Reducing Food Waste in the U.S.—Are You Doing Your Part?
- Isha Kapoor
- Jan 9, 2024
- 3 min read
Did you know that about 30-40% of the food supply in the U.S. is lost or wasted? This includes losses and wastage at all levels—starting from the production sites in the farms, to retail places to the wastage at the level of the consumer. Purely speaking, food “loss” is what occurs before the food reaches the consumer. So, factors like pests, mold, and climate conditions can be the culprits. Food “waste” occurs at the level of retail or consumers.
Why is this important to know? For several reasons. For one, about 95% of the wasted food ultimately reaches landfills, and it is the number one contributor to the municipal landfills. Secondly, the wasted food could be used to feed all the hungry in the U.S. Lastly, the labor, energy and water used in producing, processing, transporting, and cooking the wasted food are all lost, when they could have been diverted to something else.
The food waste rotting in the landfills releases a large amount of methane, which has a very powerful greenhouse effect, even more than that of CO2, thus contributing to global warming. Lost and wasted food in the U.S. produces emissions that are estimated to be greater than those coming out of 42 coal-fired power plants! Further, the amount of energy and water lost with wasted food in the U.S. every year is sufficient to supply more than 50 million homes with energy. It is also estimated that an average family of four loses about $1,500 because of the food they wasted. Think of all the things one can do with that kind of money!
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration have come up with a joint national strategy to reduce the food waste in the U.S. by 50% by 2030. It is estimated that if we can meet this goal of cutting the food waste by one-half, we can feed every hungry American 3 meals a day every day!
Now, on to the most important part! What can we do to reduce food waste and save money and protect our environment?
Pay attention to your family’s grocery lists. Only buy foods that you plan to cook or use. Buy food in quantities that you expect to use before it gets spoilt. It's easy to fall into the trap of “buy one, get one free,” but resist that temptation if you don't expect to use the food by its expiration date.
When ordering food at a restaurant or in your school cafeteria, take only what you plan to finish. If there are left-overs, plan to store them or refrigerate them for later use.
Donate untouched, safe food to food banks and shelters.
Keep an eye on the things in your pantry and refrigerator, and try to eat the items that are nearing their expiration first.
Remove rotting produce from the refrigerator promptly because it can quickly spoil the surrounding items. Fruits like apples and pears are particularly notorious in this regard because they produce the gas ethylene which causes other produce to ripen rapidly and get spoiled.
Whenever you can, eat the skins of the fruit and vegetables!
Consider adding mushy foods to smoothies or baked items.
Even with the best intentions, some food wastage is bound to occur. Keep food waste out of the landfills. Talk to your family about donating food waste to local farmers for feeding the animals. Consider composting food waste rather than throwing it in the garbage. You will make the soil more fertile in the process!
How are you going to contribute to the mission of a sustainable food future?
-Isha Kapoor
Isha is a senior at Mayo High School in Rochester, MN.
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