News
US food waste impacts climate 01 Jan 2010
According to US researchers, Americans waste about 40 percent of total food supply per day increasing climate change and obesity.
The researchers, from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Maryland, found that food waste has increased 50 percent since 1974. This takes into account wastage right along the food supply chain, including waste from farms, manufacturers, retailers and consumers.
Reducing waste could provide the food industry with the dual benefits of lower costs and improved environmental sustainability. Also, it is an opportunity to increase sales, as consumers are increasingly taking ethical and environmental issues into account during their purchasing decisions.
Writing in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE, researchers claim that the impact of food waste on the environment has been largely and surprisingly overlooked in discussions of climate change mitigation.
“Food waste contributes to excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels which, along with methane and CO2 emissions from decomposing food, impacts global climate change,” they wrote.
The study estimates that food waste accounts for 25 percent of fresh water use in the United States, and 300 million barrels of oil – about four percent of the country’s total oil consumption.
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