Americans Waste 40% of Their Food

[Flaxbee]

Something to think about in this consuming culture - we use 1/4 of our fresh water supply to produce the food we throw away. The waste, and suffering, of BILLIONS of animals, all so we can throw them away. All so we can have buffets at hotels, and the double-patty fast food burger. It is truly sickening and heartwrenching, I don't know how we can call ourselves civilized to allow this kind of suffering on the parts of animals, and the hunger of millions - billions - of people worldwide.

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http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/americans_waste_40_of_their_food

Americans Waste 40% of Their Food
by Greg Plotkin December 03, 2009 06:00 AM (PT) Topics: Culture Of Poverty, Hunger


In the United States, it seems that food is everywhere we look.

Driving down the highway, we see signs for a plethora of fast food restaurants, and food companies spend millions of dollars each year coming up with new value-added food products to attract consumer dollars.

This has not only resulted in an increasingly overweight population, but a citizenry that has begun to waste food at levels never seen before -- even in the middle of a recession and with hunger rising.

A new study has found that Americans waste 1,400 calories per person per day, or nearly 40% of the county's entire food supply. But that's not even the most disturbing statistic.

In order to produce the 1,400 calories that Americans toss into the trash everyday, we use one-fourth of the country's supply of fresh water. In addition, three hundred million barrels of oil are used each year to produce food that eventually just gets thrown away.

What the heck is wrong with us America? This is completely and utterly unacceptable.

[valerief]

1. Yes, but to be fair, most of our food is Frankenfood, not real food. nt

[GoCubsGo]

30. Yep. It was wasted long before it was even served to the customer.

I wouldn't call that processed crap "food" in the first place.

The same can be said for our resources, especially petroleum. All that oil being wasted on cheap, useless plastic shit. I was in Hobby Lobby not long ago. So many cheaply-made, useless knick-knacks. Do people really buy that garbage?

[EC]

2. A lot of it is planned by the producers by only packaging

in larger sizes...now that I'm an empty nester - I have problems finding small quantities of many things...I've given up on having certain foods unless I'm having people over - because so much goes to waste if I just buy for myself...


But other than that, I do get sickened when I see friends throwing away leftovers that I would have reused in some way or at least given to the dog...

[Suich]

9. No kidding!

I live by myself but my son recently spent a couple of months here. Food shopping was actually fun! I could buy the whole roasted chicken for $4.99 and not worry about how I was going to eat the whole thing. I made meat loaf and chicken lasagna and it all got eaten!

Buying for one is a real drag. This summer, I found half cantaloupes and half small watermelons the same price as whole ones. I buy celery and broccoli by the stalk...wish I could buy half a head of cauliflower!

Neighbors on one side are vegetarians and on the other side, she's wheat/dairy intolerant (and on Weight Watchers), so sharing isn't really an option.

It's a challenge but I'll survive!

:hi:

[EC]

12. I miss cake...

sometimes I'll find individual slices at the supermarket bakery, but not always in every kind. I'm particular in my taste for cakes - I don't really care for chocolate and that is usually the flavor that is in the slices...

[Kalyke]

33. Do you have a freezer?

When I was a single Mom with a small child - neither of us being big eaters - I used to buy the cheaper whole chickens and cut them up. I'd roast half of it and use it up and put the other half in the freezer marked with a date.

I did that with a lot of meats. Some veggies and fruit went rapidly in the house, so I didn't have to worry about that, but for veggies that didn't fly off the counter, I'd get the fresh frozen variety - and it's also less expensive to buy those bags in the family size, too, but they last a long time.

It takes a little more time to cut up the meat and write dates on things, but it will save you some money in the long run.

Still - I'm glad you had fun shopping and cooking for your son. My son is only 11 years old (and my daughter is only 3). I am really NOT looking forward to them leaving! They're just great kids - of course, neither of them are teenagers, yet. :)

[csziggy]

13. Woth just two of us, I have learned to use the freezer to let us have variety

For instance, tonight's dinner were quesadillas from vegetables and chicken that was frozen a few weeks ago. For years, I have made large batches of stuff, then packaged in smaller amounts. Make a lasagna, bake, cool, cut into portion sizes, wrap and freeze. Cook a stew big enough to serve twelve, freeze in smaller amounts so we can have stew several times in the next month.

It just takes planning and not even that much more time to cook the first batch. And then when you are busy, you have the convenience of prepared meals without additives.

[EC]

21. I do that too,

but only with cooked food...I used to buy those bags of chicken breasts and found too many with freezer burn...so now I will make batches of chicken and broth then freeze or as you lasagna etc.

[csziggy]

38. Yes, it does work best with cooked food

I'll buy fresh chicken breasts on sale, season and bake, then cut up and freeze in appropriate amounts to throw into other preparations. That way when fresh vegetables are on sale, I can take the time to cut them up while the chicken is thawing, then just toss in as much chicken as needed. It saves me a lot of days when there is only so much energy for food prep but I want something fresh.

[hlthe2b]

3. I'm very conscious of this in recent years...

and will pay more for smaller sizes of perishable food to avoid inevitable waste. While the salad bar may be more $$, when you factor in the waste if produce can not be used quickly enough, sometimes it is a better choice.

[athenasatanjesus]

4. I work at a restaurant,and I'm surprised it isn't like 60%.

The way people waste their food.
Of course the servers are trained to just sell them as much food as possible,and sadly many people don't just order what they can eat.

[hlthe2b]

5. I cringe when I think how much Whole Foods must discard...

They have such a supply of prepared foods that could not possibly sell each day.... Tragic, but I don't think it is donated.

[napi21]

6. It's not only Whole Foods. My hubby was a meat cutter for YEARS at

several different supermarkets. You can't even imagine how much is thrown away because it reached it's dating and that's just in the meat dept. Most of the mkts he worked in donated their bakery items to charities the next day but even that turned out to be a problem. The last store he worked in contacted several charities and all the had to do was come get the bakery items at the end of the day and guess what? Nobody was interested! They had no choice but to toss it in the trash.

The reason they didn't do meats and other items was because of potential liability.

Americans have no idea what it's like in counties that have nothing Their people live on rice and whatever they can find in the wild.

I still remember my mother telling me to finish my dinner and I should think of all the starving people in the world. Perhapse we should all think about that a bit more!

[Sisaruus]

18. I work for a food bank

and we have a partnership with many supermarkets in our region. They freeze the meat as it reaches its sell-by date and our trucks pick it up (we have a fleet of 12 trucks, including an 18-wheeler tractor trailer with a 48 foot trailer, out on the road every day). We relabel in our facility with instructions that it must be used the day it is thawed. The partnership has been approved by the lawyers at the corporate headquarters of the supermarket chains. We're working out the legal details of a similar agreement on dairy items right now.

On the other hand, timing can be everything. If we get fresh bread at the end of its usable life and can't move it out quickly enough because of the timing of intake, we have to toss it. A lot of product comes in that can't be used because it's really beyond its usable life. And our waste management fees are a significant budget line item. We hate turning away product but we also can't be the means by which a company reduces its own dumping fees. That said, we actually still manage to distribute 30 TONS of food every day to people in need.

[uppityperson]

27. I'm in a running discussion with my local grocery store about outdated camembert

I keep trying to tell them that having a 2 week pull date is ridiculous but they tell me I can't buy it because of liability issues. This country has become so sue happy, or concerned about it, that I can't eat decent aged camembert.


Grrr

[uppityperson]

28. I'm in a running discussion with my local grocery store about outdated camembert

I keep trying to tell them that having a 2 week pull date is ridiculous but they tell me I can't buy it because of liability issues. This country has become so sue happy, or concerned about it, that I can't eat decent aged camembert.


Grrr

[marybourg]

7. Huh? I don't waste any food. I do discard the outer leaves of

leaf lettuce, but I can think of anything else I buy and don't eat. I can't picture what people are doing to "waste" food.

[mrcheerful]

8. Pffft I have a hard time with this as it is talking about people who can afford to eat out of home a

more people who aren't working can't afford to waste. Even when I go out, if I get more then I can eat I ask for a doggy bag to take it home to eat later as a snack or lunch the next day. If I go to buffets, I enjoy the Asian buffets around here about once every 2 or 3 month's, I never take more then I can eat nor do I leave food on my plate, the Asian's that run the buffets have commented on how I am one of the few people they serve that honors their tradition of leaving a clean plate. But then again I came from a family that was always very strict about wasting food and made a big issue out of wasting food.

[Zax2me]

11. I doubt people like you are the problem.

Sure you are not. Even though that buffet you (seldom) patronize is throwing away its fair share.

But there is a problem here of waste that is seen everywhere from family meals to restaurants, hotels... not to mention the food wasted because we over eat.
What is an all-you-can-eat place anyway?! I'm not going to eat what I need, what is good for me, what is good for the environment - I'm going to eat - all I can!!! Stuff it in there...
What the hell is that?!

[Kablooie]

10. Grocery stores and restaurants toss out much more than consumers.

But they have to by law for health reasons.

Some can, and is, donated but many perfectly good products must be discarded.

[stuntcat]

22. so true, especially restaurants

It is a shame how much food is wasted by restaurants. I do not give them my money unless I have to, when travelling or something.

[kentauros]

14. One place to start,

and it would be very difficult with American attitudes toward "more for your money", is restaurants, both fast and 'slow'.

Even some of my favorite local restaurants serve far more than is comfortable to eat in one sitting, let alone what is good for you as a single meal. Serving more than a person can eat is wasteful, plain and simple. I'd rather pay a little less for a meal I won't even be thinking of having leftovers to take home. But I have argued with people that expect to have food left over to take home, or even just waste, as if it's their "right" to do so :o

[billlll]

15. OP how wasted?

No time for links

Tks!

[kentauros]

16. I'm not quite sure what you're asking of me,

unless you meant the OP?

But I've had meals that were at least 50% more than I wanted to eat, and sometimes twice as much (100% more.) What's worse, is that at one seafood chain here (Pappas) I have witnesses individual platters piled high going to tables and it looked to be about three times what a normal person would eat for a satisfying meal. All of it was fried, too. And if any of it was fish, well, most people know that taking home fish to reheat just doesn't work, unless you're really creative at that kind of thing.

Work at a restaurant for a week and see how much food goes to the dumpster. Hell, just look around the next time you're out and see how much food is left behind when people leave. It's pretty amazing.

[InvisibleTouch]

20. On the rare occasions when I eat out....

...I almost always have leftovers to take home. I actually hope for and appreciate that, because I can get two and sometimes three meals out of it. It would never occur to me to not take it home. Can't imagine why anyone wouldn't, but I guess people don't think ahead. You'll need to eat again tomorrow, after all.

[kentauros]

36. There's a little Palestinian cafe I frequent

(for their falafel, voted best in town year after year!) and I rarely have to take any food home. Prices are reasonable so it's not like I'm paying for one and a half (or more) meals, nor do I want to. You can't take leftover salad home and I love their Greek salad. Falafel reheats fairly well, but I'd just rather eat a satisfying meal and cook for myself at home.

I eat out because, like anyone else, I get lazy and don't want to cook for just me. It's nice to have someone else do it. But when I cook for me, I cook only enough for that one meal. Why can't I expect the same of a restaurant for a slightly lower price? I don't want to walk out stuffed; I want to walk out not hungry any longer and not carrying something else home that I may or may not actually reheat. Some foods simply do not reheat well and will get thrown out.

[Cirque du So-What]

17. I estimate that my household throws out less than 5%

Of course, it's just my wife & me, but we're very cost-conscious and averse to throwing away anything of value - food included.

On edit: when the 'less than' symbol is used in the title, it cuts off the '<' and everything that follows. Who knew?

[Generic Brad]

19. I don't waste food

I have the waistline to prove it.

[Jamastiene]

35. A food is a terrible thing to waste.

Nothing gets past me or the cats or the dogs. They gather round when I start cooking, like they are helping me or supervising or something. I seem to have a small middle age spread starting, but not too bad.

I haven't seen you in a long time. Have missed you. How are you? :)

[Generic Brad]

37. Doing great

I'm done fishing for this year so I am actually home long enough most evenings to log on now.

[Brooklyns_Finest]

23. I shudder to think

What Americans would look like if we ate 100% of our food. Jeez!

[JitterbugPerfume]

24. I just threw away an orange

I bought it three days ago and it was moldy this morning. A couple of weeks ago it was strawberries. It is a constant fight for me to keep so called fresh produce long enough to consume it.


frankenfood is keeping me broke . I buy local in season and freeze it but you can't freeze oranges and sometimes frozen produce just does not satisfy.

[Flaxbee]

25. part of it, I think, is that so many people live in suburbs

and have to drive to get their food - if we were more urban, or lived a bit more like the Europeans do, we might buy only what we need for that day, or that day plus breakfast... I think less food would go bad.

And I don't object really to the moldy orange -- but the factory farms, the waste of animal live, horrifies me.

[JitterbugPerfume]

29. I recently read Animal Farm by David Kirby , Flaxbee

and it is truly frightening knowing how animals (including human animals) are tortured for the profit of a few

I try to buy chickens and eggs from a local farmer , but beef , pork and fish is to scary to even consider.

I live 45 min from the nearest supermarket and it is really inconvenient for an old woman living alone

[GoCubsGo]

32. Do you have a compost pile?

If you compost what you can't eat, at least you are returning it to the soil, rather than adding it to a landfill. BTW, you can freeze the juice from oranges and other citrus. :-)

[rucky]

26. I save about 2-grand a year by brown-bagging leftovers for my lunch.

Yay me!

[Dappleganger]

31. When we grew or raised our own food, it was not this way.

We waste very little in our home of 6 (at times 7).

[Jamastiene]

34. I freeze most things.

If they have a sale on bell peppers, I will buy a bunch, bring them home, cut them up, and freeze them. I use them along the way in chili, homemade pizzas, etc.

My freezer is where the meals come from. The cats even know that. They gather around when I open the freezer and start rummaging. They appear out of thin air, even if they were holed up in some quiet spot asleep. I've never seen anything like it. They seem to love home cooking.

Nothing much goes to waste in this house, unless it is happening before it gets here.

[the redcoat]

39. The worst part is

the American food growing/manufacturing process is so shitty because it's based on the premise that it has to keep up with the amount Americans eat. Animals are caged up in unsanitary conditions, crops are given chemicals so they'll grow through any infections or climate variations.

I can't imagine how much better our food would be if we were able to cut the demand by 1/3 and just be able to focus on what we actually need to consume.

[flvegan]

40. Kick.

[spanone]

41. are we the only species that wastes food?