By most estimates, 30-40% of all food in America is never eaten. Instead, it's wasted somewhere along the way from production to our plates. While waste happens at every step along the way, the most significant amount of food is typically wasted by consumers. Maybe we over-buy at the grocery store and can't use an item before it goes bad, or maybe we order a large meal in a restaurant and can't finish it. Whatever the reason, food waste has negative consequences for us all. The average American loses around $375 in wasted food each year, and collectively we pay the environmental costs to produce, ship, store and cook all of that food. Investing significant energy, water and other resources into what ultimately ends up in our trash doesn't make sense, either economically or environmentally.

 

The good news is there are many things we can do to prevent food waste. Knowing how to safely store and handle food can help prevent spoilage. Understanding what the many different "expiration" dates on various products mean can also help keep us from throwing away perfectly good food. Other strategies, like freezing or preserving bulk quantities of foods, shopping strategically, meal planning, and managing our food portions can also help prevent food waste. Many of these strategies can also help us eat healthier overall, improving our individual health as well as our collective environmental health.

 

Explore the sources below to learn more about the problem of food waste and choose techniques to prevent food waste in your life.