Food Waste: We’re Number 3 in Total Waste; We’re Number 8 in Waste Per Person

Obesity Hunger Addiction
Written By Sadie Cornelius

The USDA estimates that between 30 and 40 percent of all food is wasted in the United States. Food is wasted at all levels of its life cycle. Starting with the agricultural production in the fields (crop pests, poor irrigation, and disease), post-harvest handling and storage, processing, distribution (inefficient transportation), consumption, and the food end of life. About 16 percent of the waste comes from farms, 2 percent from manufacturers, 39 percent from businesses, and 43 percent from households. Food is the largest component of municipal landfills, and decomposing food releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. The United States spends approximately $218 billion (1.3 percent of GDP) each year to grow, handle, deliver, and dispose of uneaten food.

In 2015, the USDA along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set a goal to cut the US food waste by 50 percent by the year 2030. There was, however, no base line for food loss. The EPA admits that “the US still has a long way to go to meet the 2030 goal.”

The picture throughout the world is hardly better, and the US sits somewhere in the middle when it comes to alleviating the problem. It is estimated that one-third of all food globally is lost or wasted each year. The average North American household wastes about 130 pounds of food annually; the global average is nearly 35 pounds higher.

How'd They Do It?
South Korea’s Ban on Food Waste

It is estimated that worldwide some 1.4 billion tons of food are thrown away each year and end up in landfills. But in South Korea, food scraps have been banned from landfills since 2005.

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Sources: “Food Waste,” US Department of Agriculture, n.d., https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs; “Fighting Food Waste,” National Conference of State Legislatures, October 24, 2022, https://www.ncsl.org/agriculture-and-rural-development/fighting-food-waste#:~:text=The%20federal%20Bill%20Emerson%20Good,of%20which%20include%20greater%20protections; “Closing the Food Waste Gap,” Boston Consulting Group, n.d., https://www.bcg.com/featured-insights/closing-the-gap/food-waste; “Food Waste by Country, 2023,” World Population Review, n.d., https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/food-waste-by-country.

Sadie Cornelius

Sadie K Cornelius is a proud Longhorn and graduate of the University of Texas at Austin’s Moody School of Communications with a Bachelor's in Advertising and a minor in Business.

She has more than 15 years of experience in Squarespace website and graphic design for 200+ clients all over the world.

A fourth generation business owner Sadie is passionate about helping others through creating compelling visuals and cohesive brand identities. She’s been featured in Forbes as a female-owned company, has taught several digital marketing classes at General Assembly, is a volunteer for non-profit organizations.

Sadie enjoys traveling the world, spending time with her husband, King Charles Cavalier, and families in the Carolinas. Originally from Kansas City, Sadie resides in Washington DC (but is forever an Austin girl at heart).

https://www.skc-marketing.com
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