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House Ag Committee takes on food waste

BrownfieldAppImageBillions of dollars spent on food in the U.S. is being thrown away.

During a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing this week, Chairman Michael Conaway said 40 percent of the food grown in this country is wasted.  “That amounts to 133 billion pounds of food being wasted. That is billion with a B! Considering we have 45 million people currently receiving food assistance through SNAP, I believe this is a tremendous opportunity for us to take a closer look at our food chain and figure out a way to ensure that food grown in this country reaches the dinner table, not the trashcan.”

One of the issues surrounding food waste is the “Best if used by” language found on many food items.  Those dates may cause some consumers to dispose of food that is still okay to eat.

Maine Congresswoman Chellie Pingree has introduced the Food Date Labeling Act to standardize food date labeling.  “Those labels for the most part, don’t have a uniform or scientific basis.  They may represent something to that individual company, but it really doesn’t mean you can eat that food.”

USDA and EPA have set a goal to reduce food waste by 50 percent by 2030.

House Ag Committee hearing on food waste

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