Americans throw out 40% of food, study says

[RedDog]

Nearly 40 per cent of food in the United States ends up in the trash, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

That amounts to $165 billion of uneaten rations each year and nearly 20 pounds of wasted food per person every month.

In its report on food waste, the environmental advocacy group says that the U.S. food system is inefficient with food being tossed at almost every link in the supply chain, from production and packaging to restaurants and households. The average American wastes 10 times as much food as someone in Southeast Asia.

American families throw out approximately 25 per cent of their groceries, a loss of $1,365 to $2,275 every year for a family of four.

People who frequent restaurants aren’t any less wasteful. On average, diners leave 17 per cent of their meals uneaten and 55 per cent of these potential leftovers are not taken home.

Continued... http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012 ... eport.html

[styky]

Wouldn't surprise me in the least. I continually shake my head at the mounds of garbage bags behind houses that hold two or three people. Do they realize how much they are throwing away. Restaurant portions have reached the insane level yet the people waddling in don't seem to notice that they are eating from a plate that could feed a family of 4.

[RedDog]

Yes and the proliferation of all-you-can-eat buffets doesn't help. The volume of food left on tables is astonishing.

The one Chinese Buffet here in down with a flat price for lunch and another for dinner now says clearly on entrance signage they will increase your cost at the till for excessive waste.

I personally continue to be dismayed that portions at the supermarket are by and large not suitable for single people. Pricing and deals aim at warehouse packs of meat for families with deep freezers who can also buy 5 or 10 loaves of bread at a time at cut rates. I'm left to buy wraps or 1 or 2 fresh buns at a time at premium prices. 6 eggs (when they even have it) cost the same as 12 and the better deal now at Walmart is an 18 pack.

Just yesterday another half head of lettuce and some celery into the trash along with some outdated cold cuts.

[styky]

Yes and the proliferation of all-you-can-eat buffets doesn't help. The volume of food left on tables is astonishing.

The one Chinese Buffet here in down with a flat price for lunch and another for dinner now says clearly on entrance signage they will increase your cost at the till for excessive waste.

I personally continue to be dismayed that portions at the supermarket are by and large not suitable for single people. Pricing and deals aim at warehouse packs of meat for families with deep freezers who can also buy 5 or 10 loaves of bread at a time at cut rates. I'm left to buy wraps or 1 or 2 fresh buns at a time at premium prices. 6 eggs (when they even have it) cost the same as 12 and the better deal now at Walmart is an 18 pack.

Just yesterday another half head of lettuce and some celery into the trash along with some outdated cold cuts.

I noticed that Safeway and Walmart now carry their meats prime cuts in vacuum sealed packs that can be easily cut into individual servings. I now buy those ziploc perfect portion bags and divide up the bread and put it back in the bag before I freeze it. It's cut down on wastage considerably. The summer is notorious for bread mold happening before you get to the 5th slice.

[styky]

Oh and a little known fact.....if you wrap a few stalks of celery in tinfoil it will stay fresh for a few weeks. Also if you put an apple in with the potatoes they won't sprout.

Here's some more helpful hits..... http://cooking.lifetips.com/cat/64172/f ... index.html

[Jean]

When I first came to site, I was onto old habits and tried to save some food from my lunches for later consumption. I was mocked and told '' never mind about food, they're is always fresh stuff to be consumed. No need to save''

That comment came from a black man who spent the majority of his life in Togo,Africa.

[styky]

When I first came to site, I was onto old habits and tried to save some food from my lunches for later consumption. I was mocked and told '' never mind about food, they're is always fresh stuff to be consumed. No need to save''

That comment came from a black man who spent the majority of his life in Togo,Africa.

I find that odd to say the least. My brother inlaw came as a refugee from the USSR in the 60's and was flabberghasted at seeing grocery stores and wide streets that ran straight as an arrow that went for miles. He still stockpiles just in case, something he picked up from his mother who survived the homodor of the Ukranian people.

[The Devil's Advocate]

When I first came to site, I was onto old habits and tried to save some food from my lunches for later consumption. I was mocked and told '' never mind about food, they're is always fresh stuff to be consumed. No need to save''
That comment came from a black man who spent the majority of his life in Togo,Africa.

I find that odd to say the least. My brother inlaw came as a refugee from the USSR in the 60's and was flabberghasted at seeing grocery stores and wide streets that ran straight as an arrow that went for miles. He still stockpiles just in case, something he picked up from his mother who survived the homodor of the Ukranian people.

Learning habits, it seems, are not just for children.

Seems like people may need to take a lesson from those restaurants with the big servings, and learn the fine art of garde-manger, basically making best use of leftovers.

What I don't understand is how this fits in with the notion that food is getting more expensive.

[Charles J. White]

We have a exceedingly fast growing culture that now appears to make up about 50% or more of the population who are obese, it's disgusting, and now food goes in the garbage by the wheel barrel...If these people had grown up poor, they would have learned long ago how to make good meals with carrots, peas, onions and so on and learned not to waste it. Absolutely repugnant is what the donut, fries, pizza, and Coca-Cola crowd has become.

You know what I ate today? I had bowl of fruit, a flax seed English muffin, and a glass of water. For lunch I had carrots, peas, onion, and chicken, and a glass of water. For dinner I had home made guacamole and beans with pita bread with a glass of water. What the hell has happened to people?

I don't have any butter, juice, or salt in my home or anything in a can. Just fruits, vegetables, beans, some flax seed bread, and some chicken with maybe some beef in the deep freeze.

[Edward Kennedy]

The waster is brother to the sloth. Waste is a sin in my books.

[WestViking]

Nearly 40 per cent of food in the United States ends up in the trash, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council.

I am not going to give a report by these enviro-whackos much credibility:



I note they are opposing oil sands developments . . . . . . . . and darn near any other development , , , , , , , ,

NRDC is the nation's most effective environmental action group, combining the grassroots power of 1.3 million members and online activists with the courtroom clout and expertise of more than 350 lawyers, scientists and other professionals.

The New York Times calls us "One of the nation's most powerful environmental groups." The National Journal says we're "A credible and forceful advocate for stringent environmental protection."

Our dedicated staff work with businesses, elected leaders, and community groups on the biggest issues we face today. Our priorities include:

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Fostering Sustainable Communities

[DA_Champion]

If you think the obesity rate is bad now,

Just imagine if people ATE all that food.

[The Devil's Advocate]

If you think the obesity rate is bad now,

Just imagine if people ATE all that food.

Depends what's being thrown out. I've always thought the better something was for you, the higher the risk it'll sooner go bad.

[T.G.]

Don't want to hear any more about how there isn't enough food to feed the world ...

[Kate Shaw]

Don't want to hear any more about how there isn't enough food to feed the world ...

The problem has never been producing enough to "feed the world" -- Distribution is what it has always been about. There are plenty of the usual suspects regarding starving children, for example, in which their own government, or what passes for a government, refuses to allow distribution of food, steals the food and sells it on the black market, or keeps that food for its favoured classes. And then there's Rhodesia, which used to be a breadbasket of Africa until the Black folks killed and drove off the White farmers, looted the place to the ground, and discovered that farming was work.