The U.S. Wastes 40 Percent of All Food Produced Per Year

This is shocking to me…

I knew there was a lot of waste, but not this much…

I also suspect this is due to the distribution system and corporate run farms…

Here are some great, common sense tips from Jonathan Bloom on how to reduce food waste in your household:

But, as Bloom points out, there are incredibly simple things we all can do to break the cycle of throwing out an average of 15 to 25 percent of our food annually per household (and the $1300 to $2200 we spend on it).

1. Shop smarter. Make a list to reduce your purchase of unnecessary items, plan meals, bring less food into your house. Since 25 percent is wasted, commit to buying 25 percent less food.

2. Focus on sensible portions. Portion sizes have increased as have the diameter of dinner plates. Pay attention to what’s on your plate and think about equating value less with quantity than quality.

3. Ignore expiration dates. OK, so don’t ignore them but approach with a fair amount of skepticism. If something is spoiled, you’ll know it by the way it looks or smells not by the date on its packaging.

4. Love your leftovers. Don’t just save them, eat them.

5. Befriend your freezer. It’s a waste delayer.

via The U.S. Wastes 40 Percent of All Food Produced Per Year. How About We Stop Doing That? – Food – GOOD.