest waste stream receives the least attention whilst people go hungry. Sian's journey into food waste began with composting education, which she loved, but she deliberately avoided the broader food waste challenge for years. Everything changed when Trinidad and Tobago released waste characterisation study results showing food and organic waste had increased from 27% to 33% of the waste stream over a decade. Under those results, a woman commented, "I wish I had some of that food to feed my family." That single statement crystallised Sian's mission. As she explains, the Caribbean region can feed itself six times over according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, yet food insecurity persists whilst good food is deliberately soiled with disinfectant and disposed of by supermarkets practicing "soil and dump" policies to avoid liability. The conversation reveals the unique challenges of sustainability work in island states with limited land space, voluntary rather than mandatory waste separation, and funding heavily skewed towards plastic waste initiatives because "that's where the money is coming from." Sian describes food and organic waste as sitting "quietly undiscovered in the corner" despite being the largest waste stream, receiving minimal attention compare…