You Won't Believe How Much Good Food
Goes to Waste
October 05, 2015
Story at-a-glance
−
The average US family of four wastes more than 2 million
calories, which equates to $1,500 worth of food, every
year
Waste happens at all stages of the food chain, and often
good food gets tossed out simply because it’s
aesthetically imperfect
The EPA and USDA announced the first national food waste
reduction goal, which calls for a 50 percent reduction
by 2030
By Dr. Mercola
About 40 percent of food in the US is wasted. Waste happens at
all steps of the food chain, from field to fork, but most
of the waste is thought to occur on farms and in US households.1
You may contribute to food waste if you throw away your leftovers
or let a bag of lettuce go bad before you use it up. On a larger
scale, most farms end up trashing or composting what would otherwise
be perfectly good produce simply due to cosmetic imperfections.
While it’s easier to understand food being wasted because it’s
rotten or potentially contaminated, tossing out
cucumbers because they’re too curvy or tomatoes because they’re
too small is hard to stomach – especially as people go without
food every day.
Entrepreneurs Tackle Food Waste One Startup Company at a Time
While in college, Ben Simon and his friends noticed his
university cafeteria throwing away good food. One meeting with
dining services later, they were in charge of donating the
once-wasted food instead.
From there, Simon and his friends started Food Recovery Network,
a non-profit organization that donates food that would be wasted
from university cafeterias to homeless shelters, soup kitchens,
afterschool programs for kids, and more.
After just four years, 150 colleges and universities were taking
part in the program. Next, Simon, along with two co-founders,
started “Imperfect,” a San Francisco Bay-based company that sells
cosmetically imperfect produce at a reduced price (sometimes by up
to 50 percent less).
For $12, members of Imperfect receive boxes of 10 to 15 pounds of
imperfect produce that otherwise would have been wasted.2
Another success story involves Claire Cummings, the so-called
“waste specialist” for Bon Appétit Management Company, which
operates more than 650 cafes. Aside from donating excess food and
setting up composting programs, Cummings is also involved in saving
cosmetically imperfect produce. As Alternet reported:3
“The program began with a pilot program in May 2014 and
became official a few months later that September. Since then,
they have expanded it to 16 states, with four more starting this
October.
So far in 2015, they've saved 252,627 pounds of produce,
or just over 126 tons. ‘Just to give you a snapshot — we're not
just buying one kind of produce, we've rescued over 50 different
varieties of produce,’ she [Cummings] explains.
For example, when a head of broccoli is broken down for
bagging, little bits of broccoli fall off. Those used to go to
waste, until Bon Appétit began using them in soups and salad
bars. It turns out the little broccoli bits are just the perfect
size for soups and salads, and using them instead of larger
heads of broccoli saves the chefs some chopping.
The farmer used to toss out the twisted and gnarly shaped
carrots from Washington. If he had left them in the field, they
would have attracted a pest called the carrot rust fly, so he
had to get rid of them. Now, he sells them to Bon Appétit,
simultaneously keeping his carrots from going to waste and
resolving his potential pest problem.”
USDA and EPA Set First Food Waste Reduction Goals
The issue of food waste has finally attracted national attention
in the US. In September 2015, the US Department of Agriculture
(USDA), together with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),
announced the first national food waste reduction goal, which calls
for a 50 percent reduction by 2030.
According to the USDA, the average US family of four wastes more
than 2 million calories, which equates to $1,500 worth of food,
every year. The USDA continued:4
“Food loss and waste in the United States accounts for
approximately 31 percent — or 133 billion pounds — of the
overall food supply available to retailers and consumers, and
has far-reaching impacts on food security, resource
conservation, and climate change.
Food loss and waste is the single largest component of
disposed U.S. municipal solid waste… Furthermore, experts have
projected that reducing food losses by just 15 percent would
provide enough food for more than 25 million Americans every
year, helping to sharply reduce incidences of food insecurity
for millions.”
As for how they expect to achieve a 50 percent reduction
in food waste, they plan to build on the ongoing US Food Waste
Challenge (launched in 2013), which creates a platform of leaders
and food-chain members to share best practices to reduce, recover,
and recycle food loss and waste. Other initiatives aim to tackle
both food waste and food loss.
The
celery that goes bad in your veggie crisper, the remainder of
your sandwich at a restaurant, and the loaf of bread that goes moldy
on your kitchen counter are all contributors to the massive epidemic
of food waste.
Restaurants and supermarkets are also contributors. Food loss
is another issue, which typically takes place at production,
post-harvest, and processing stages in the food supply chain.
Initiatives to tackle these issues include:
Consumer education campaigns with food waste facts and
reduction tips
Encouraging restaurants, grocery stores, food service
companies, and others to set aggressive goals for reducing food
loss and waste
One of New York’s Trendiest Restaurants Serves Up ‘Garbage’
When one of the trendiest restaurants in Manhattan, Blue Hill,
starts serving up food that could otherwise be described as
“garbage,” you know the issue of food waste is getting hot. For two
weeks, the restaurant transformed into a pop-up restaurant called
wastED and served dishes made from salvaged or “unusable” foods,
including:5
“Dumpster dive” salad salvaged from a food processor
A “burger” made from leftover pulp from a cold-pressed juice
shop
Meatloaf titled “dog food”
Field corn, or “cow corn,” which is typically used to feed
livestock
The idea for wastED came from Dan Barber, the chef and co-owner
of Blue Hill, while he researched on his book The Third Plate.
As Salon reported:6
“The history of diet and cuisine, he realized, is based
on preventing waste: ‘You couldn’t afford waste when these
recipes and expectations for meals were being developed; you
didn’t have the luxury of waste,’ Barber explained.
It’s a principle, though, that’s been lost in our modern
way of eating. ‘Waste, in so many ways, is the American
experience,’ he said. ‘It’s the American diet.’”
Denmark Reduces Food Waste by 25 Percent in Five Years
The Danish government recently announced that they’re wasting 25
percent less food than they did five years ago. This means the
average Dane throws out 104 pounds of food a year, on average,
compared to 273 pounds annually for the average American.7
NPR attributed at least some of this reduction to Selina Juul,
who they called the queen of Denmark’s anti-waste movement. Juul
started an organization called Stop Wasting Food, which targets
individual consumers and challenges them to waste less food.
Interestingly, as is often the case, as consumers became more
willing and even proud to purchase day-old bread and imperfect
tomatoes, producers and retailers started jumping on the “trend” as
well. Denmark’s largest retailer, Dansk Supermarked, for instance,
has always sold near-expired food at reduced prices, but they’ve now
got dedicated areas for it.
They’ve also invested in technology to help track food “from farm
to fork,” including an IT system that helped them determine bread as
a commonly wasted item. By ordering less bread, and selling older
bread at a reduced price, they’ve reduced bread waste by 60 percent.8
Half of Edible Seafood Is Wasted
To be clear, the issue of food waste isn’t only related to
produce. Due to “inefficiencies and consumer refuse,” research
published in the journal Global Environmental Change
revealed that nearly half of edible seafood in the US is wasted.9
Out of a total edible seafood supply of 4.7 billion pounds per year:10
Consumers throw away 1.3 billion pounds
Fishers throw away 570 million pounds due to catching the
wrong species
330 million pounds are lost during distribution
This is especially disturbing since the future availability of
seafood is threatened by overfishing and unsustainable seafood
farming practices. As Greenpeace stated:11
“Our appetite for fish is exceeding the oceans’
ecological limits with devastating impacts – and there is now
estimated to be four times more global fishing capacity than
there are fish left to catch.”
Fish as a protein source has been growing in popularity as the
health benefits of omega-3 fats EPA and DHA have been more
widely publicized. And while I don’t recommend consuming most types
of fish due to widespread pollution, there’s no doubt that it was
once a valuable source of nutrition (and some types, such as
wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, and anchovies, still are).
The magnitude of seafood waste is simply astonishing, regardless,
and the researchers were able to quantify just how much potentially
valuable nutrition is being lost:12
“Based on conservative estimates, this waste represents
208 billion grams of protein, 1.8 trillion mg [milligrams] of
eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids (i.e.,
omega-3 fatty acids), and 1.1 trillion kilocalories. The seafood
that is lost could fill 36 percent of the gap between current
consumption and U.S. Department of Agriculture-recommended
levels. As another way of understanding the magnitude of loss,
this lost seafood could provide the total yearly target quantity
of protein for 10.1 million men or 12.4 million women, EPA + DHA
for 20.1 million adults, and calories for 1.5 million adults.”
Yale University: Americans Throw Away Double the Trash as Federal
Agencies Estimated
If there were any questions about wasteful tendencies in the US,
Yale University recently put them to rest with a new study that
calculated just how much Americans throw away on a regular basis.
While the EPA estimated the amount of solid waste added to US
landfills in 2012 to be 122 million tons, the new study found it was
closer to 262 million tons, or about five pounds of garbage per
person per day. By 2013, that amount had risen to 294 million tons.13
It turns out the EPA was basing its estimate on Americans’ own
reporting of trash use, along with data from industry associations,
businesses, and others, which tends to be underestimated. The new
study involved data straight from landfill operators. While
Americans are throwing away more than was previously
thought, they’re recycling less. EPA estimates suggest Americans
recycled 35 percent of their waste in 2012, but the study revealed
it was closer to 21 percent.14
Compost Programs Could Reduce Landfill Waste, Fight Carbon Erosion
If more US families and businesses composted their organic waste
instead of tossing it in the trash, it could solve two major issues
at once. For starters, it could divert waste from landfills. For
instance, in California, the Sonoma County Waste Management Agency
operates a regional compost program in which they accept yard
trimmings and vegetative food discards that are placed in curbside
containers by local residents.
They also accept yard trimmings from landscapers and tree
trimmers, as well as certain agricultural byproducts from local
farms, wineries, and food processors.
The organic material is then converted into premium quality
organic compost and mulches, along with recycled lumber, firewood,
and biofuel used to generate electricity. Since 1993, 1.6 million
tons of yard and wood debris have been converted into these
beneficial products. Sonoma Compost, which operates the Organic
Recycling Program on behalf of the Sonoma County Waste Management
Agency, estimates that nearly 1.5 million tons of yard and wood
trimmings have been diverted from landfills since 1993 as a result
of the program.15
Applying compost to farmland also traps carbon dioxide in the
ground (for decades, centuries, or more) while also absorbing it
from the air. The process, known as “carbon
sequestration” or “carbon farming,” will help:
Regenerate the soil
Limit agricultural water usage with no till and crop
covers
Increase crop yields
Reduce the need for agricultural chemicals and
additives, if not eliminate such need entirely in time
Reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
Reduce air and water pollution by lessening the need for
herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers
In Marin County, California, the Marin Carbon Project is already
underway to increase carbon sequestration on the land. One of their
protocols alone, the Rangeland Compost Protocol, “has the
potential to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 28 million metric
tons per year if compost can be applied to just 5 percent of
California’s rangelands. That’s equivalent to removing nearly 6
million cars from the road.”16
California Supermarkets Will Soon Be Required to Compost Food Waste
In April 2016, a new California law will take effect that
requires large grocery stores to compost or recycle their food
waste. Many of them will likely begin channeling their waste to
companies like California Safe Soil, which created a process to turn
food waste into farm-ready liquid fertilizer in just three hours.
How is this achieved? Civil Eats reported:17
“First, the food is ground down into a liquid, then
treated with enzymes to break down the protein, fat, and
carbohydrates into the amino acids, fatty acids, and simple
sugars. Then, it’s pasteurized (that is, heated at high
temperatures) to kill any pathogens that might be present…
There’s a separate stream for organic and conventional food, as
California Safe Soil sells an all-organic version. Both are
applied to the crops via drip irrigation.”
The product helps reduce the use of synthetic nitrogen
fertilizer, which runs off fields and contributes to dead zones in
rivers and streams. California Safe Soil also states they’ve
diverted 2.2 million pounds of food waste from landfills since 2012.18
Tips for Cutting Back on Food Waste in Your Own Kitchen
Although food waste must be tackled on national, state, and
municipal levels, as well as at the farm, there’s plenty you can do
to reduce your own contribution to this significant
problem. For starters, be open to purchasing cosmetically imperfect
produce if you come across it at the grocery store or farmer’s
market. Many supermarkets claim they’d be more willing to purchase
such produce from farmers if consumers showed they’d be willing to
buy it.
In an interview with NPR, Dana Gunders of the Natural Resources
Defense Council, who wrote the book Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook,
also shared some useful tips you can put into practice to help
reduce food waste today:19
The “float or sink test” for eggs: If
you’re wondering if your eggs are still good, put them in a
bowl of water. If they sink, they’re fresh; if they float,
they’re not good to eat.
Know what food expiration dates mean:
Most
dates on food packages are a manufacturer’s estimate of
when it will be freshest, but many foods are safe to eat
days, weeks, or months after.
Put wilted veggies in a bowl of ice water:
This will crisp them up (try it with
carrots, greens, broccoli, and more). If lettuce is a
bit past its prime for use in a salad, try sautéing it like
you would any other green.
Freeze leftover ingredients: If you
have half an onion or green pepper left after making a
recipe, don’t toss it. Chop it up and store it in the
freezer for later use.
Use up sour milk: Milk that turns sour
doesn’t have to be thrown away. Instead, use it in your
recipes as a substitute for buttermilk.
Store food properly in the
fridge: Store meats in the bottom bin, where it’s
coldest, and leave less temperature-sensitive items, like
butter, higher up.
Plan your meals: Plan ahead to know
what you’re going to cook and eat for the week, then shop
accordingly. Before checking out at the grocery store, be
sure you’re not buying duplicates of items you have at home
and be sure you’ll be able to consume all of the perishables
in your cart.
For even more tips, check out Gunders’ book, Waste-Free
Kitchen Handbook. In addition to sharing simple preservation
methods (like freezing, pickling, and cellaring), it includes 20
“use-it-up” recipes and a directory listing of over 85 types of
food, including how to best store them so they stay fresh longer.