Food Waste, and What We Can Do About It

A recent article in the Washington Post raised a question about food waste in this country that got me thinking. How much food actually goes to waste, and what can we, as consumers, do about it? The question, although difficult to answer, is important for several reasons.

First, wasted calories means the resources that went into producing, shipping, and storing that food are also wasted, including water and fossil fuels. Second, edible food waste left to rot in the landfill emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Third, hunger and food insecurity are extremely serious problems in this world and will only continue to worsen as populations rise. If we can do a better job of minimizing waste and maximizing yield, we can feed more people with the same amount of land.

The oft-cited statistic is that Americans waste nearly 40 percent of their food. As the Washington Post article points out, that figure comes from a 2009 report by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that attempted to examine food waste on a national level. Surprisingly, it was one of the first peer-reviewed papers to do that. The statistic doesn't represent individual food waste — such as what we throw out at home — but rather the total loss along the entire supply chain. That includes processing loss, food that goes bad during transportation, damaged supermarket produce, uneaten restaurant food, and everything in between. Needless to say, it's a very rough estimate.

On the consumer end, other studies have estimated individual food waste to range from 14 to 26 percent. It's not necessary to get into the specifics of those estimates, because the point is that most of us waste food, and probably more than we think.

Several months ago, I wrote about some simple ideas to "green" your kitchen. These included some common-sense ideas about reducing food waste, such as shopping smart and storing food properly and efficiently. Composting is also a good alternative to throwing edible matter into the garbage. If food can't be eaten, we can at least transform it into nutrient-rich fertilizer for growing more food.

We can't eliminate all food waste, but if we can dispose of some of it in a responsible and useful way, it's better than nothing. What are your solutions to reducing food waste, either on an individual or a national level? Please post your ideas in the comments section below.

Photo: mcbarnicle