squandered on its journey to our plates." While some of the waste comes at the supply chain level, the report still places most of the blame on the American household. Researchers proclaim: "American families throw out approximately 25% of the food and beverages they buy."
The report further laments: "Food represents a small portion of many Americans' budgets, making the fi nancial cost of wasting food too low to outweigh the convenience of it. This issue of wasted food is simply not on the radar of many Americans, even those who consider themselves environment- or cost-conscious."
Asian countries waste 10 times less food than America
The American food waste problem is compounded thanks to bulk food buying, the cheap costs associated with processed food, and a consumers inability to recognize the true waste they are creating. The portion sizes for American food, especially in restaurants, also plays a major role in food waste.
At the retail level, the report found several areas that need vast improvement:
Stores overstock displays of fresh produce to give an impression of bounty, leaving items at the bottom bruised and unsellable. They make too much ready- to-eat food. "One grocer estimated that his store threw away a full 50% of the rotisserie chickens that were prepared," the report said.
They throw out food in damaged or outdated promotional packaging (think holiday cookies) that is still edible. The study also found that 7 percent
of planted fi elds are not harvested each year because they are not profi table or because demand doesn't match supply. To put food waste levels in prospective, Asian countries waste 10 times less food than America.
Abastoonline.com
Septiembre/Octubre 2012 |
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