Food Waste: The Disheartening Truth

by Christina Gutierrez

Earth Day, which we celebrate in April, is a day to reflect upon the way our everyday actions affect the environment and to celebrate the importance of making more environmentally sustainable choices. The daily food choices we make have an impact on the planet, because of the water crops require to grow, the gas tractors require to run, and because of the chemical runoff caused by the fertilizers and pesticides used in conventional fields. Some of these inputs are inevitable to produce the food we need, but unfortunately, much of the food we ultimately produce doesn’t even go toward feeding us, but rather ends up being wasted.

Food waste is an issue that has become increasingly problematic in the U.S., as we now waste more than ever before. In fact, we currently waste 50% more food than we did even in 1970.

Here are some cold hard facts to get familiar with…

In the U.S., about 40% of all edible food is thrown out, uneaten (K.D. Hall 2009).

This equates to almost 20 pounds of food per person that is wasted every month (Buzby 2012)…

Which translates to $165 billion each year in food that is thrown out.

Reducing the amount of food waste we produce by even just 15–20% would enable us to feed over 25 million people, or about 8% of the entire U.S. population. This would lead to better food security in the U.S. as well as less environmental destruction.

Why is food wasted?

It is wasted because of:

• our obsession with aesthetics, leading “imperfect” produce to be left, unpicked, in the fields
• bruised fruit not being selected by consumers at the store, eventually being thrown out
• inaccurate food labeling (people confusing “best by” with “expiration date,” leading them to throw food out before they’re actually unsafe to eat)
• people not knowing how to resourcefully use food before it goes bad
• people not having time to deal with food purchased before it goes bad

All of this waste along the food supply chain doesn’t come without negative consequences. Wasting all of this food is unsustainable, both financially and environmentally.

Image credit: Kat Querubin

Negative effects/consequences:

- The average American wastes $640 worth of food every year, much of which is food they didn’t even consume

- Natural resources used for production of food crops (water, arable land, energy use, and the cost of labor) don’t even go directly to feeding people, but rather go straight to the landfill

- Perfectly safe and edible foods that could otherwise go to feed hungry, food-insecure families in need is wasted

- Food decomposing in landfills leads to methane gas, one of the greatest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, which break down the ozone layer and can lead to climate change

Ways you can help:

To avoid food waste we can:

Reduce

• Store fruits and veggies properly
• Plan meals for the week ahead of time
• Freeze food you know you won’t get to before it goes bad
• Buy only what you need so as to avoid having leftovers that may get thrown out
• Buy imperfect produce (that would otherwise get thrown away at the store because no customer wants it)
• Allow Thistle to make you perfectly-portioned meals that will reduce the amount of food waste you produce

Image credit: sonjasillyworld, Twenty20

Recover

• Donate untouched, nutritious, not expired food to food banks and pantries
• Read labels carefully and recognize the difference between “sell by,” “best by,” and “expiration date”
• Support legislation to have “imperfect” produce be donated to charity, rather than get thrown away (either by producers or grocery stores)

Repurpose

• Compost food scraps, turning your unused or leftover food into fertile soil
• Feed food scraps to animals

Sure, these numbers are overwhelming and disheartening, but we have the choice to reduce the amount of food that is wasted and sent to landfills. This, in turn, would help reduce natural resource use and the output of greenhouse gas emissions, save us money on food, and help us divert some of the food to create fertile soil through composting, rather than adding to our ever-growing landfills.