Perdue commits to prioritizing food waste solutions

Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue May 8 hosted a food waste roundtable with Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-ME, and David Young, R-IA; food industry leaders; and non-profit groups at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This roundtable, the first of many USDA public events on food waste, serves as an opportunity to raise awareness while discussing solutions with leaders throughout the entire food supply chain.

Following the roundtable, Perdue issued the following statement:

“Our nation’s agricultural abundance should be used to nourish those in need, not fill the trash,” Perdue said. “So many people work on food waste issues in their own spheres, but it’s time to change the culture and adopt a holistic approach to get everyone working together and sharing ideas.

“I commend Reps. Pingree and Young for addressing this issue on Capitol Hill and for their desire to find collaborative, commonsense solutions. USDA remains committed to helping reduce food waste, and we are excited to work with all stakeholders from farm to fork to further elevate this effort and fulfill our motto, to ‘Do right and feed everyone.’”

While food loss and waste eats up nearly 40 percent of the food supply in the U.S., millions of Americans need access to safe, wholesome, affordable food. Consumers are responsible for most food loss and waste in the U.S., racking up almost 90 billion pounds annually, or 20 percent of the U.S. food supply. The retail sector is responsible for about 10 percent, totaling 43 billion pounds. USDA is uniquely positioned to address this problem by working with farmers, industry, and consumers to raise food loss and waste awareness and share best practices, Perdue said.

Food waste roundtable participants, besides Pingree and Young, were: Haley Swartz, National Consumers League; Regina Northouse, Food Recovery Network; Katie Sandson, Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic; Matt Knott, Feeding America; Jon Hixson, YUM! Brands, Inc.; Jessica Montoya, Sodexo; Kyle Waide, Atlanta Community Food Bank; Brett Reinford, Reinford Farms, Pennsylvania; Mace Thornton, American Farm Bureau Federation; Ricky Ashenfelter, Spoiler Alert; and Kai Robertson, World Resources Institute.