Food Waste In America Statistics
For produce about 12 percent of fruit and 115 percent of vegetables are never sold.
Food waste in america statistics. 2010 was selected as a baseline at 2189 pounds of food waste per person sent for disposal. 10 percent or 43 billion pounds of food in grocery stores will never make it off the shelf. People need to learn to appreciate biodiversity ugly fruits and veggies and local producers more. According to the us department of agriculture up to one fifth of americas food goes to waste each year with an estimated 130 pounds of food per person ending up in landfills.
The annual value of this lost food is estimated at around 31 billion but the real story is that roughly 49 million people could have been fed by those lost resources. Most of it is put into landfills. Food waste in america will continue to be a problem for many decades if something doesnt change. Food waste affects the environment.
In addition to the table above the epa also created a graph that shows how all of this food waste is managed. Retail food waste statistics. The 2030 flw reduction goal aims to reduce food waste going to landfills by 50 percent to 1094 pounds per person. Food waste facts statistics globally 40 4 billion of food in the us.
Is never eaten tons of food is wasted each year america wasted 3379 million tons of food in 2010 enough to fill the empire state building 91 times in 2010 discarded food represented the single largest component every day americans waste enough food to of municipal solid waste fill the rose bowl. Food waste share from retail food service and households by category 2017 share of food wasted in the united states in 2016 by food category north americas money invested in food lost and. 2 5 percent of all food products are lost because buyers reject shipments due to cosmetic imperfections surplus or other issues like improper transportation or handling. The most needed changes are on a cultural level.
The united states is the global leader in food waste with americans discarding nearly 40 million tons of food every year. Food waste generation is estimated from the residential commercial and institutional sectors and is measured at the point waste is ready to be managed which excludes food that is diverted to feed people and animals. Americans waste about a pound of food per person each day with people who have healthier diets rich in fruit and vegetables the most wasteful research has found. Heres some food for thought.
While the government must do its part the population must too. Distribution of food waste statistics.