Food Waste in America

The United States is the 3rd most populous country in the world, behind China and India. With over 2.2 million farms covering an area of 922 million acres, No one in this country should ever go hungry. However, the data around food waste in America is astonishing. Getting food from the farm to our fork eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50% of U.S. land, and uses 80% of all fresh water consumed in the United States. Yet, 40% of food in the United States today goes uneaten. This not only means that Americans are literally throwing out $165 billion each year, but also that the uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills as the single largest component of U.S. municipal solid waste, producing the majority of our methane gas pollution.
 Reducing food losses by just 15% would be enough food to feed more than 25 million Americans. Current figures estimate that 1 in 6 Americans lack a secure supply of food for their tables. Increasing the efficiency of our food system is a sustainable solution that requires collaborative efforts by businesses, governments and  most importantly, YOU the consumer. Consumers can waste less food by shopping wisely, knowing when food goes bad, buying produce that is perfectly edible even if it’s less cosmetically attractive, cooking only the amount of food they need, and eating their leftovers. Pay it forward by donating goods and/or volunteer time to local food banks, charitable organizations and homeless shelters. Waste not!