As Christians, we’re supposed to be good stewards of the earth. We’re supposed to take care of the land and the animals that live here, (Genesis 1:26). Unfortunately, I cannot say we’re doing a good job of that. Specifically, I’m talking about how much food we waste.
Hey, it takes a lot of farming and ranching to produce the food we consume. So you wouldn’t imagine that we would waste that precious resource, ohh but we do.
So how much food do we waste?
Hold onto your hats, in America, we waste 31% of the food we produce!
That’s right, we waste 31% of all the food we produce. That amounts to 133 billion pounds of food that gets wasted, equivalent to $161 billion in waste. I know, I can hardly fathom it myself.
If you’re like me, I had a hard time putting that 133 billion pounds of wasted food into perspective, so let me help you out.
Here’s the deal, on average, all of the wasted food amounts to 1,249 wasted calories per day, per American. We need more perspective, don’t we?…
It’s like throwing away two cheese burgers and an order of fries, everyday, for every American.
No, I’m not kidding.
Who would throw away two cheeseburgers and an order of fries, every day?
Have people lost their minds!
Maybe… But here’s the details.
Out of that 31% of wasted food,
10% comes from the retail sector. You know, old food in the stores that get tossed out.
21% comes from you and I. We didn’t finish our breakfast, lunch, or dinner, so it gets chucked. Then we forgot about those veggies in the drawer, out they go. Don’t forget about the bread in the back of the cabinet, too late.
The rest of the waste comes from everywhere else. Anything from the field, to the supply chain, and right on down into the production process.
Regardless, it’s a staggering number!
None of that sounds like being a good steward of the earth, does it?
Not in the least, and here’s some more food wasting details:
Look how much food us consumer folk are wasting!
Unfortunately, this whole saga is even worse than you can imagine. The story doesn’t just end with a rotten apple in the trash. It moves to the trash itself…
Get this,
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Food waste is the single most common material landfilled and incinerated in the United States, comprising 24 and 22 percent of landfilled and combusted municipal solid waste, respectively.
In fact, as of this writing, 33,150,904,860 animals have been killed for food this year. On average, 55 billion land and sea animals are killed annually to support the U.S. food supply.
It’s astonishing, I know!
Hey, we’re not vegetarians, but even we were bothered by these numbers. It’s something you don’t think about. However, it’s quite clear, the modern food supply chain needs a lot of work, especially how animals are raised and treated in the process.
Now, since this article is about wasted food, I have to tell break it to you…
So food waste isn’t just confined to bread and apples, it’s the animals we raise for food. Even they are wasted, each and everyday. All despite 37.9 million Americans living in poverty.
What a sad state of affairs.
Why Do We Waste So Much Food?
I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons that aren’t very good.
One biggie are those “Best Buy” dates on your canned goods. Hey, it’s only a recommendation, it’s not an expiration date. I’ve eaten canned goods a couple years past those dates, and I lived to tell the tale.
Another reason, when you have food, you take it for granted. It’s like air, no one thinks about it unless you’re out of it. Well, start thinking about food. Don’t be a waster! Hey, our family saves everything, left overs are eaten the next day. Wasting food in my house is basically a sin.
Also, if you’re wasting 21% of the food you purchase, you’re throwing away 21% of your money. That’s being a bad steward of the earth, and a bad steward of the blessings God bestowed on you.
All of times, we feel powerless to make some positive change in the world. Well, on this fine Monday morning, you just found a fantastically easy way to make a positive change in the world. Don’t waste food, and help remedy a major problem that most people don’t even know exists.
Thanks for reading, You Won’t Believe How Much Food America Wastes!
You Won’t Believe How Much Food America Wastes!
As Christians, we’re supposed to be good stewards of the earth. We’re supposed to take care of the land and the animals that live here, (Genesis 1:26). Unfortunately, I cannot say we’re doing a good job of that. Specifically, I’m talking about how much food we waste.
Hey, it takes a lot of farming and ranching to produce the food we consume. So you wouldn’t imagine that we would waste that precious resource, ohh but we do.
So how much food do we waste?
Hold onto your hats, in America, we waste 31% of the food we produce!
That’s right, we waste 31% of all the food we produce. That amounts to 133 billion pounds of food that gets wasted, equivalent to $161 billion in waste. I know, I can hardly fathom it myself.
If you’re like me, I had a hard time putting that 133 billion pounds of wasted food into perspective, so let me help you out.
Here’s the deal, on average, all of the wasted food amounts to 1,249 wasted calories per day, per American. We need more perspective, don’t we?…
It’s like throwing away two cheese burgers and an order of fries, everyday, for every American.
No, I’m not kidding.
Who would throw away two cheeseburgers and an order of fries, every day?
Have people lost their minds!
Maybe… But here’s the details.
Out of that 31% of wasted food,
Regardless, it’s a staggering number!
None of that sounds like being a good steward of the earth, does it?
Not in the least, and here’s some more food wasting details:
Unfortunately, this whole saga is even worse than you can imagine. The story doesn’t just end with a rotten apple in the trash. It moves to the trash itself…
Get this,
Study and news with a fresh Christian perspective in your inbox.
Who knew that wasted food takes up almost a quarter of waste management resources?
Now to the gruesome part…
How Many Animals Are Killed For Food Each Year?
This one actually shocked me and my family.
In 2020, 9.76 billion land animals were killed for food.
That equates to:
All dead, so we can eat…
In fact, as of this writing, 33,150,904,860 animals have been killed for food this year. On average, 55 billion land and sea animals are killed annually to support the U.S. food supply.
It’s astonishing, I know!
Hey, we’re not vegetarians, but even we were bothered by these numbers. It’s something you don’t think about. However, it’s quite clear, the modern food supply chain needs a lot of work, especially how animals are raised and treated in the process.
Now, since this article is about wasted food, I have to tell break it to you…
So food waste isn’t just confined to bread and apples, it’s the animals we raise for food. Even they are wasted, each and everyday. All despite 37.9 million Americans living in poverty.
What a sad state of affairs.
Why Do We Waste So Much Food?
I’m sure there’s a lot of reasons that aren’t very good.
One biggie are those “Best Buy” dates on your canned goods. Hey, it’s only a recommendation, it’s not an expiration date. I’ve eaten canned goods a couple years past those dates, and I lived to tell the tale.
Another reason, when you have food, you take it for granted. It’s like air, no one thinks about it unless you’re out of it. Well, start thinking about food. Don’t be a waster! Hey, our family saves everything, left overs are eaten the next day. Wasting food in my house is basically a sin.
Also, if you’re wasting 21% of the food you purchase, you’re throwing away 21% of your money. That’s being a bad steward of the earth, and a bad steward of the blessings God bestowed on you.
All of times, we feel powerless to make some positive change in the world. Well, on this fine Monday morning, you just found a fantastically easy way to make a positive change in the world. Don’t waste food, and help remedy a major problem that most people don’t even know exists.