Food for thought: Americans Waste 40% of Their Food

I'm predominantly a vegetarian, heading toward vegan and the thought of the animal life we allow to suffer just so we can gorge ourselves - and throw away 40% of our food - fills me with despair. Plus, of course, the fact that we THROW THE FOOD AWAY AND DON'T FEED THE HUNGRY.

For those of us concerned with frugal and energy efficient living, this article is something to think about.


http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/americans_waste_4...


Americans Waste 40% of Their Food
by Greg Plotkin December 03, 2009 06:00 AM (PT) Topics: Culture Of Poverty, Hunger

In the United States, it seems that food is everywhere we look.

Driving down the highway, we see signs for a plethora of fast food restaurants, and food companies spend millions of dollars each year coming up with new value-added food products to attract consumer dollars.

This has not only resulted in an increasingly overweight population, but a citizenry that has begun to waste food at levels never seen before -- even in the middle of a recession and with hunger rising.

A new study has found that Americans waste 1,400 calories per person per day, or nearly 40% of the county's entire food supply. But that's not even the most disturbing statistic.

In order to produce the 1,400 calories that Americans toss into the trash everyday, we use one-fourth of the country's supply of fresh water. In addition, three hundred million barrels of oil are used each year to produce food that eventually just gets thrown away.

What the heck is wrong with us America? This is completely and utterly unacceptable.

At least where I work it's way more than 40%.

really disgusting.

Honestly, my family throws out a lot more than I would like but we are trying.

There is a problem of improper/unequal distribution.

I often eat what the kids leave on their plate cause it drives me nuts tossing out perfectly good food. We were at an all you can eat brunch buffet last weekend, I gauged what the kids got and ate, and I ate almost all of their leftovers.