Sec. 601. Sense of Congress regarding reducing food waste
226 words·~1 min read·
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Congress makes the following findings: Up to 40 percent of food in the United States is wasted, the equivalent of 1,250 calories per person, per day, and more than 400 pounds of food per person, per year. Growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of uneaten food is a significant burden on the United States economy, costing approximately $218,000,000,000 annually. Considerable resources in the United States are invested in the production of food that is eventually wasted, including an estimated 18 percent of fertilizer used in agricultural production, 19 percent of crop land, and 21 percent of agricultural water usage.
Growing, processing, transporting, and disposing of food that is eventually wasted contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Disposing of uneaten food costs the average household of four in the United States an estimated $1,800 annually. In light of the findings made in subsection (a), it is the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should invest in programs, methodologies, and actions to reduce food waste across the United States at the Federal, State, and local levels, including by— providing targeted funding for food waste solutions; improving and standardizing the measurement and reporting of food waste data; standardizing food date labels; removing barriers to food donation; supporting and encouraging local and regional efforts to reduce food waste; and engaging and educating the American public on how to reduce food waste.