For the first time, the Biden administration has released a national strategy to combat a major national problem: food waste.
Approximately 30 percent of the nation’s food supply is not eaten and is discarded or wasted. In fact, food is the largest source of material sent to landfills and incinerators in the United States. When uneaten food is sent to landfills, it decomposes, emitting as much greenhouse gas emissions per year as dozens of coal-fired power plants, according to the federal government.
The White House strategy includes working to change both corporate and individual behavior to reduce waste, funding research to extend the shelf life of fresh produce, expanding food donations, and improving local infrastructure and policies to turn food waste into usable products like compost, gas and animal feed.
“Everyone has a role to play in reducing food loss and waste, and I hope this federal effort will inspire and spur action from the private sector and communities across America,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement released by the department.
The strategy falls short of food waste laws in other countries and even some US states, and doesn’t include any new regulations. Dana Gunders, president of ReFED, a research and advocacy group that tackles food waste, called the strategy “a good first step.”
In 2015, the United States set a goal of halving food waste by 2030. The strategy released Wednesday lays out a path to get there.
Why does so much food go uneaten?
According to the latest figures from ReFED, 91 million tons of unsold, uneaten food was produced in the United States in 2021. About half of that was still edible, but only 2% was donated.
According to a study by ReFED, 20 percent of food is wasted at the farm level in the United States. This could be because farmers don’t get a good price for their tomato harvest, for example, or because the tomatoes don’t meet the size, shape or color specifications set by food retailers.
Stores, restaurants, and commercial kitchens throw away food they can’t sell, and many households throw away food that’s still safe to eat, in part because “best before” labels can be confusing and don’t always indicate when food has spoiled.
There has been some progress in reducing food waste: Between 2019 and 2022, eight supermarket chains that voluntarily committed to reducing food waste reported a 25% decrease in the total amount of unsold food.
A wave of startups have sprung up in recent years trying to solve the waste problem, including one that uses artificial intelligence to monitor what’s being thrown out to help retailers make better sourcing decisions, and apps that offer budget-conscious shoppers deals on soon-to-go groceries and restaurant meals.
What will other countries do?
For more than 20 years, South Korea has banned the dumping of food and food waste in the trash, instead using it to make compost, animal feed and biogas.
France has a mandatory composting law, meaning municipalities must offer residents ways to keep their organic waste out of landfills, and in 2016, France became the first country to require supermarkets to donate still-safe food.
How will states respond?
California is furthest along, requiring grocery stores to donate “the maximum amount of edible food that would have been wasted” starting in 2022 or face fines. This year, the law also applies to large restaurant, hotel and hospital cafeterias.
The law requires all cities and counties to reduce the amount of organic waste they send to landfills by 75 percent by 2025, compared to 2014 levels. That means building more composting facilities or installing machines that turn organic waste into biogas.
Some other states have a mix of laws.
Washington state requires grocery stores to donate edible food; Vermont requires residents to compost food; Maryland gives farmers a tax credit for donating edible food; Massachusetts limits the amount food companies can send to landfills; and New York requires large food companies to donate edible excess food and recycle leftover scraps if they’re within 25 miles of a composting facility or anaerobic digester.
“Passing a nationwide organic waste ban will be difficult for a variety of reasons, but we would hope that the federal government would provide additional incentives to cities and states that pass such policies,” said Emily Broad Rib, who runs the Food Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School.
What does the White House plan include?
The White House has said it will fund research into new seed varieties, packaging and other technologies that could extend food shelf life.
The government will also invest in research to measure “the effectiveness of different consumer messages to encourage households to reduce food waste” and help students learn food waste prevention tips, including in school canteens, which can be a huge source of food waste.
The Agriculture Department said it is also working with farmers, crop insurance agents and others to reduce food waste on farms.
