03 Nov The Rotting Truth about Food Waste
Did you know that each day in the United States, approximately one pound of food per person is wasted? To put that into perspective, in 2020 there were about 329.5 million people living in the United States. Keep reading to find out some shocking statistics about food waste!
What is the environmental impact of food waste?
The typical American family of four throws out $1,500 in wasted food per year.
Rotting food in landfills emits methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas that is anywhere from 28-36 times more potent than the carbon that cars emit. Food waste alone represents 8% of the total global greenhouse gas.
How can we reduce food waste?
There are a couple of different ways we can reduce food waste in the United States.
- Meal plan before going grocery shopping & do not buy extra food than what you planned
- Plan on using your leftovers
- Plan smaller portions – sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach!
- Use your sense of smell instead of the expiration dates. Expiration dates can be wrong, meaning the food you end up throwing out is perfectly fine.
- Read the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Food Recovery Hierarchy
*statistics taken from Food Waste in America: Facts and Statistics | Rubicon