Americans Waste Almost a Third of Their Total Food Production

New figures released by the Department of Agriculture in the United States reveal that Americans waste almost a third of their total food production, or 1,249 calories per capita per day. According to the data released for 2010, the most recent year data is available, more than 133 billion pounds of food was thrown away, which is equivalent to 31 percent of food sold at grocery stores and served in restaurants. The total cost of the food thrown away was more than $162 billion, which is equal to $1.43 per capita per day, lead author and USDA economist Jean Buzby said.

Dairy products and vegetables were the top two food groups wasted the most in 2010, with figures revealing that around 25 billion pounds of each food group went down the drain, followed by grain products of which 18.5 billion pounds were wasted. Buzby revealed that should the huge level of wastage be reduced, then the food prices across the world will go down.

“If food loss is prevented or reduced to the extent that less food is needed to feed people (i.e., the demand for food decreases), then this would likely reduce food prices in the United States and the rest of the world”, the researchers said.



Source-Medindia