I recently attended the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum which included a presentation about food waste from Kai Robertson, BSR Director, Food, Beverage & Agriculture Practice Advisory Services. She noted some pretty startling statistics that made everyone take notice:
67 billion pounds of food landed in US landfills in 2010
The social and economic cost of hunger in the US in 2010 = $260+ billion
25% of food American's bring into their homes is tossed and equals $2,200 annually
In developing countries, losses are more likely to occur on the farm, during production, harvesting and poor production practices, than with the consumer
Businesses pay for food waste twice - first when they purchase food, then again to have it removed when it's not sold
From an energy perspective, Americans are wasting equal to 350 million barrels of oil annually, enough to power the entire US for a week
So how do you even get your head wrapped around 67,000,000,000 pounds of food waste annually. To be honest, I can't really fathom it. I just know that's way to many zeros. Even crazier, that's only the US portion.
In truth, I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to food waste. This past weekend, the kids and I took my husband out for his birthday dinner. At the end of the meal, my husband and I both had enough food left to wrap-up and take home for another meal (yes, portion size - that's a whole part of this). While it was good to wrap the extras, I didn't think twice when they took away my half-eaten salad and half a loaf of bread. Yep, I'm guilty as charged.
As Kai Robertson said in her presentation, "We're living in a 'throw-away society' - we're used to destroying things, just throwing them away, not even thinking about it. It's about changing consumer behavior."
So after your next meal, consider what could be put in the fridge for later, wrapped-up in a take-home container or put in a composting container. Sometimes lots of people making a small change can actually make a big difference.
To read more from Kai's presentation about food waste, click here.
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