The success of our Nation’s agricultural sector has fed the world and enabled generations of Americans to prosper. Unfortunately, more than one-third of food in the United States is lost or wasted, a problem that undermines environmental stewardship and the ability of Americans to lead healthier lives.
When food goes uneaten, it adversely affects food security and the environment. Growing, processing, and transporting food consumes critical resources. When food is lost or wasted, so are those resources.
We have made great strides in recent years to reduce food loss and waste, but food remains the single largest type of waste thrown away by communities across America. That is why my Administration launched the Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative—a collaborative effort by the Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, and Food and Drug Administration. This Initiative aligns efforts across our Federal Government to educate consumers, engage key stakeholders, and develop and evaluate solutions to reduce food loss and waste.
Help from private entities and individuals is the key ingredient to successfully reducing food loss and waste. Public-private partnerships, like the United States Food Loss and Waste 2030 Champions, have already brought together businesses and organizations to help improve the efficiency and management of food systems and to pursue more effective measurement and networks that can reduce food loss and waste. The work of these partnerships is helping drive our successes in ensuring that food that is grown becomes food that is eaten.
During Winning on Reducing Food Waste Month, I encourage all Americans to do their part in helping to reduce food loss and waste. Together, we will promote American prosperity and turn what might otherwise be millions of tons of wasted food into nutritional fuel for America’s communities and economy.
