Food Waste and Hunger is a Side by Side Problem

Americans are tossing out at least $75 billion in food each year, according to an extensive study that follows foods from farms through retailers and into the mouths and waste bins of consumers. The eight-year study revealed that restaurants, convenience stores and most families could help their bottom lines if they just learned to buy, store and use food more wisely

Official surveys indicate that every year more than 350 billion pounds of edible food is available for human consumption in the United States. Of that total, nearly 100 billion pounds -- including fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, and grain products -- are lost to waste by retailers, restaurants, and consumers.

By contrast, the amount of food required to meet the needs of the hungry is only four billion pounds, according to Food Not Bombs, an advocacy group, which estimates that every year more than 30 million people in the United States are going hungry on regular basis.

According to various reports, the U.S. and Western European consumers, who constitute only about 12 percent of the world population, are responsible for about 60 percent of its private consumer goods consumption.

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