While American households throw away a staggering 40% of all food produced, this is just one piece of a massive and costly cascade of waste that occurs from our farms to our fridges.
Key Takeaways
- In 2019, the United States generated 66 million tons of food waste, equivalent to 325 pounds per person.
- American households wasted 76 billion pounds of food in 2018, representing 40% of all food produced for consumption.
- Between farm and fork, 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted annually, totaling 133 billion pounds in 2010 data.
- The U.S. food waste economic cost is $161 billion annually based on 2010 retail prices.
- Food waste costs American families $1,500 per year on average in discarded groceries.
- Retail food waste valued at $15.6 billion yearly in lost revenue for U.S. grocers.
- U.S. food waste emits GHGs equivalent to 42 coal-fired power plants annually.
- Food waste accounts for 8.4% of total U.S. anthropogenic GHG emissions.
- Landfilled U.S. food waste produces 3.3 billion tons CO2e yearly.
- Households produce 54% of food waste volume, primarily fruits/veggies/dairy.
- Retail sector responsible for 43 billion pounds of U.S. food waste yearly.
- Farms generate 16% of total U.S. food loss, focused on fresh produce.
- U.S. food recovery programs divert 1.5 billion pounds yearly.
- EPA's Food Recovery Challenge reduced waste by 400 million pounds since 2011.
- Donation apps like Too Good To Go saved 2 million meals in U.S. 2022.
American households waste massive amounts of food, creating enormous environmental and economic costs.
Economic Costs
- The U.S. food waste economic cost is $161 billion annually based on 2010 retail prices.
- Food waste costs American families $1,500 per year on average in discarded groceries.
- Retail food waste valued at $15.6 billion yearly in lost revenue for U.S. grocers.
- Farm-level losses cost U.S. agriculture $18.1 billion in 2017.
- Restaurants lose $25 billion annually to food waste in the U.S.
- Household food waste costs $218 billion total across supply chain per ReFED 2016.
- U.S. consumers spend $372 billion on food, with 40% or $149 billion wasted.
- Processing sector food loss valued at $7.1 billion yearly.
- 2022 estimate: Food waste burdens U.S. economy by $429 billion including externalities.
- Per capita economic loss from food waste: $1,100 annually.
- U.S. grocery stores discard $2,000 worth of food per store weekly.
- Total GDP impact of food waste: 1.3% or $260 billion in 2021.
- Seafood waste costs $1.5 billion at retail level alone yearly.
- Dairy waste economic hit: $9.5 billion per year U.S.-wide.
- Fruit and vegetable losses: $14.7 billion at farmgate prices.
- Foodservice sector waste costs $70 billion in ingredients annually.
- 2019 data: U.S. households waste $1,866 per family of four yearly.
- Manufacturing food waste valued at $20 billion lost production.
- Bakery waste costs $3 billion across U.S. supply chain.
- Meat waste economic loss: $15 billion annually.
- U.S. food waste recovery market valued at $25 billion in potential savings.
- Retail markdowns fail to capture $10 billion in salvageable food value.
- Per pound wholesale value of wasted produce: $0.15, totaling $5 billion.
- National cost of landfilling food waste: $1.5 billion yearly.
- Consumer-level losses: $144 billion in 2016 estimates.
- Egg waste costs $400 million at retail.
- Cereal waste economic impact: $2.1 billion U.S.
- Total food waste methane capture loss: $8 billion equivalent.
Economic Costs Interpretation
America’s food waste is a sprawling, $429 billion comedy of errors where everyone—from the farm, to the grocery store, to our own refrigerators—is essentially throwing a stack of cash directly into the trash every single day.
Environmental Impacts
- U.S. food waste emits GHGs equivalent to 42 coal-fired power plants annually.
- Food waste accounts for 8.4% of total U.S. anthropogenic GHG emissions.
- Landfilled U.S. food waste produces 3.3 billion tons CO2e yearly.
- Wasted food uses 38% of U.S. freshwater for uneaten crops and livestock.
- Food loss wastes 25% of U.S. freshwater usage, 4.2 trillion gallons annually.
- U.S. food waste landfill methane equals emissions from 20 million cars.
- 80% of U.S. farmland produces food that becomes waste, 18% of cropland.
- Food waste contributes 170 million tons CO2e, more than U.S. plastics.
- Producing wasted food uses energy equal to 350 million cars' annual fuel.
- U.S. food waste depletes 21 million acres of cropland yearly.
- Dairy waste methane: equivalent to 1.8 million cars' emissions.
- Fruit/veg waste uses 15 trillion gallons water equivalent annually.
- Food waste in landfills: 24% of U.S. methane emissions from waste.
- Wasted seafood impacts 50 billion pounds of feed fish equivalent.
- U.S. plate waste energy waste: 2.5 quadrillion BTUs yearly.
- Food waste cropland footprint: 133 million acres, size of California.
- GHG from household food waste: 80 million tons CO2e annually.
- Retail food waste water use wasted: 1 trillion gallons per year.
- Meat waste environmental cost: 50 million tons CO2e.
- Bakery waste contributes 10 million tons CO2e yearly.
- U.S. food waste equals 10% of total energy consumption wasted.
- Landfill space for food waste: 25% of U.S. municipal landfills.
- Produce waste nitrogen fertilizer loss: 1.2 million tons yearly.
- Total U.S. food waste GHG: 1.7 billion metric tons CO2e in 2019.
Environmental Impacts Interpretation
America's dinner plates are the nation’s fifth-largest carbon polluter, second-largest water user, and a leading cause of agricultural sprawl, making our trash bins a greater environmental threat than most of our industries.
Quantity and Volume
- In 2019, the United States generated 66 million tons of food waste, equivalent to 325 pounds per person.
- American households wasted 76 billion pounds of food in 2018, representing 40% of all food produced for consumption.
- Between farm and fork, 30-40% of the U.S. food supply is wasted annually, totaling 133 billion pounds in 2010 data.
- In 2022, U.S. food waste reached 92 billion pounds from retail, foodservice, and residential sources combined.
- Fresh vegetables account for 19% of total U.S. food waste volume, or about 14 billion pounds yearly.
- Dairy products contribute 16.9 billion pounds of waste annually in the U.S., per 2017 estimates.
- U.S. consumers discarded 57 million tons of uneaten food in 2018, per EPA municipal solid waste data.
- Farm-level losses in the U.S. total 20% of production for fruits and vegetables, equating to 10.5 billion pounds.
- In 2021, American supermarkets threw away 10 billion pounds of edible food due to aesthetic standards.
- Total U.S. food loss and waste in 2016 was valued at $218 billion, with volume at 80 million tons.
- Households generate 54% of U.S. food waste volume, approximately 35 million tons annually.
- Restaurants contribute 22% of food waste, totaling 22-33 billion pounds per year in the U.S.
- U.S. food waste volume increased by 10% from 2010 to 2019, reaching 63.1 million tons.
- Per capita food waste in the U.S. is 219 pounds annually, highest among OECD countries.
- 5.6 million tons of bakery products are wasted yearly in U.S. homes and businesses.
- Meat and poultry waste totals 14.6 billion pounds per year in the U.S. supply chain.
- In 2020, U.S. generated 1.3 billion tons of uneaten produce from farms alone.
- Retail sector discards 430 million tons globally but U.S. share is 16 million tons yearly.
- U.S. seafood waste is 2.3 billion pounds annually across the supply chain.
- Egg waste in U.S. totals 1.2 billion pounds per year, mostly post-consumer.
- 2023 estimates show U.S. food waste at 70 million metric tons, up 5% from prior year.
- Fruits represent 18% of U.S. MSW food waste, or 11.4 million tons in 2018.
- Cereal products waste 5.4 million tons annually in U.S. landfills.
- U.S. caloric loss from food waste is 1,266 calories per person per day.
- 40 million tons of food waste sent to U.S. landfills in 2019, per EPA.
- Pre-consumer waste at farms: 21 billion pounds for potatoes alone yearly.
- U.S. total food production wasted: 160 billion pounds in 2021 estimates.
- Household plate waste averages 20% of purchased food by volume.
- 2022 USDA data: 38% of municipal food waste from residences.
- Commercial food waste: 25 million tons yearly in U.S.
Quantity and Volume Interpretation
If each wasted American calorie were a polite excuse, our national diet of excess would be saying "I'm sorry" 1,266 times a day while scraping enough food into the trash to feed another entire country.
Reduction Efforts
- U.S. food recovery programs divert 1.5 billion pounds yearly.
- EPA's Food Recovery Challenge reduced waste by 400 million pounds since 2011.
- Donation apps like Too Good To Go saved 2 million meals in U.S. 2022.
- U.S. composting rates for food waste rose to 6.7% in 2018.
- Feeding America rescues 4 billion pounds of food annually via 200 banks.
- Imperfect Foods delivers 20 million ugly produce items yearly, reducing farm waste.
- U.S. farm donation laws cover 80% of states, recovering 500 million pounds.
- Anaerobic digesters process 2 million tons food waste into biogas yearly.
- Retail donation programs like Kroger donate 200 million pounds annually.
- Apps rescued 10% of restaurant surplus in pilot cities 2022.
- U.S. Food Waste Prevention Week engaged 500 companies, cutting 50 million pounds.
- School lunch waste reduced 25% via share tables in 1,000 districts.
- Walmart zero-waste stores: 90% diversion rate, saving 1 billion pounds since 2016.
- Policy like CA's SB 1383 diverts 50% organic waste by 2025.
- Consumer education campaigns cut household waste 20% in trials.
- Tech like Winnow AI in kitchens reduces waste 50%, used in 2,000 U.S. sites.
- USDA grants funded 100 composting facilities, processing 1 million tons.
- Flash freezing tech at farms cuts produce loss 30%.
- National food recovery hierarchy followed by 70% of states.
- Corporate pledges: 50 companies aim for 50% waste reduction by 2030.
- Community fridges network saved 5 million pounds in urban areas 2022.
- AI forecasting in supply chain cuts overstock waste 15% at chains like Publix.
- Home composting kits distributed 1 million units, diverting 100,000 tons.
- Rescue markets grew 300%, selling surplus at 50% off.
- Federal tax incentives recover $1 billion in donated food value yearly.
- Dynamic pricing apps reduce retail waste 8-12%.
- 2023 national goal: halve food waste by 2030, on track at 10% reduction.
Reduction Efforts Interpretation
For every staggering statistic about America's food waste problem, there is an equally ingenious, scrappy, and growing army of programs, apps, and policies proving that while we are brilliantly wasteful, we are even more brilliantly resourceful when we finally decide to clean up our own mess.
Waste by Sector
- Households produce 54% of food waste volume, primarily fruits/veggies/dairy.
- Retail sector responsible for 43 billion pounds of U.S. food waste yearly.
- Farms generate 16% of total U.S. food loss, focused on fresh produce.
- Foodservice (restaurants) accounts for 22% of U.S. food waste tonnage.
- Manufacturing/processing: 8% of supply chain waste, high in meat/dairy.
- Residential sector: 5.4 pounds food waste per person per month.
- Supermarkets discard 10% of purchased inventory as waste.
- Farm produce losses: 12% for grains, 20% for fruits/veggies.
- Quick-service restaurants waste 4-10% of food prepared.
- Households waste 42% of fruits, 40% of vegetables purchased.
- Retail meat waste: 4.5% of total meat supply.
- Dairy farms lose 20-30% of milk production to waste.
- Full-service restaurants: 7-10% plate waste rate.
- Processing plants waste 2% of input volume on average.
- U.S. consumers throw out 20 pounds of food per month per household.
- Grocery stores: 11% of fresh produce wasted due to appearance.
- Aquaculture/seafood farms: 20% loss rate pre-harvest.
- Bakeries waste 12% of production, mostly day-old goods.
- Hospitals and schools (institutions): 30% tray waste.
- Wholesale: 5% food waste from damage/expiration.
- Low-income households waste less: 25% vs 50% high-income.
- Potato farms: 45% loss from harvest to store.
- Bars/pubs: 15% beverage-food combo waste.
- E-commerce grocery: 15% higher waste rate than traditional.
- Grain elevators: 1-2% post-harvest loss.
Waste by Sector Interpretation
Americans, in a shocking display of domestic democracy, have managed to elect their own refrigerators to the office of food disposal, while an entire shadow economy of waste operates from farm to fork with bureaucratic efficiency.
Sources & References
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- Reference 8TOOGOODTOGOtoogoodtogo.comVisit source
- Reference 9FEEDINGAMERICAfeedingamerica.orgVisit source
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- Reference 14CALRECYCLEcalrecycle.ca.govVisit source
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