25 percent of all freshwater used

4 percent of total U.S. oil consumption

$165 billion per year
$750 million per year for disposal
33 million tons of landfill waste
1.4 billion tons of uneaten food
Estimated value = $750 billion
3.3 billion tons of CO2 equivalents
66,000,000,000,000 gallons
3.5 billion acres (28% of agricultural land)

Food Produced for Human
Consumption Worldwide
Consumed
70%
Wasted
30%
Food Produced for Human
Consumption in the US
Wasted
40%
Consumed
60%
40% of food in the US is wasted
Comprehensive study of food loss in our food system
Set goals for reducing food waste at the national and state level
Sign the petition to the EPA to support programs to reduce food waste at www.change.org
Standardize & clarify date labels
Support food recovery with tax incentives
How?
Contact your state elected representatives (http://whoismyrepresentative.com/)
Use your vote to support policies and politicians working on food waste solutions
Promote curbside composting
Contact your local municipal waste company to see what policies are in place
Tell your local officials you want community composting
Use your vote to show your support for elected officials working to reduce landfill food waste
Divert excess commercial food to local food banks and soup kitchens
Contact your grocery stores and restaurants and ask if they donate leftover food
Shop at businesses that reduce their food waste by donating excess food
Divert inedible food for livestock use
Tell your local officials you want to get community food waste to local farmers
If date labels were and clarified
there would be less confusion
about when food goes bad
Landfill vs Compost
Only about 3% of food
waste in the US is
composted. Most goes
to landfills.
References:
http://peopleandnature.wordpress.com/category/agriculture-and-agrarian-change/
http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2014/01/17/stop-wasting-food/
http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/dating-game-IB.pdf
http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/wastes/nonhaz/municipal/pubs/MSWcharacterization_fnl_060713_2_rpt.pdf
http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3347e/i3347e.pdf
Compost
Start a compost pile instead of throwing food
in the trash. This diverts food from landfills and
returns nutrients to the soil.
Attempt to reduce waste when cooking
Try to find creative ways to use
the whole plant instead of throwing
parts of it away.
Buy imperfect produce
If you buy produce with cosmetic imperfections
retailors will carry it. This will cause less edible
food to be wasted.
Freeze unused ingredients
Preserve unused food by freezing it before
spoilage and use it at a later time when
a recipe calls for it.
Serve smaller portions and save leftovers
Put less food on your plate and save the rest for
later. Less waste from your plate means less
food thrown out.
Take political action
Support policies and politicians at the
local, state and national level that support
reducing food waste.
Learn about when food goes bad
Educate yourself and food quality
and expiration dates and when food
is unsafe to eat.
Shop wisely
Meal plan and make lists to reduce
over-purchasing and unused food.
Food is thrown out everyday by grocery stores
because of overstocking
Retail
Restaurants, schools, and hospitals throw away food
that is served and not eaten
Food Service
Peaches are removed during packing due to
damage during processing
Processing
Surplus tomatoes dumped on farmland in
Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain
Farming
Shipments of food may be rejected by
retailors because of safety or quality
Distribution
Have you done this?
Expired Foods
Throwing away edible food because
of confusion over date labels
Over-purchasing can lead to food
waste if you buy more food than you
can use
Using large plates and serving too
much food leads to uneaten food
and creates waste
Over-Purchasing Over-Purchasing
30% of food worldwide is wasted
Created By: Naomi Stamper, Graduate Student, Nutrition and Food Sciences (NFSC), CSUC,
NFSC 431 (Foodservice Production and Equipment Systems) Course