Food Waste

The United States is considered the biggest food-wasting country in the world. Consumers collectively throw away more than all the retailers together in the U.S. In total, private U.S. households waste around 43% of all food. According to Save the Food, a national public service campaign, this could translate into an annual financial loss of $1,500 for a family of four. In fact, over 40 million tons of food ends up in landfills every year, worth more than $161 billion. Sixty percent of food waste comes from general consumption. There are two main sources of food waste. The majority of food waste comes from supermarkets, especially in the used-by section. The other factor is what people purchase and how they eat, so purchasing all items is not a good idea. Avoiding food waste efficiently along the supply chain and in all our households can result in a win-win scenario. Avoiding food waste could help meet the demand for nutrition of our growing population and equally minimize the negative environmental effects of agriculture.