Watermelon is among the most widely cultivated fruits globally, yet it suffers a high waste rate of 45% due to its short shelf life. In 2023, global watermelon production reached 99.7 million tons, with China and Türkiye contributing 60.1 million and 3.5 million tons, respectively. This study explores the potential of processing discarded watermelons into long‐lasting food ingredients to mitigate waste and enhance sustainability. Two test samples were developed: one combining watermelon pulp with flour, and another incorporating both watermelon pulp and rind with flour. The research also highlights the underutilized potential of watermelon rind as a valuable food ingredient. Experiments using a drum dryer produced ingredients with a moisture content of 3.40–3.77 g/100 g and water activity of 0.361–0.37, ensuring an extended shelf life. The new ingredients, rich in sugars and dietary fiber, offer a sustainable, natural alternative for industrial applications and can be produced 15.8%–19.1% cheaper than the value of their components. Redirecting 45% of global watermelon waste into food ingredients could potentially offset 2.7 million tons of CO2e emissions globally and 94,500 tons of CO2e in Türkiye annually. This study not only provides a sustainable solution to watermelon waste but also emphasizes efficient agricultural land use, reduced carbon emissions, minimized water consumption, and higher‐quality product development. By transforming a frequently discarded by‐product into valuable food ingredients, this research supports global sustainability efforts and promotes innovative approaches to reducing food waste.

Aim: This research was conducted on the hypothesis that refined sugars negatively affect health, require high energy for production, generate significant carbon emissions, and produce environmental waste. Additionally, by-products such as molasses and pulp, which are often underutilized, can be repurposed as value-added products for human consumption. This research focuses on a new, long-shelf-life product derived from sugar beet. The developed product retains nutrients such as protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals that are naturally present in sugar beet. Methods: The new method proposes using the entire beet as an unrefined alternative to refined sugar. The processing steps include cleaning, cooking, peeling, shredding, drying, and grinding. Various cooking methods were tested, and the optimum conditions were found to be 4.5 hours at 165°C. To prevent oxidation of peeled beets, a 0.5% citric acid solution was applied for 15 min at 25°C prior to cooking. Drying was performed in a convection oven with pans at 95°C for 7.5 hours. Results: The final product had a moisture content of 2.9% and a water activity level of 0.302. The product contained 78.6% total sugars, 12.9% fiber, and 3.45% protein, and was classified as an unrefined sweetener rich in both protein and fiber. Compared to the typical yield of 120 g of refined sugar from 1 kg of beets, this new method produces 219 g of product by utilizing fibers, proteins, and other nutrients, along with by-products such as molasses and pulp. Conclusions: Due to its high fiber and protein content, the new product has a low glycemic index. Compared to conventional beet sugar production, the proposed method reduces energy consumption and carbon emissions by 40% per unit of product. The new input obtained has a high potential to be used as a source of sugar and fiber in bakery and confectionery products. It is a more sustainable process than refined sugar.

Due to reasons such as the increasing world population, climate change, changes in eating habits, unbalanced nutrition, and food waste, some precautions need to be taken for the world's food future. The world population, which was 8 billion in 2023, is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050. If important measures are not taken, food inadequacies, negative environmental impacts, and sustainable human life will be seriously affected in response to this population increase. Full compliance with the European Green Deal targets is required for a sustainable world life. The European Green Deal includes plans to keep the global temperature increase around 1.5 ºC, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% in 2030 compared to 1990, and to become a climate-neutral continent by 2050. It is known that these targets cannot be achieved if current nutrition habits, food waste, land use, water use, and carbon emission habits continue. If habits are not changed, an additional area twice the size of India will be required to feed the growing population by 2050. Considering that food practices constitute 26% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, significant changes need to be made, and measures need to be taken in the fields of agriculture, animal husbandry, aquaculture, and food. Foremost among these is the significant reduction of food-related emissions through changes in methods, inputs, and technology. In addition, it becomes necessary to make important changes such as returning 1/3 of the food currently wasted in the world to human consumption, a significant change in eating habits, an orientation towards plant-based inputs, and a balanced diet.