Food waste now accounts for more than one quarter of the total freshwater consumption and wastes more than 300 million barrels of oil per year, according to a recently released study - The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact by Kevin D. Hall, Juen Guo, Michael Dore, Carson C. Chow.
The study, published in the Public Library of Science, found that US food waste is on the increase and is a significant contributor to the excess consumption of freshwater and fossil fuels – both of which are impacting global climate change.
Each year more than 40% of the entire food system is wasted, this is much more than the 13% previously thought. The new figures, representing a more comprehensive study of the food system in its entirety, include everything from the field to the processing plant to stores and supermarkets, and finally in our homes.
Aside from the significant squandering of fossil fuel resources and freshwater, the food waste is further contributing to climate change via the methane produced by the wasted food rotting in landfills.
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