New US strategy seeks to curb 66 million tons of food waste

On Dec. 2, USDA, EPA and FDA jointly released the Draft National Strategy for Reducing Food Loss and Waste and Recycling Organics, a preliminary plan for halving U.S. food loss and waste by 2030. The strategy seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save money for businesses and households, and build more “circular” economies, which the draft defines as “restorative or regenerative by design.” 

“Food loss and waste poses a real challenge to agriculture, food and the climate,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a USDA press release. “In order to tackle this problem, and in turn build a resilient food system and mitigate climate impacts, we must explore and implement innovative solutions.” 

According to the draft strategy, nearly 100 million tons of organic trash enters the U.S. municipal waste system every year, and food constitutes two-thirds of that total. Existing processes for preparing, distributing and disposing of food emit the same greenhouse gases as 60 coal-fired power plants and produce more than half (58%) of all landfill methane emissions. 

Big problems, big goals 

USDA, EPA and FDA acknowledge in the draft that their plan faces numerous challenges, including limited consumer education about food waste and a need for collaboration throughout the supply chain. Before defining solutions, however, they outlined four primary objectives: 

These objectives align with the food waste reduction targets listed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Target 12.3, highlighting a theme throughout the draft: While this new strategy strives to combat climate change, support underserved communities, reduce food insecurity, and drive innovation and economic growth, it can only succeed through local and global collaboration. 

Deepening collaboration 

The draft proposes several “strategic actions,” which begin with deepening partnerships between producers, processors, distributors, retailers, schools and emergency food assistance organizations by investing in technologies and practices that reduce food loss and waste, such as plant-based protective coatings and harvest machinery that reduces bruising. 

Other anticipated actions include a nationwide consumer education campaign, behavioral science investments to determine strategies for changing wasteful behaviors, and support for policymakers in the U.S. and abroad to build more circular communities. One action recommends educating young people through farm-to-school activities such as composting cafeteria food scraps and teaching children to feed those scraps to chickens raised on school grounds. 

Many of the proposed actions will draw funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, passed in 2021, which authorized $550 billion in new federal investments. 

On Dec. 4, EPA posted the draft on the Regulations.gov website under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OLEM-2022-0415 for a 30-day open comment period.