U.S. Department of Agriculture conducts food waste roundtable

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue hosted a food waste roundtable with Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, and David Young, R-Iowa, food industry leaders and nonprofit groups at USDA, discussing options when it comes to wasting food in this country.

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

“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.’”

USDA officials said food loss and waste eats up nearly 40 percent of the food supply in the U.S., while millions of Americans need access to safe, wholesome and 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, while the retail sector is responsible for about 10 percent, totaling 43 billion pounds.

USDA officials said their agency is uniquely positioned to address this problem by working with farmers, industry and consumers to raise food loss and waste awareness while also sharing best practices.

Participants, other than Pingree and Young, in the food waste roundtable included:

— 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

— Mace Thornton, American Farm Bureau Federation

— Ricky Ashenfelter, Spoiler Alert

— Kai Robertson, World Resources Institute