UC ANR campaigns to prevent food waste

March 5 - 9, 2018, is California's inaugural Food Waste Prevention Week. During this week, UC ANR and a range of partners statewide, including the Governor, the Secretary of Agriculture, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, as well as many other agency leaders in public health, natural resources management, nutrition, and other sectors, are coming together in an unprecedented collaboration to raise awareness about the impacts of food waste in our homes, workplaces and communities.

Food waste is a significant issue. The United States is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill. That translates to $218 billion lost, including costs of food to consumers and retailers, as well as costs of wasted water, energy, fertilizer, cropland, production, storage and transportation. CalRecycle estimates that Californians throw away almost 12 billion pounds of food each year – 18 percent of all landfill use in this state. The food in landfills decomposes and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas linked to climate change.

Reducing food waste requires action by partners throughout the food system. During Food Waste Prevention Week, stay tuned to the UC ANR Twitter and Facebook accounts for food waste prevention resources, tips and ideas. Even incorporating a few simple food waste prevention actions has great potential to reduce food waste in California. Your efforts to be a Food Waste Reduction Hero this week, and into the future, will make an impact.

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