Food Waste in the U.S.
- In the United States, about 40% of all food produced is lost or wasted, which is equivalent to about 133 billion pounds of food per year.
- In the United States, food waste is estimated to cost about $160 billion per year.
- In the United States, food waste is estimated to account for about 25% of all freshwater usage, 50% of all land usage, and 20% of all methane emissions.
(Source: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), “Wasted: How America is Losing Up to 40% of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill,“)
The US spends $1.3 billion annually disposing food waste into landfills.
- Food loss represents significant amounts of money and other resources invested in food production, including land, fresh water, labor, energy, agricultural chemicals (e.g., fertilizer, pesticides), and other inputs to produce food that does not ultimately meet its intended purpose of feeding people (Buzby et al., 2011). For example, Webber (2012) estimates that food waste represents 2.5 percent of U.S. energy consumption per year, and Hall et al. (2009) estimate that the production of this wasted food required the expenditure of around 300 million barrels of oil and over 25 percent of the total freshwater consumed by agriculture in the United States. A more detailed understanding of the resource implications of food loss in the United States, including estimates of the land used to produce wasted food, is not available.
- According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), food waste accounted for 34 million tons (almost 14 percent) out of the 250 million tons of municipal solid waste in the United States in 2010 as measured before recycling (EPA, 2011) (see figure). Less than 3 percent of this food waste was recovered and recycled, with the remainder going to landfills or incinerators (EPA, 2011). In 2010, food waste cost roughly $1.3 billion to landfill (Schwab, 2013). After recycling some materials, such as paper and paperboard, food waste was the single largest amount of municipal solid waste categorized by EPA in 2010, with 21 percent of the total (see figure).
(Source: USDA, “The Estimated Amount, Value, and Calories of Postharvest Food Losses at the Retail and Consumer Levels (PDF)“)
Food Waste Globally
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN – Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction: “Roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Food losses and waste amounts to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries.”
www.fao.org/save-food/resources/keyfindings/en/ - The global economic value of food waste is estimated to be about $1 trillion per year.
(FAO, “Food Loss and Waste”)
Documentary
Videos
Mainstream News
US
- Americans throw out $165 billion worth of food every year – MarketWatch
- Americans waste 150,000 tons of food each day – equal to a pound per person – The Guardian
- America’s $165 billion food-waste problem – CNBC
- Food Waste- Americans Throw Away Nearly Half Their Food, $165 Billion Annually, Study Says – HuffPost Life
- Half of all US food produce is thrown away, new research suggests – The Guardian
- The Shocking Amount Of Food U.S. Households Waste Every Year – Forbes
World
- All About Food waste – CNN.com
- Almost half of the world’s food thrown away, report finds – The Guardian
- Did You Know The Amount Of Food India Wastes Annually Is Enought to Feed a Cuontry Like Egrypt for One Year – India Times
- Food waste- Amount thrown away totals 900 million tonnes – BBC News
- Food waste- 5 graphics that show just how much food we throw away – Globalnews.ca
- How Much Food Do We Waste- Probably More Than You Think – The New York Times
- How Much Food Is Thrown Out Each Year- It’s More Than You Think – International Business Times
- The $1 Trillion Mountain The Actual Cost Of Food Waste – HuffPost
- The Shocking Cost Of Food Waste – Forbes
Companies
- Here’s how much food Walmart throws away over 12 days – CBC News
- Walmart insider says ‘heartbreaking’ amount of food dumped in trash – CBC News
Independent News
- 1.3 billion tons of food being wasted each year. Can we stop it? – Phys.org
- About Food Waste – Move For Hunger
- How We Fight Food Waste in the US: When we stop food waste, we take a big step toward ending hunger.- Feeding Amierca
- Food Loss and Waste – FDA
- Food Loss and Food Waste FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Food – Thou Shall Not Waste — Global Issues
- Food Waste Analysis & Food Waste Audit – ReFED
- Food Waste in America in 2022- Statistics & Facts – RTS
- Food Waste Is a Massive Problem—Here’s Why – FoodPrint
- The problem of food waste – OLIO
Facts and Stats
- 7 Shocking Food Waste Statistics – Chowhound
- 10 food waste facts you need to know – OLIO
- Food Waste FAQs – USDA
- Food Waste Fast Facts – FOODWISE
- Food Waste in America in 2021- Statistics & Facts – RTS
- Foodwaste Facts — TRISTRAM STUART
- Wasted Food Statistics – The World Counts
- World Food Waste Statistics – TheWorldCounts
Reports
- ABOUT THE FOOD LOSS AND WASTE ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING STANDARD – Food Loss + Waste Protocol PDF
- ‘The Estimated Amount, Value, and Calories of Postharvest Food Losses at the Retail and Consumer Levels – USDA – (PDF)
- The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact – PLOS One
- UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021 – UNEP – UN Environment Programme
- Wasted How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill – NRDC
- Wasted – How America Is Losing Up to 40 Percent of Its Food from Farm to Fork to Landfill – NRDC (PDF)
Websites