How Much Do You Waste?

An article that I found this week that grabbed my attention was about how much food Americans waste. The article had information and statistics from various studies from Cornell University, Oregon State University and the University of Arizona. I learned a lot from this article and the information was very shocking to me. The most shocking piece of information was that a quarter to half of all food produced in the United States goes uneaten. There are a few contributing factors to all of this food waste. The waste comes from crops being left in field, food spoiling in transport, it being thrown out at grocery stores and food being thrown out at home. One of the studies showed that out of all the different ways food is wasted 40% of food waste occurs at home. On a more positive note the good side of this situation is that it is in our control. If people become more conscious about how much they buy and how much they waste people can help reduce food waste. Food scraps also make up about 19% of waste in landfills where it rots and produces methane which is a greenhouse gas. One of the main problems with food waste is many people have the attitude of “when in doubt throw it out.” The general public has a hard time distinguishing when food goes bad so they just throw it out to be safe when there is a good chance the food is still edible. The article gave information about the proper temperature to store food to ensure it last as long as it can. It also suggest refrigerators with bottom  freezers are the best because the fresh food is eye level also helping you make better choices. Refrigerators are large now and that doesn’t mean they have to be filled all the way because it’s hard for people to eat that much food before it goes bad and it’s easy to forget what is hiding in the back of the fridge. The article also talked about from a health standpoint when people allow fruits and veggies to spoil the likelihood of being more processed food increases because it last longer. I found the information and tips to make food last longer very helpful and if you would like to read more about this topic click here: food waste