Published on December 1st, 2017 | by Guest Contributor

‘Tis the Season to Talk about Food Waste

Sure, this is the season for gatherings, family/friends dinners, parties, and so much merriment, but it’s often a time of great waste, too.

Learn why it’s extra important to pay attention to food waste this around the holiday season from the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF). The information below is used with permission from their articles.

The USDA Economic Research Service calculated that in 2010, almost one-third of the 430 billion pounds of food available for consumption at the retail and consumer levels in the United States was lost. It didn’t go missing—food loss is defined as the amount of food “available for consumption” (that is, food produced for people to eat excluding exports and non-edible parts such as bones or pits) that is not consumed.
This amounted to 133 billion pounds of food—valued at $162 billion dollars—that were grown, harvested, and brought to places like grocery stores, restaurants, concession stands, schools, and homes, only to be lost to such factors as mold, pests, and waste. Food waste is a specific subgroup of food loss—while loss includes factors that we can’t always control, such as moisture loss and decomposition, food waste refers specifically to edible food that is discarded due to its appearance (such as bruised produce), taste, or plate waste after a meal.

When food loss occurs, it isn’t just a loaf of moldy bread going in the trash, or the leftovers from dinner being scraped into the garbage—this loss has a ripple effect on the environment. Behind that food is all of the time, labor, water, gasoline, and fertilizer used to produce the food and bring it to consumers, so when this food is not consumed, the nutrients, water, fuel, and time and energy used to create the food are also wasted.

Globally, food loss is contributing to the estimated loss of more than 260 trillion gallons of water per year, or enough to fill Lake Erie about eight times. More locally, EPA estimates that in the United States, more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash. Once in a landfill, the nutrients from this this organic material are trapped, and unable to return to the soil. As the food rots, it emits methane gas, a greenhouse gas with an impact on climate change more than 25 times greater than that of carbon dioxide.

Producing and transporting food from the farm to our tables requires the use of enormous amounts of energy, land, and water. Approximately 13% of US carbon emissions are associated with growing, manufacturing, transporting and disposing of food.

Additionally, the USDA and USGS estimate that at least 45% of the total land area in the US is used as cropland and grassland/rangeland and at least 37% of all water used in the US is for food production. When food is thrown away, these natural resources and others that are used for growing, processing, packaging, transporting, and marketing foods are also wasted.

In 2010, more food loss occurred at the consumer level than with retailers. You can help combat food waste from your kitchen counter by cutting down on food loss during the feast.

Not-so-Fun Facts about Food Waste

Between 30 to 40% of food goes uneaten in the United States.
Food waste is the largest component of US landfills at 21% – more than plastic (18%), paper (15%), metal (9%) and glass (5%).
The top three groups of wasted foods are meat, poultry, and fish (41%), vegetables (17%), and dairy products (14%).
When food ends up in landfills, it contributes to the third largest source (18%) of human-induced methane emissions in the United States. The comparative impact of methane on climate change is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period.

Here’s How you Can make a Difference in Your Home:

Buy only what you need. Come up with a realistic meal plan for your household for the week, and stick to your list to help save you money and reduce your food waste. Use this resource from EPA for more tips on how to shop smart.
Understand package labels. Check out this resource from USDA on the difference between “Use by,” “Sell by,” “Best before,” and what these labels mean for food safety and shelf life.
Use your freezer! Keep your food fresh longer by freezing anything you can’t eat in the next few days. This resource from the USDA tells you how to make the most of your freezer.
Mold: proceed with caution. Think of mold as a “yellow light”—slow down before throwing the food away or eating it immediately. USDA has a list of which food items can still be salvaged after experiencing mold, and which are unsafe at first sight of these spores.
Is this still good? Your leftovers have been in the fridge for a few days—are they still safe to eat? This chart from USDA tells you when to say goodbye to refrigerated foods.
Spread the wealth! In 2014, 14% of Americans had difficulty providing enough food to all members of their family at some point in the year. If you have non-perishable items in your pantry that you do not have a plan to eat, bring them to a local food bank
Compost. If you’ve reduced your extraneous purchases by shopping smart, made the most of your groceries with savvy food storage, and you’re still facing perishable food scraps, consider composting them so their nutrients can return to the soil and help grow more food for the future. This guide from EPA shows you how to get started.

Learn more (and take action) with these resources:

The following resources will help you reduce food waste:

The EPA created this Reducing Wasted Food at Home toolkit as part of their Food Recovery Challenge to illustrate actions that individuals can take to prevent and divert wasted food at home.
For more information on how consumers can reduce their food waste, check out these tips for consumers from USDA’s U.S. Food Waste Challenge.
Get Your Money out of the Garbage provides tips to reduce food waste.

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Tags: food, food waste, Holidays, landfills, methane, waste

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