The numbers compiled by the Department of Agriculture on the amount of food wasted each year in America is mind-blowing.133 billion pounds annually!

The USDA says that 31 percent of the 430 billion pounds of food produced for Americans to eat went to waste in 2010, according to The Washington Times.

Measured by actual retail prices, that comes out to about $161.6 billion and as far as nutrition is concerned, that's 141 trillion calories completely uneaten.

The reasons for all this waste are numerous, including food that went moldy; meals that were improperly cooked; food that shrunk due to moisture loss; and just plain disinterest in what was bought.

The USDA reports that the top food group that went to waste in 2010 was meat, poultry and fish, at a loss of $48 billion.

Meanwhile, about one sixth of Americans or 48 million people don’t have enough to eat even as 14 percent of what gets tossed in landfills is wasted food.

And therein lies another problem: due to this needless trashing of food, landfills are running out of space.

 

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