"Can't afford high Gas prices? Then... STOP throwing away your FOOD!"

Jcaugustine

Jcaugustine

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http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0007940

Throwing Food and it's drastic impact on the US Economy

Americans on average throw away their half eaten meals rather than boxing it up when at a restaurant, and/or simply keeping them in the fridge for a later time. These wasted food adds up to over a billion dollars annually of wasted spending.

World hunger?

The amount of food Americans throw away has risen by approximately 50 percent since 1974 according to a new study in PLoS ONE. This means that the US could feed over 200 million adults every year with the food that ends up in the trash. Currently, the UN estimates that one billion people—an historical record—are going hungry worldwide. This means that the US alone can essentially feed one-fifth of the world's entire hunger population.

Money tight in this economy?

Did you know that Americans eat out an average of 4-5 times a week? The study shows that a family of four usually wastes $2,500 worth of food a year, which equates to Americans just throwing away $10 a day.

High gas prices in today's economy?

The study found that food waste in America consumes approximately 300 million barrels of oil every year from fossil fuels used in farming. In 2003 this was 4 percent of the nation's total oil consumption, which is one of the nation's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

Shortage on nation's water supply?

Wasted food is also impacting America's freshwater supply. According to the study a quarter of all freshwater usage in the US goes to produce food that is never eaten.

"Assuming that agriculture utilizes about 70% of the freshwater supply, our calculations imply that more than one quarter of total freshwater use is accounted for by wasted food," according to researchers.
Click to expand...

It's one of the reason why many people in this country goes broke, why the US economy continues to stumble, and why world hunger gets bigger.

This shouldn't be a problem for a CAGer I'm guessing...

Next time you want to buy a Video Game that you're just not sure you could afford, then save your food, spend less on it, and since Americans throws away $10 per day on wasted food, you can have that video game in a week!
 
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Restaurants should have better portions. But the study is about how much food people buy at the grocery store and end up throwing out as it goes bad before the use it.

It is a huge waste of money if you're not careful in what you buy when it comes to perishables as anything you buy and don't eat is just money down the drain.

And people do love to bitch about things like gas prices that they have limited control over (beyond driving less, consolidating trips etc.), when they're wasting money by tossing out food, leaving lights on when not in a room, not weatherproofing their home properly etc.
 
I was going to go throw this moldy bread away, but after reading your post with this crazy backwards logic I think Ill eat it. Mmmm, Penicillin.
 
It's not a matter of eating spoiled food, it's buying the right portions so you can be sure to eat it before it goes bad.

With bread, an easy trick is to freeze the rest of a loaf before it gets stale/moldy and use it for toast as frozen bread toasts fine.

In general it's about not buying a gallon of milk when you usually end up dumping half of it out as it spoils, or buying too many bananas (which can be refrigerated to last longer--peeling will brown, but inside is fine) etc. It's mostly common sense stuff, but many people don't think about it, or only go to the store once every couple of weeks and try to buy 2 weeks worth of stuff and end up with more perishables than they can finish before they go bad. Deals like 5 avocados for a $2 or whatever are also problematic as many end up buying the quantity on the sign, not realizing that at most stores you can get however many you want at the discounted per unit price.
 
I don't think I have ever not gotten a to go box at a restaurant unless I finished the meal there. I also freeze my bread to keep it longer, as I hardly use it.

I think if grocery stores would donate their near sell date food to food shelters instead of throwing it away before it is even close to expiring, it would significantly help matters.
 
We don't throw anything out at home. At a restaurant we finish the food or box it up I'd say 90% of the time. If the food sucks or if there's not enough left to be bothered with, we don't. People who waste a lot of food are assholes and are wasting their own money.
 
[quote name='hankmecrankme']Wait, we waste food in the US? I thought we were all fat as fuck. :whistle2:k[/QUOTE]

That's only in states like Porkland Oregon. When in California you get them fine honies at 90 lbs. You just want to give those cunts a fucking sandwich. Get some meat on them hips. Though they'll probably just vomit that shit so they can fit into their size 4 clothing that is designed by homosexual men making women conform to their vision of twink. Sexy.
 
I'm guilty of tossing quite a bit. I can't just buy half a loaf, or use up an entire bag of celery. So what? I can also buy less celery for more money, and toss less, but then what's the point?

And I actually don't have a very strong stomach, so not having stomach aches every week (like when living with my parents) is well worth tossing ~$10-15 of food a week. I toss things for precautionary reasons. To call me an ass for that makes you a bitch.

Though sometimes, things spoil a lot faster than they're supposed to. Sometimes cheeses get moldy really fast. Usually not though.

I almost always get doggie bags and eat leftovers, but I admit that I get annoyed because she never eats restaurant leftovers, which I then have to throw out cause I thought she wanted it.
 
[quote name='masked lemon']I don't think I have ever not gotten a to go box at a restaurant unless I finished the meal there. I also freeze my bread to keep it longer, as I hardly use it.

I think if grocery stores would donate their near sell date food to food shelters instead of throwing it away before it is even close to expiring, it would significantly help matters.[/QUOTE]

Working in the grocery business, I can verify that my company's distribution center donates produce to the local food banks once the date passes a certain window. Can't speak for the grocery stores themselves but the local needy are at least getting some fruits and veggies around here from the warehouse.
 
To a couple of the above posts, no one's an asshole for throwing away expired food. It's going to happen. Stuff goes bad quicker than expected, you buy something new you dislike, you get busy and work late and eat out rather than being home for dinners etc.

It's only assholish if one puts no thought into what they're buying and no effort into minimizing waste. Stuff's going to go bad, but you can minimize it by being mindful about what you buy and planning out meals for the week, avoiding buying things in quantities you know you can't finish (i.e. buy however many individual apples you need weekly rather than big bags of them you may not finish), going for things closer to expiring when grabbing a snack out of the fridge, freezing bread before it gets stale, putting half a bunch of bananas in the fridge to stay good longer, stopping buying things you notice you're consistently tossing large portions of etc.

It doesn't take much effort, and people should have personal incentive to do it as it's saving them money.
 
I eat everything. If I'm full, I'll save like 2 bites of a burger to eat later. At home when I eat off plates, I clean the plate with a piece of bread. If I don't have bread, I use my tongue. I grew up pretty hungry living at home as a kid so it is very rare that I waste food. People love me at the buffet cuz I make their job so easy. I've had some food spoil on me and I hate it but shit happens sometimes. You save money this way but to me it's really just that. If the food is edible, eat it. One shouldn't throw it out because it doesn't look pretty any more or you're tired of the flavor. It is still food.
 
[quote name='hankmecrankme']Wait, we waste food in the US? I thought we were all fat as fuck. :whistle2:k[/QUOTE]

Yeah! Which is it? Are we fat, or are we throwing food away? You can't have both, man!
 
[quote name='masked lemon']I don't think I have ever not gotten a to go box at a restaurant unless I finished the meal there. I also freeze my bread to keep it longer, as I hardly use it.

I think if grocery stores would donate their near sell date food to food shelters instead of throwing it away before it is even close to expiring, it would significantly help matters.[/QUOTE]

My mom used to be an inventory control clerk at a grocery store, and they did donate the day-old breads and bakery items. Not sure about other items, I should ask.

It might not be as simple as you think... they might not be legally able to donate certain items. The profit margin in grocery is slim, they'd want to get all they can- including a donation tax writeoff.
 
The article is flawed from the start. The issue isn't throwing out restaurant food, it's going out to eat in the first place. People are always complaining about how much ANYTHING costs, from gas to healthcare, but nobody complains about throwing down $15 for a single meal when they go out, sometimes multiple times per week. Most of these meals could be made at home for $5 and might be healthier too.

I personally love it when someone who has just spent $10 on a single lunch throws a fit about having to spend $10 for an entire month of their blood pressure medication.

I think in most places there are public health regulations preventing near or expired food being given to shelters even though it seems logical. I know one food bank around here that could not give bottles or cans of water/soda away but did accept them from stores, just dumping out the contents and trading the cans in for the deposit. One of my friends also offered to buy the full cans from them while we volunteered there but they were unable to sell it by law, even for 10 cents each (double to donation!)
 
According to my friends I am a dirty commie..which means I hate all things American including french fries. French Fries have plague my entire life and there are many places that simply refuses to not give them to me even though I decline them if there is no second option.

Most places state that its just easier if I allow them to give me french fries which always baffles me because I dont see how simply not making them is harder than making them for me to throw away. So I have probably thrown away a million unwanted french fries in my life.....
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']According to my friends I am a dirty commie..which means I hate all things American including french fries. French Fries have plague my entire life and there are many places that simply refuses to not give them to me even though I decline them if there is no second option.

Most places state that its just easier if I allow them to give me french fries which always baffles me because I dont see how simply not making them is harder than making them for me to throw away. So I have probably thrown away a million unwanted french fries in my life.....[/QUOTE]

The server is probably worried you don't want to pay full price. At a restaurant, some folks try to get money knocked off the bill because they didn't get fries.

Most places will let you sub fries for a salad or veg, that's what I typically do.
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']According to my friends I am a dirty commie..which means I hate all things American including french fries. French Fries have plague my entire life and there are many places that simply refuses to not give them to me even though I decline them if there is no second option.

Most places state that its just easier if I allow them to give me french fries which always baffles me because I dont see how simply not making them is harder than making them for me to throw away. So I have probably thrown away a million unwanted french fries in my life.....[/QUOTE]
It is now official: You hate America.

What's your beef with french fries? What'd they ever do to you!

Filthy commie! GTFO!:lol:
 
I hate wasting food but it happens - not for a lack of planning or anything but sometimes you have a week of coming home super late from work so the vegetables you bought on Sunday go bad, sometimes you don't finish all of the milk before it expires, sometimes your kids refuse to eat what you made for dinner, etc. I hate wasting money but I'm not sure how this can be avoided.
 
My fiancé and I spend 200-250 a month on groceries (all Costco) and 100 a month on going out to eat (using groupons). I think I threw food away once.
 
I throw away crust every time I have a sandwich, I never eat it. Its so nasty. Barely ever go out to eat, I can cook better than most places so my wife and I typically only go out 1-2 times a month, if that.
 
I love the bread ends. I usually make my first sandwich with those two slices of bread. They also make for better croutons if you like to make your own.
 
So I spend about $50-$100 a week on groceries to feed my family. We cook the food and eat it. (Well, the kids don't always eat everything...)

Please tell me, is this okay! I'll stop buying food and eating it if you tell me it will SAVE THE PLANET and LOWER GAS PRICES!
 
[quote name='Jodou']I'm guilty of throwing away bread crust ends. Because who the fuck wants to eat them?![/QUOTE]

Anyone over 7?
 
[quote name='munch']Anyone over 7?[/QUOTE]

I do too. I like crust on bread, but not the ends. Partially cause they're too thin.

I toss popcorn a lot. For some reason, I always forget about buying them, and they expire/go stale. I even buy 3 bag boxes.

I toss celery, onions, and carrots, because I buy them for cooking, and we rarely use all of it. Then we have to buy more when we're low, so we opt to just use fresh ones instead of mixing week old celery with new ones. Our freezer is smallish, so we can't even fit a load of bread with what we already have in there. And I actually don't eat toast much.

I also toss eggs a lot. I go through period where I don't use them. I tried buying half dozens, but it wasn't any more of a savings. Running out and buying 6 more once negates savings from buying a dozen for months.
 
Yeah, the bread crust ends are too thin and make me feel like I'm wasting the meat inside. Whenever I make an effort to eat them, I just end up feeling unsatisfied.
 
Oh, you're talking about heels, or at least that's what they're called around here. I don't think I've ever heard them referred to as "bread crust ends". :lol:
 
[quote name='Soodmeg']French Fries have plague my entire life[/QUOTE]

This is probably the greatest thing I've ever seen you write, lol. That is almost signature worthy.
 
Yeah, heels of bread suck, I do toss those.

I don't mind crust though. On good whole wheat/multigrain bread it's not as bad as on white bread IMO.
 
Currently, the UN estimates that one billion people—an historical record—are going hungry worldwide. This means that the US alone can essentially feed one-fifth of the world's entire hunger population.
Click to expand...
This has nothing to do with Americans wasting food. Not wasting that food would do nothing to help hungry people. At best, the state of world hunger can make someone who wastes food (like a child) feel guilty about it, but there is no direct connection.

Famine has been eradicated in every single place where humanitarian aid is allowed. Where famine still exists, it is deliberate and an act of war by a government on its own citizens. A good article on the subject: http://www.npr.org/2011/07/27/138738773/foreign-policy-murder-by-starvation

Money tight in this economy?

Did you know that Americans eat out an average of 4-5 times a week? The study shows that a family of four usually wastes $2,500 worth of food a year, which equates to Americans just throwing away $10 a day.
Click to expand...
Because the article is looking at the impact on the US economy of wasting food, we must also look at the impact to the economy of not eating out as much. We have an economy that is very much dependent on consumer spending, and an effort to stop wasting food by not eating out as much would have an adverse effect on the restaurant industry. This also assumes that one cannot waste food at home. People go to Costco and buys lots of food, increasing the risk that some of it will go bad. I don't know why the focus is on eating out.

[quote name='Jcaugustine']
Next time you want to buy a Video Game that you're just not sure you could afford, then save your food, spend less on it, and since Americans throws away $10 per day on wasted food, you can have that video game in a week![/QUOTE]I'm more concerned about wasted video games than wasted food. Look at some of those backlogs people have.
 
Do some people waste too much food? Probably. Should people try to appropriately pair how much food they purchase with what they actually use. Most assuredly because it is common financial sense. Does all that affect ones being able to argue against the cost of something else like gas? Not really. Last I checked OPEC doesn't stand for Organization of the Peanut Exporting Countries. There aren't a lot of speculators looking to control the price of bread.

Portions when eating out is a problem, but also when purchasing groceries for some people too I'm sure. I always thought it would be interesting to create a smaller grocery store that catered toward single people or couples without kids, etc. I know sometimes have the problem of getting more than I really when I go to the store. I don't want to buy an entire head of lettuce to make a salad for just me. For example, someone used the example of making a $15 meal at home for $5. Last week for $15 I had a meal consisting of an 8oz steak, a salad, & 2 sides + dessert. There's no way I could've made all that for $5 a head and only 2 people eating dinner.
 
[quote name='dmaul1114']Yeah, heels of bread suck, I do toss those.

I don't mind crust though. On good whole wheat/multigrain bread it's not as bad as on white bread IMO.[/QUOTE]Grind up the bread heels and make them into bread crumbs, or you can use them to make your own croutons.

There's uses for them, though they all require work. :D
 
[quote name='lokizz']why not send all unfinished foods to hungry countries? problem solved.[/QUOTE]
Food is sent to hungry countries and the problem of famine was solved where ever it is accepted and distributed to those in need. The problem isn't that efforts are being made, the problem is conflict and hostile regimes.
 
Spokker and how much of that food is being provided by the Gates Foundation which gives out GMO-ridden crap for food(i.e. poison) to those peoples?
I mean I seriously wonder how much food aid is given to these countries that doesn't involve GMO food.

Heck I'd like to start up an organization feeding the homeless here that only gives them Organic food. I think not having food processed with all those chemicals, GMO's, etc. would cause their minds to function better and make them more able to find a job. Same goes with people who are not homeless.
 
Want to really reduce wasted food? Freeze almost everything and ignore expiration dates. Eggs can even be frozen if you keep them in an ice cube tray, otherwise they're good for at least a month past the freshness date.

Unopened cereal can last for years past the expiry date and still be 90% as fresh as the day you bought it.

Milk can be frozen, but be sure to give it at least 3 days in the fridge to let it thaw out slowly. It also seems to keep much longer if it's been frozen/thawed than if I bought it fresh started using it.

Unopened yogurt is always good for at least a month past due.

Bread should definitely be kept in the freezer. It doesn't truly freeze, so letting it sit on the table for 5 minutes to thaw brings them back to life, or you can pop the slices in the microwave for 15 seconds for added freshness. The loaf ends, after serving their sole purpose of "bread-shields", make for rather tasty hot dog buns.

Final note: freezer time limits are complete rubbish. I just grilled up a few pounds of chicken breasts today that's been hiding in my freezer for well over two years. They're as juicy as ever. After grilling, I cut them up, throw them in portion baggies and back in the freezer they go, cooked and ready re-heating for the next few months.

The only one that really stumps me still is lettuce. Not only can it not be frozen, but it even starts goes bad in an unopened bag (shredded lettuce) before the expiry date in my fridge.

TL;DR: Just about anything you can buy as a frozen dinner pre-made meal can be frozen fresh. Take a long slow walk in your grocery store freezer aisle one day noting all of the different types of food that are frozen.
 
[quote name='Kerig']Eggs can even be frozen if you keep them in an ice cube tray, otherwise they're good for at least a month past the freshness date.[/QUOTE]


According to the crazy people on Doomsday Preppers, you can rub the egg shells with mineral oil to create an oxygen barrier and store them in a cool dark place (refrigeration isn't necessary) for like 8+ months.

Since it sounds like you freeze everything, you can get them out of there and make room for something else ;).
 
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