Why Reduce Food Waste?
In the United States, 38% of all food is wasted annually. With all of the resources it takes to produce and transport food, this has numerous environmental, economic, and health consequences. Of all the food wasted in the US, food waste in homes is the largest contributor.
Reason #1:
Save Money
Every year, the average American family loses $1,500 to uneaten food. Just a 20-25% reduction in consumer food waste can save the world $120-$300 billion each year.
*Even though composting is a better alternative to throwing food in the garbage, it is technically still considered food waste. Most of the food in going to compost is edible food waste and could have been eaten. While we encourage composting to reduce methane emissions and recycle nutrients back to the soil, the priority is to minimize the food being thrown in the compost or the trash.
Reason #2:
Reduce Impact on the Environment
- Reducing your food waste can help cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 8-10%, making it one of the best strategies for reducing carbon emissions and fighting the climate crisis.
- Reducing food waste also saves resources like land, water, energy, and labor that go into the production of food. Currently, the annual food waste in the US is equivalent to…
- Throwing away an entire field of crops the size of California and New York State combined.
- Dumping the water of 9 million Olympic sized swimming pools into an empty field, Representing over 25% of the US freshwater use.
- Wasting the same amount of energy that Switzerland uses in a whole year.
Reason #3:
Increase Food Security in the U.S.
- Reducing food waste can improve food security by making food more available and accessible for those in need. The food wasted in the US each year is the caloric equivalent of 149 billion meals or 1,250 calories per person per day.
- The average US household wastes 6.2 cups of food per week. This may not sound like much, but it adds up quickly. This means 322 cups of food, which can fill 366 medium-sized take-out containers, are thrown away by the average household each year.
- Reducing food waste can improve food security by making food more available and accessible for those in need.
- Safe and wholesome food could be rescued and redirected to feed hungry people in the US and globally.
Reason #4:
Improve Your Food Quality and Overall Nutrition
- Habits that reduce food waste are associated with a healthier diet and less obesity.
- As the most wasted food is produce (fresh fruits and vegetables), reducing food waste can also improve global nutrition by making healthy food more accessible to the millions facing malnutrition.
