America's quest for perfection is sending $160 billion worth of produce down the garbage chute every single year. A report by The Guardian Wednesday revealed that, thanks to both retailers' and consumers' demand for fruits and veggies sans blemishes, more than 60 million tons of food — food that farmers say is both "high-value and nutritious" — never makes it into Americans' mouths. Instead, it is left to rot in fields or warehouses, fed to livestock, or simply shipped off to landfills.
All that waste places a "heavy toll" on the environment and on Americans' wallets, The Guardian reports. The average family of four, for instance, wastes about $1,600 worth of food a year. "If you and I reduced fresh produce waste by 50 percent like [the U.S. agriculture secretary] Vilsack wants us to do, then supermarkets would go from [a] 1.5 percent profit margin to 0.7 percent," Roger Gordon, founder of a startup to "rescue and re-route rejected produce," told The Guardian. "And if we were to lose 50 percent of consumer waste, then we would lose about $250 billion in economic activity that would go away."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
5 high rating cartoons about Biden's low poll numbersCartoons Artists take on checklists, ice creams, and more
-
A gastronomic tour of the Costa de la LuzThe Week Recommends This Spanish spot has fantastic restaurants "rooted in the region's distinctive produce"
-
Crossword: May 19, 2024The Week's daily crossword
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
