Food for thought: Americans Waste 40% of Their Food

[Flaxbee]

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.

I know this is a fun forum, but it is about food. And US food culture. This is something to think about next time you go to the grocery store.


http://uspoverty.change.org/blog/view/americans_waste_40_of_their_food


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.