‘A Love Letter to Food’, Facts About Food Loss And Waste In the United States

The stunning results of a study conducted by Alex Reich and Jonathan Foley regarding the sheer amount of food wasted in the United States is presented as an apologetic love letter to food in this wonderful video by MinuteEarth.

Dear Food,

You probably already know this, but I need you. You bring my family together, you sweeten my celebrations, you make my deals, you satisfy my senses, and you keep me alive. You work so hard to make all of this possible, spending your life growing in the field, the factory farm, or the sea. I try to be good to you – I give you half of my land, two thirds
of the freshwater I consume, a tenth of my energy, and one-sixth of my workforce.

But I want to apologize.

Because after all that, you deserve to be eaten. But instead, I throw away almost half of you – enough calories to feed 150 million people. From harvest to home, I waste half of all fruits, vegetables and seafood, and a third of all grains. I’m better to meat and dairy, wasting only 20 percent, but this is a double waste, because essentially I’m also dumping the grain or grass the animals ate to make the muscle or milk.

Sobering food for thought (pun intended).