Why are farmers throwing food away?

Food loss occurs on farms for a variety of reasons. To hedge against pests and weather, farmers often plant more than consumers demand. Food may not be harvested because of damage by weather, pests and disease. Market conditions off the farm can lead farmers to throw out edible food.

Why are supermarkets throwing away so much food?

Every year, more than 43 billion pounds of food from grocery stores gets thrown away. Much of the food is still technically edible, but most large grocery chains severely limit what food gets donated once it’s no longer able to sell it. The reason is out of fear of litigation due to poor or vague laws and regulations.

How do grocery stores contribute to food waste?

Food retailers are gatekeepers to the U.S. food system. Supermarkets are responsible for 10\% of all U.S. food waste – that’s 43 billion pounds annually. According to the Guardian, the food supply chain wastes 45\% of all produce, 35\% of seafood, 30\% of cereals, and 20\% of meat and dairy products every year.

Why are we throwing away milk?

It’s all because of a massive breakdown in the food supply chain. Take milk, for example. That means crates of school milk cartons with nowhere to go and 40-pound blocks of cheese with no restaurants that need them. The surplus product has led to dairy farmers dumping millions of gallons of milk.

Why are farmers leaving whole crops to rot in their fields?

For many farmers, it’s more cost-effective to let crops rot in the fields. They can’t afford to harvest it if there is no market for it, and food banks can’t cover the full cost of labor.

What happens to food not sold in supermarkets?

Sometimes unsold food is donated by supermarkets but often is it just tossed out. In fact, 43 billion pounds, fully 10\%, of unsold grocery store food is thrown away every year. Discarded food usually ends up in landfills instead of feeding the homeless and hungry.