5 REASONS TO CARE ABOUT FOOD WASTE

America wastes nearly 40% of all food produced
The U.S. wastes the equivalent of 320,000 jumbo jets worth of food directly into the landfill each year (1)
The average American tosses 300 pounds of food each year (2)
Wasted Food has doubled since the 1970’s (3)
If land used to grow food that isn’t eaten were a country, it would be the second largest country in the world behind Russia (4)

WHY IS WASTING FOOD AN ISSUE?

It costs us all money.
- It's estimated that the average American throws out 23 lbs. of food each month = $190 for a family of four
It's bad for the planet.
- Rotting food in landfills creates Methane gas – 28x more potent than CO2
It's a missed opportunity to feed hungry neighbors.
- 1 in 7 Americans are food insecure, meaning they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

There's currently no mandated labeling language on food - and it's confusing.
Over 90% of consumers throw out food too early, leading to massive food waste
Check out the THE ULTIMATE SHELF LIFE GUIDE (click here) to find out what dates actually mean.

Kearney AT. Save the planet, feed the planet. https://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/471472/EAXII_2_Save_the_Planet_Feed_the_Planet.pdf/3537625f-024b-4197-b54f-0a85aef53019. Accessed August 21, 2015.
Gunders D. Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill. Natural Resources Defense Council website. http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf. Published August 2012. Accessed August 12 2015.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Global food losses and food waste-Extent, causes and prevention. Rome. 2011.
Gunders D. Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill. Natural Resources Defense Council website. http://www.nrdc.org/food/files/wasted-food-ip.pdf. Published August 2012. Accessed August 12 2015.