The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a way of classifying food waste in the United States into three categories:
- Excessive
- Expensive
- Environmentally Harmful
Food waste is excessive because nearly 40 percent of all the food produced and consumed is wasted. This wasted food happens all along the life cycle of our food, and includes agriculture food waste, food lost in transportation, unsold food, and food uneaten in restaurants and at home. We all contribute to excessive amounts of food waste.
As you can imagine, anytime you have 40 percent losses in a system it comes at a cost. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates $161 billion are lost in our food systems.
Nearly all the food we throw away ends up in our landfills. As the food becomes covered by plastics, paper and other miscellaneous items, the air gets pushed out of the landfill space. This results in an anaerobic condition – meaning no oxygen. Microorganisms, present in the landfill, breakdown the organic material and food waste converting it to a gas form: methane. According to the EPA, landfills contribute up to 18 percent of our methane emissions annually.
How can you make an impact to reduce the excessive, expensive, and environmental impacts of food waste?
- Reduce the amount of food you purchase at the store.
- Try to reduce portion size at home.
- Try to order a little less when out at a restaurant.
- You can look to donate food from events to groups in need.
- Compost your food waste.
Want to learn to compost at home?
UF/IFAS Extension Sarasota County have created a number of courses on the subject of food impacts, waste and composting.
- How Food Waste Impacts Your Life
- Let’s Make Some Black Gold!
- The Impacts of Food Waste
- Virtual Vermiculture 101
- Learn to Build a Worm Bin
- Composting Basics – IFAS Online
Please visit ufsarasotaext.eventbrite.com to learn more about the available webinars and courses.
Source of information sited from: US Department of Agriculture and US Environmental Protection Agency.
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