07.01.13
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, calling on those across the food chain—including producer groups, processors, manufacturers, retailers, communities and other government agencies—to join the effort to reduce, recover and recycle food waste.
Food waste in the U.S. is estimated at roughly between 30 to 40% of the food supply. In 2010, an estimated 133 billion pounds of food from U.S. retail food stores, restaurants and homes never made it into people’s stomachs. The amount of uneaten food in homes and restaurants was valued at almost $390 per U.S. consumer in 2008, more than an average month’s worth of food expenditures.
The goal of the U.S. Food Waste Challenge is to lead a fundamental shift in how Americans think about and manage food and food waste. The challenge includes a goal to have 400 partner organizations by 2015 and 1,000 by 2020.
As part of its contribution to the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, USDA is initiating a wide range of activities, including actions to reduce waste in the school meals program, educate consumers about food waste and food storage and develop new technologies to reduce food waste. USDA will also work with industry to streamline procedures for donating wholesome misbranded meat and poultry products, update U.S. food loss estimates at the retail level and pilot-test a meat-composting program to reduce the amount of meat being sent to landfills from food safety inspection labs.
Food waste in the U.S. is estimated at roughly between 30 to 40% of the food supply. In 2010, an estimated 133 billion pounds of food from U.S. retail food stores, restaurants and homes never made it into people’s stomachs. The amount of uneaten food in homes and restaurants was valued at almost $390 per U.S. consumer in 2008, more than an average month’s worth of food expenditures.
The goal of the U.S. Food Waste Challenge is to lead a fundamental shift in how Americans think about and manage food and food waste. The challenge includes a goal to have 400 partner organizations by 2015 and 1,000 by 2020.
As part of its contribution to the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, USDA is initiating a wide range of activities, including actions to reduce waste in the school meals program, educate consumers about food waste and food storage and develop new technologies to reduce food waste. USDA will also work with industry to streamline procedures for donating wholesome misbranded meat and poultry products, update U.S. food loss estimates at the retail level and pilot-test a meat-composting program to reduce the amount of meat being sent to landfills from food safety inspection labs.