Approximately 133 billion pounds of food, valued at $161 billion, is wasted in the United States annually, accounting for up to 40% of the country’s entire food supply. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that this surplus of food calories could feed 154 million people yearly, despite only 35 million Americans being considered food insecure. With a rise in consumer culture, food waste has tripled between 1960 and 2020, encouraging the U.S. government to take action. In 2015, the nation pledged to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030, noting the benefits of sustainable food security, increased productivity and economic efficiency, conservation, and reduced methane emissions.
The U.S. operates under a “cradle-to-consumer,” or “farm-to-kitchen,” food system, in which there exist four stages: primary production, distribution and processing, retail, and consumption. The supply chain follows the steps of food from farms and pastures to homes and restaurants, with packaging, transporting, and selling in between.
Beyond food waste, the supply chain is responsible for numerous environmental impacts. Primary production, which includes farming and raising livestock, consumes the most resources compared to any other stage of the food system. Over ¼ of U.S. landmass is used to produce food, threatening biodiversity through the conversion of ecosystems to homogeneous landscapes. Furthermore, primary production uses 20 million metric tons of fertilizer each year, its runoff leading to polluted water supplies, eutrophication, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The overall food system also consumes 34 trillion gallons of freshwater each year and accounts for 11% of total U.S. energy use, primarily through refrigeration and cooking during the consumption stage. The scale of resources and intensive production devoted to the U.S. food system make its subsequent waste all the more impactful.
The EPA defines food loss and waste (FLW) as “food intended for human consumption that is not ultimately consumed by humans,” finding that 223 to 468 kilograms of food is wasted per person per year in the U.S. (Jaglo et al., 2021). The U.S. supply chain is designed to produce significantly more food than the public can be expected to consume. Despite the need for emergency stock, both surplus food prevention and appropriate redistribution must occur to meet the country’s 2030 FLW goal. Given the amount of waste and economic losses, the EPA has created a food recovery hierarchy of the best possible alternatives for FLW when not eaten directly, ranging from source reduction (most preferred) to landfill or incineration (least preferred). Middle range options include feeding hungry people, feeding animals, industrial uses, and composting.
Every year, FLW in the U.S. is produced at the expense of 140 million acres of land, 5.9 trillion gallons of freshwater, 14 billion pounds of fertilizer, 664 billion kilowatt hours of energy, and 170 million metric tons of GHG. Therefore, as food is wasted, so too are the resources, labor, and energy put into its production. The disposal and subsequent decomposition of FLW also results in landfill gas, consisting of equal parts methane and carbon dioxide.
Methane is a highly potent GHG with up to 36 times more heat-trapping potential than carbon dioxide over a 100 year time frame. Although it has a shorter lifespan in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, this potency makes it a crucial factor in short-term warming of the Earth’s surface. Shockingly, the EPA reports that landfills are the “third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States” (Landfill Methane Outreach Program, 2022). As a main component of natural gas, landfill methane emissions further present a wasted opportunity for renewable energy resources.
Halving FLW in the U.S. has the potential to significantly reduce the annual environmental impact of the food system. As well as diminishing the land, water, fertilizer, and energy use of the supply chain, addressing FLW is an important action against short-term global warming and climate change in the country. Up to 92 million metric tons of GHG could be diverted each year by halving FLW. Models show that the greatest positive effects are seen by halving FLW in food processing, restaurants, and households, as these three subsections generate the most waste compared to other stages of the food supply chain.
The Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative, supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the EPA, outlines six “priority areas” crucial to reducing FLW. These priorities include enhancing interagency coordination, increasing consumer education and outreach, improving guidance on food waste management, communicating concise information on food safety and donations, collaborating with private industry, and encouraging food waste reduction in federal facilities. Collectively known as the Federal Interagency Strategy, the government hopes that these actions will “better educate Americans on the impacts and importance of reducing food loss and waste” (Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition).
Although FLW lacks research due to limited data collection and analysis in the field, its emergence as a global issue has prompted significant response. One campaign seeking to address issues of American FLW is the U.S. Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions. Seeing as the government can only do so much to reduce FLW, the USDA and the EPA created the Champions group in November 2016 to recognize businesses or organizations with public commitments to monitor and halve their FLW by 2030. Currently, the Champions include a number of notable corporations, including Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, Walt Disney World, and more.
Another step towards halving FLW is the widespread promotion of personal and community-based composting. Composting uses food scraps, vegetation clippings, and biodegradable material that would otherwise be landfilled. With the ability to fertilize produce, stabilize topsoil from erosion, and sequester carbon from the atmosphere, compost has become a valuable, eco-friendly product for farmers and gardeners alike. The number of American communities offering composting services increased by 65% between 2014 and 2019. Many citywide composting programs offer frequent curbside pickup, are cheaper than trash services, and come with subsidies or grants. Nationwide composting in the U.S. has the potential to reduce organic landfill waste by 30%, a significant contribution to the country’s 2030 goal.
In the U.S., new businesses have been founded on the idea of reducing FLW through the redistribution of rejected produce. Approximately 10 million tons of produce are wasted annually due to being “cosmetically imperfect” for American supermarket standards. Through companies such as Imperfect Foods, Misfits Market, and Hungry Harvest, the self-titled Ugly Produce Movement has expanded to competitive markets, delivering unmarketable supermarket produce directly to consumers at affordable prices. Entrepreneurs realize that food insecurity in the U.S. is not a matter of supply, but a matter of distribution. As well as reducing FLW in primary production, these companies increase the profitability of farms and supply communities living in food deserts.
Collaboration between the U.S government, corporations, and the public will prove crucial to addressing FLW. With ambitious goals and a deadline rapidly approaching, there is still significant progress to be made in order to remedy one of the country’s greatest environmental issues.
Sources
Bradford, A., Sundby, J., Truelove, A., Andre, A. (2019, June 13). Composting in America. Environment America Research and Policy Center. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/composting-america.
CBS Mornings. (2019, October 12). Is “ugly produce” the key to our food waste problem? [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS5fjwSC5t8.
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (2021, November 19). Food Loss and Waste. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/food-loss-and-waste.
Forbes, H., Quested, T., O’Connor, C. (2021). Food Waste Index Report 2021 (ISBN No. 978-92-807-3868-1). U.N. Environment Programme. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/35280.
Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP). (2022, April 21). Basic Information about Landfill Gas. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas.
Jaglo, K., Kenny, S., Stephenson, J. (2021, November). From Farm to Kitchen: The Environmental Impacts of U.S. Food Waste (EPA No. 600-R21 171). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development. Retrieved April 23, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/system/files/docu
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