The other day a copy of the Heifer International holiday catalog arrived. On the fourth page there were a collection of facts about food waste. Here are five of them:
- In the United States, an estimated 40 percent of food gets thrown away.
- The United States’ per capita food waste has increased 50 percent since 1974.
- All together, industrialized countries toss 222 million tons of food each year. That’s enough to feed 925 million people.
- Food waste makes up more than 14 percent of the municipal solid waste stream.
- Worldwide, roughly a third of all food produced is never eaten.
Heifer International claims the EPA and the World Food Programme as their sources.
Image source: Metropolitan Museum of Art
