Apr 16, 2021
I buy fresh fruits and vegetables every time I go to the grocery store, but it seems like much of the produce ends in the waste bin, because I don’t get around to eating it or forget that it’s in the fridge. Do you have any tips on how I can avoid this?
You aren’t alone. Americans nationwide throw away about 80 billion pounds of food in a typical year, researchers have found.
For example, approximately 30% of the food produced in the United States is wasted each year, and a significant portion of that occurs at the consumer level. Food waste accounts for 15% of all solid waste in the United States and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
Apr 16, 2021
I buy fresh fruits and vegetables every time I go to the grocery store, but it seems like much of the produce ends in the waste bin, because I don’t get around to eating it or forget that it’s in the fridge. Do you have any tips on how I can avoid this?
You aren’t alone. Americans nationwide throw away about 80 billion pounds of food in a typical year, researchers have found.
For example, approximately 30% of the food produced in the United States is wasted each year, and a significant portion of that occurs at the consumer level. Food waste accounts for 15% of all solid waste in the United States and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
Fridge organization can lessen food waste
Submitted photo
QUESTION: I buy fresh fruits and vegetables every time I go to the grocery store, but it seems like much of the produce ends in the wastebin, because I don’t get around to eating it or forget that it’s in the fridge. Do you have any tips on how I can avoid this?
ANSWER: You aren’t alone. Americans nationwide throw away about 80 billion pounds of food in a typical year, researchers have found.
For example, approximately 30% of the food produced in the United States is wasted each year, and a significant portion of that occurs at the consumer level. Food waste accounts for 15% of all solid waste in the United States and contributes significantly to greenhouse gas emissions.
By Matt Reese
From the farmer to the consumer, the whole food chain saw the need for change in 2020 when processing capacity was reduced resulting in back-ups and shortages. This situation was partly due to a problem Ohio agriculture has been talking about for years there is simply not enough local meat processing capacity.
“This is something we have been working on for several years in the state of Ohio. It is so important to our producers,” said Brandon Kern, senior director, state and national policy for Ohio Farm Bureau. “Even pre-pandemic, this had been an issue that was percolating. We have capacity needs, particularly when you are talking about small and medium-sized processors. Part of the issue is that most of the meat processing in this country is very concentrated amongst four very large meat packers and two of those are foreign owned. This presents some real food security issues. This time last year we saw that this can create some real issues in the supply cha