US tackles food waste: New agreement to educate consumers and businesses

19 Oct 2018 --- As a week-long Committee on World Food Security (CFS) meeting comes to an end in Europe, the US government has announced a new food waste agreement aimed at improving communication across federal agencies attempting to better educate Americans on the importance of reducing food loss and waste. With mountains of work ahead to meet the US Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions initiative, which aims to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030, the agreement signals a strengthening of food waste strategies to present economic opportunities and possible cost savings for businesses.

Food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the US food supply. This figure, based on estimates from USDA's Economic Research Service of 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and US$161 billion worth of food in 2010. 

Wasted food is the single largest category of material placed in municipal landfills and represents nourishment that could have helped feed families in need. Additionally, water, energy, and labor used to produce wasted food could have been employed for other purposes. 

Effectively reducing food waste will require cooperation among federal, state, tribal and local governments, faith-based institutions, environmental organizations, communities and the entire supply chain. 

The staggering amount of wasted food in the US has far-reaching impacts on resource conservation and food security while costing businesses and consumers money. To help galvanize national efforts to reduce food loss and waste, USDA and EPA announced the America’s first-ever food loss and waste reduction goal in September 2015, calling for the 50-percent reduction by 2030. However, the Government alone cannot reach this goal; it requires effort and action from the entire food system. 

So far 23 organizations have signed up to the Initiative with the latest two being US retailers Kroger and hotel and resort giant Hilton. Other big names include General Mills, PepsiCo, Kellogg Company, Campbell Soup Company, Walmart and Unilever. 

This US agreement comes as the spotlight remains on eradicating global hunger which was marked at the start of this week on World Food Day and led to a week of debate and discussion in Rome where speakers have said that “urgent measures” are needed to reverse the recent increase in the number of hungry people. 

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) both signed a joint agency formal agreement under the Winning on Reducing Food Waste initiative. 

The US Administration says there are economic opportunities and potential cost savings for businesses and individual households that can result from reducing food waste. And while businesses are a critical component of food waste reductions, consumer education is also key to the success of the Reducing Food Waste Initiative. 

“An unacceptable percentage of our food supply is lost or wasted,” says Sonny Perdue, US Secretary of Agriculture. “As the world's population continues to grow and the food systems continue to evolve, now is the time for action to educate consumers and businesses alike on the need for food waste reduction.”

“The future of food depends on action from us now, which is why we have established this formal partnership among USDA, EPA and FDA.”

“EPA is proud to partner with USDA and FDA to enhance food recovery efforts and educate the public on the need for improved food waste management,” adds EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “Redirecting excess food to people, animals, or energy production has tremendous economic and social benefits, and that is why the Trump Administration is working closely with businesses and consumers to prevent food loss and maximize the inherent value of food.”

This joint announcement was unveiled at the USDA's headquarters and was followed by a panel discussion on fostering change to reduce food waste in the US.

The agencies say they want feedback from stakeholders about how they can work together at a federal level and leverage partners throughout the supply chain to have a national impact on reducing food loss and waste in the long term. 

“Sadly, each day too many American families struggle to meet their nutritional needs and we at the FDA recognize the important role that reducing food waste can play in filling this critical gap,” says FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.

“By taking steps to address obstacles that food donation and recovery programs may face in giving unsold foods a second opportunity and helping food producers find ways to recondition their products so that they can be safely sold or donated, we aim to both reduce food waste and nourish Americans in need.”

“We are delighted to be collaborating with our federal partners on the Winning on Reducing Food Waste initiative as we continue to explore additional ways to reduce food waste and make safe, nutritional foods available to all,” he notes.