Solutions to Food Waste in the U.S. Evaluated

As food waste continues to be an issue for many households in the United States and the food industry at large, researchers investigated which solutions consumers are most likely to adopt. Based on studies done in 2021, the average American household wastes 32% of purchased food. Last year the EPA and USDA set the first national food waste reduction goal of cutting food waste by 50% by 2030. Researchers at Penn State, Purdue, and Duke universities conducted an online survey to help understand what food waste solutions might be adopted by consumers. The survey proposed nine solutions including changes in portion size, standardization of use by and sell by dates, taxing food waste, implementing composting, and making food donation easier. Survey results showed that most respondents preferred to have food donation made easier along with standardization of date labels and more education as to what they mean.  Taxing food waste had the least support.

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Picture Credit Susanne Kuehne 

Posted on 18 February 2022