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Sabrina Kinsey

Mrs. Davis

English Comp II

7 November 2023

Food Waste in America

A growing concern in America is the amount of food wasted every year. According to an

article by Foodprint, “America wastes roughly forty percent of its food. Of the estimated 125 to

160 billion pounds of food that goes to waste every year, much of it is perfectly edible and

nutritious.” (The Problem With Food Waste) This amount of food being wasted could help many

food insecure people. Food is handled by many people before it reaches peoples’ tables, and food

waste happens at every stage. Much of America’s resources are used to manufacture food.

According to Foodprint, “America uses half of our land, eighty percent of our consumable fresh

water, and almost seventeen percent of our energy budget for food production.” (Problem) These

are surprising percentages. Food waste is a concerning problem but can be addressed at many

levels: production industries, grocery stores, restaurants, and our homes.

Much of our food waste occurs in the production phase. Farms, packing plants, and

modes of food transportation are a few examples of places food is handled before it reaches our

tables. Food waste occurs on farms due to harsh weather, destructive insects, and disease.

Sometimes, these occurrences are natural and unavoidable. Packing plants are another example

of places food is wasted. Labor shortages in packing plants can cause large amounts of food to be

wasted. “Thousands of animals were slaughtered and discarded during the Covid 19 outbreak

because workers were ill, and the plants were forced to close.” (Problem) Labor shortages, along
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with technical difficulties and damaged products contribute significantly to waste. Food waste

also happens during transportation. Depending on the distance food must be transported and the

temperature food can spoil. Refrigeration problems can contribute to this. Another reason food

can be wasted during transportation is retailers reject shipments. “It is estimated that between

two and five percent of food shipments are rejected by retailers and if another buyer isn’t found

quickly, the entire shipment is thrown out.” (Problem) Rejecting food shipments can shorten the

shelf-life of food. Some of these foods could be donated to food banks.

Grocery stores contribute abundantly to food waste. Overstocking of products is a

massive problem. Produce, milk, meat and seafood are perishable items that are often

overstocked and end up being thrown away. Grocery stores often offer baked goods and

preprepared meals that spoil if they are not sold quickly as well. These items should also be

donated if possible. There is also an abundant amount of waste associated with imperfect

produce. In an article called “Global Food Waste in 2023,” Stephanie Safdie states, “Research

shows that produce buyers avoid ugly produce. A fifth of edible produce that has surface

blemishes, grows in unfamiliar shapes, or has unique colorations gets discarded from grocery

stores.” Though produce is not perfect in appearance, it is often perfectly edible. Imperfect

produce is also usable in other ways than human consumption. In a video called Turning Food

Waste into a Resource, it is stated “Every year, twenty-one tons of food never makes it to

consumers and most of this happens in the produce isle.” (PBS) In this video, a grocery store

called PCC Natural Grocers in Issaquah, Washington uses this wasted produce in an entirely

different way. The produce that would have been thrown out is loaded into a machine called a

harvester. The harvester turned this produce into a liquid used to make organic fertilizer. More

grocery stores should try to reduce their waste.

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Restaurants are responsible for a large part of the food waste in America. “U.S.

restaurants generate an estimated 22 to 33 billion pounds of food waste each year.”

(Problem) This happens in a few different ways. This serving sizes in restaurants has

grown over time. According to Foodprint, “Over the last thirty years, portion sizes have

increased two to eight times larger than the USDA or FDA standard serving sizes.”

Problem) Restaurants should offer smaller portions. Another way to combat food waste is

for consumers to use their leftover food for additional meals. “According to the Cornell

University Food and Brand Lab, diners leave seventeen percent of their meals uneaten,

and fifty-five percent of edible leftovers are left at the restaurant.” (Problem) Utilizing

this leftover food for additional meals would cut back significantly on food waste.

Restaurants often over prepare meals as well. Though it makes service faster when meals

are prepared beforehand, this can lead to a lot of waste if the meals are unsold. All you

can eat buffets are one of the worst contributors to food waste. All you can eat buffets are

kept stocked during business hours instead of letting the buffet run out. Once this food is

prepared, it is unable to be donated for safety reasons. Buffets should cut back on

stocking before close of business.

The largest part of food waste occurs at home. Part of this problem can be

attributed to fear of illness. In an article titled “How to Cut Food Waste and Maintain

Food Safety,” the FDA claims “The CDC estimates forty-eight million food born

illnesses occur annually, which amounts to one in six Americans, 128,000

hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths.” While these numbers are terrifying, food born

illnesses can be avoided. Because of this fear many people choose not to eat food that is

still perfectly edible. “Many consumers misunderstand the purpose and meaning of the
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date labels that appear on packaged food. Confusion over date labeling accounts for an

estimated twenty percent of consumer food waste.” (FDA) People should be cautious

about labels, but need to learn not to waste food that is still safe to eat. People can also

combat food waste by avoiding poor planning, overbuying, and overpreparing meals.

People should make meal plans and stick to them while shopping. Just because something

is on sale, it does not have to be purchased. Most importantly, prepare smaller meals.

These steps can greatly reduce food waste at home.

Food waste continues to be a concerning problem but can be addressed at many

levels: production industries, grocery stores, restaurants, and at home. Everyone can do

their part to combat this growing problem. More food should be donated to those who are

food insecure. Grocery stores can take steps to minimize waste. Restaurants can cut back

significantly on waste and find ways to donate more. Diners should utilize their leftovers

or even share portions. Most of all, people can cut back significantly on waste at home

with just a few simple adjustments. Read labels more carefully. Make meal plans and

stick to them. Do not overbuy, and do not overprepare. We can all do our part.
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Food Waste in America

Hook- America wastes forty percent of its food.

Introduce topic- Food waste in America
Thesis- Food waste is a concerning problem but can be addressed at many levels: production
industries, grocery stores, restaurants, and at home.
Main idea- Food waste occurs at the production phase.
Subpoint 1- Food waste happens on farms.
A- Harsh weather, destructive insects, disease
B- Unavoidable most of the time.
Subpoint 2- Food waste happens at packing plants.
A- Labor shortages and disruptions
B- Illness causes plants to shut down and animals are slaughtered and discarded
Subpoint 3- Food waste happens during transportation
A- Problems with refrigeration
B- Shipments rejected
Main Idea- Food waste happens in grocery stores.
Subpoint 1- Overstocking
A- Produce, milk, meat, seafood spoil quickly.
B- Baked goods and preprepared meals spoil if they do not sell.
Subpoint 2- Perfect produce
A- Grocery stores reject imperfect produce.
B- People prefer pretty produce
Subpoint 3- Using imperfect produce or other things.
A- PCC Natural Grocers
B- Makes organic fertilizer
Main idea- Restaurants cause food waste.
Subpoint 1 – serving sizes
A- serving sizes have grown
B- People do not utilize leftovers
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Subpoint 2- Kitchen staff

A- overprepared food
B- utilizing overprepared food for additional meals
Subpoint 3- All-you-can-eat-buffets
A- Food is kept stocked during business hours
B- prepared food unable to be donated
Main idea- Food is wasted at home.
Subpoint 1- Fear of illness
A- Food born illness and hospitalization
B- Illness can be prevented
Subpoint 2- Label confusion
A- learning to read labels
B- FDA recommendations
Subpoint 3- Overpreparing, overbuying, poor planning
A- Meal plans and sticking to them
B- utilize leftovers
Thesis- Food waste continues to be a problem but can be addressed.
Conclusion- Everyone can do their part to combat food waste.
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Works Cited

Chen, Canxi, Chaud rary, Abhishek, Mathis, Alexander “Nutritional and Environmental Losses
Embedded in Global Food Waste” Science Direct
September 2020 www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344920302305
“How To Cut Food Waste and Maintain Food Safety” US Food and Drug Administration
February 17, 2022 www.fda.gov/food/consumers/how-to-cut-food-waste-and-maintain-
food-safety
“The Problem With Food Waste” Foodprint
April 5,2023 www.foodprint.org/issues/the-problem-of-food-waste/
Safdie, Stephanie “Global Food Waste in 2023” Greenly
August 21,2023 www.greenly.earth/en-us/blog/ecology-news/global-food-waste-in-2023
Sengupta, Somini “Inside the Global Effort to Keep Perfectly Good Food out of The Dump”
New York Times October 13, 2022 www.nytimes.com/2022/10/13/climate/global-food-
waste-solutions.html
“Turning Food Waste into a Resource” PBS Learning Media
March 6, 2019 oeta.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/stn15.sci.stem.foodwaste/turning-
food-waste-into-a-resource
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“Nutritional and Environmental Losses Embedded in Global Food Waste” is an article

concerning global food waste. The article outlines global losses that food waste causes. The
research from this article was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The article was
co-written by Canxi Chen, Abhishek Chaundhary, and Alexander Mathys. Canxi Chen and
Alexander Mathys are both degree-holding scholars from Switzerland. Abhishek Chaundry is
PhD and Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technolgy in Kanpur, Switzerland. Science
Direct is a website that provides access to a large database of scientific and medical publications
of the Dutch publisher Elsevier. It is a full text database offering journal articles and book
chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and 11,000 books. This article was
recently published in 2020. It includes plenty of source work and it is ethically written. The
information is reliable and will help me with my paper by offering reliable information.
“How to Cut Food Waste and Maintain Food Safety” is an article outlining what it takes
to get food to our tables. It also explains how to lessen food waste. The article was published by
the US Food and Drug Administration. The US Food and Drug Administration is responsible for
protecting public health by assuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary
drugs, biological products, medical devices, our food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit
radiation. The US Food and Drug Administration is responsible for $2.5 trillion in food
consumption in the United States. They regulate seventy-five percent of the United States food
supply. The FDA is controlled by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
This article was recently published in 2022. The article is accurate and ethically written. The
FDA is a reliable source, and the article will help me with my paper by providing accurate
information.
“The Problem With Food Waste” is an article by Foodprint that explains how and where
food is wasted in America. The article gives information and statistics and outlines ways to
combat food waste. Foodprint is a program from a non-profit organization dedicated to research
and education on food production companies. Foodprint is a project of GRACE Communications
Foundation who develops innovative strategies to increase public awareness of the critical and
environmental and public health issues created by our current industrial food system, and
advocates for more sustainable alternatives. Foodprint is a reliable source that gives good
information that will help with my paper.
“Global Food Waste in 2023” is an article that outlines different types of food waste. The
article also gives suggestions on how to combat food waste. The article was written by Stephanie
Safdie. Stephanie Safdie completed a bachelor's degree in English and Multimedia in 2020 at the
University of Maryland College Park. She joined Greenly in mid 2022 as SEO copywriter for the
US blog to provide her American perspective on climate change issues we face today. Greenly is
a climate tech company that specializes in providing unique software solutions for mid-market
businesses. Greenly helps companies analyze the impacts of their decision-making for issues like
food waste. Greenly supports businesses by giving them strategies for implementing efficient,
cost-effective, and sustainable systems. This article was recently published in August of 2023.
The article was ethically written and gave reliable information. The article will help me with my
paper by giving me reliable information.
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“Inside the Global Effort to Keep Perfectly Good Food Out of the Dump” is an article
about the effects of food waste and its connections to hunger and climate control. The article also
gives some suggestions to combat food waste. The article was written by Somini Sengupta.
Sengupta is the international climate reporter for the New York Times. She is a George Polk
award-winning international correspondent. She has reported from the Congo River Ferry, a
Himalayan glacier, the streets of Baghdad and Mumbai, and many other places, She grew up in
India, Canada, and the U.S and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. The
New York Times is a Newspaper based in New York City. As of 2022 the newspaper had
740,000 paying subscribers and 8.6 million paying digital subscribers. The newspaper was
founded in 1851 and published by the New York Times Company. The article was recently
published in 2022 and was ethically written. The information in the article is reliable and will
help with my paper by providing accurate information.
“Turning Food Waste Into a Resource” in a video about turning food waste into fertilizer.
In the video, a grocery store used unsellable produce to make organic fertilizer to combat food
waste. The video was made by PBS. PBS is an American public broadcaster. It is a free-to-air
television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a membership organization that, in
partnership with it’s member stations, serves the American public with programming and
services to educate, inspire, entertain, and express a diversity of perspectives through media.
PBS is funded by a combination of member station dues, the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, pledge dues, and donations from both private foundations and individual citizens.
All proposed funding for programming is subject to a set of standards to ensure the program is
free of influence from the funding source. The video was published in 2019. The video includes
reliable information that will help me write my paper,