Food loss and waste amount to the significant squandering of resources. It has harmful economic, environmental, and ethical consequences. Its effects include the loss of opportunity to provide nutrition to those in need, contributes to global greenhouse emissions, and an economic loss estimated at 240 billion with approximately $1,866 per household.

According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, 40% of food in the US gets tossed every year, while there are millions of American's going hungry.

If you get a kick out of facts and figures refer to the USDA site for food waste.

Why is this a social issue?

Although most of the waste happens on the consumer level, the issues are not exclusively related to individual households. They are also acerbated by restaurant waste, the overproduction of produce discarded from backyard gardeners and farmers. Your local supermarket, due to litigation fears, might also be adding to some of these issues as they discard meats and produce reaching/nearing their sell-by date.

Many of these foods are perfectly good to eat and high in nutrition content but are transferred to a landfill where it proceeds to pollute the environment. When we think about the fact that about 15 percent of the US population, many of them seniors and children, live in poverty and experience hunger, this amount of wasteful behavior seems illogical. Disparities in food distribution also mean that there are some communities that are left with limited access to fresh and affordable food.

“Imagine walking out of a grocery store with four bags of groceries, dropping one in the parking lot, and just not bothering to pick it up. That’s essentially what we’re doing.”

– Dan Gunders (american writer and food scientist)

Why do we waste so much food?

Simple reasons include the holiday season(s) and the marketing strategies we are enticed by. Including sales gimmicks such as, "stock up", "buy two get one free" and do not forget the "supersize" or "bulk sale" and food warehouse mentality. Another contributing factor is the confusion around the various ways foods are labeled, such as the "sell-by date", "expiration date" etc. If you are looking to fall asleep go to the USDA food safety education site, where they talk about labeling.

Most of us understand exactly when our Milk is spoiled and how long we can store butter. Surprisingly, or not, the biggest food wasters are consumers in developed countries such as the EU and the US.

Food waste also happens because of better living standards. Research points to higher-income households wasting more than lower-income households, due to healthier lifestyles. These lifestyles result in buying more fresh perishable items. This doesn't mean you should stop eating healthy. None of us really likes to waste food, yet we all seem to do it.

We do our weekly shopping, nicely stocking our produce and fresh foods into various compartments in the fridge. We go about our business throughout the week. Then one day, we reach in there, grabbing what we think would be a bag of nice crisp organic spinach, only to realize it is beginning to compost.

What happens next, depends on the individual and how they value food. You might pick out what can still be salvaged, another person, however, might choose the trash bin and search for the next package. A third person might feel a bit guilty, while the other might not even give it a second thought.

"The key to changing our ways depends on rekindling our relationship with food, family, community, and nature."

Restoring the value of food

Do you have a memory of your grandmother's canning preserves, or as an Italian family, your grandfather's tomato sauce?

Many of our ancestors or elders had this necessity associated with resource scarcity.

During wartime, kids were encouraged to "Lick the plate clean" or "Share the food". I remember my grandmother, carving a cross on every loaf with the bread knife before she cut the first slice. I thought it was significant because it meant that we were blessed to have the bread. Come to think of it, perhaps it's the reason I love bread so much.

More than that, we value food as an experience that can bring all of us together in celebration. Each guest contributing to a particular dish to share. One becomes intrinsically mindful of a season, a tradition in the preparation as well as the enjoyment of the company around a table.

Food is not a main event. Food is part of a ceremony.

It's not hard to see that in every culture, food has long played a dual physical and spiritual role. Connecting with food means a connection with the source. Read about harvest celebrations and how you can connect again...

When we take care of selecting our food, process, and preserve it, we tend to understand its' value. It's in the work to prepare it and the experience of sharing the time spent together.

I cannot tell you how many potatoes I've peeled when I was growing up, but I can recall the laughter drowned into tears as my mother and I chatted and amused each other as we prepared a Sunday lunch. These are memories and traditions to cherish and pass on for generations to come.

You might say that those times have come and gone, but I would argue that those times are worth remembering now more than ever. It's time for us to be the bridge between generations that passed and serve as responsible torch bearers to those that come after.

In our society, there is an ever accelerated change, due to low cost, freshness premiums, consumer confusion, cheap disposal options, and lack of connectivity. We have quickly moved from a culture of responsibility regarding our food to a culture of abundance. This is no time to check out, now is the time to pay attention.

“All over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.”

― Noam Chomsky

You have the choice and choose to become a no-waste household.

The next time you find another wilted lettuce in the fridge, I hope it makes you pause for just a second. Remember those moments you have shared over a good meal. Think of nature and the abundance it has given you, your family, friends. Picture a landfill that is filled with 250 pounds of food. That is the number that is estimated that an average household wastes a year. Choose to make a change before you go shopping again.

You ready? Click to get tips on a 30 day challenge to become a no food waste household.