We work hard not to waste food — or are we fooling ourselves?

We all know that every time you waste food, an angel doesn’t get their wings. (Kidding. Sort of.) But while most of us know that food waste is kind of a big deal, and do our best to reduce our part in the equation, new research has revealed almost three quarters of Americans believe they waste less food than the national average.

This finding is mind-blowing, especially since 31 to 40 percent of the American food supply is wasted, costing us $161.6 billion annually (no, that’s not a typo).

“Americans perceive themselves as wasting very little food, but in reality, we are wasting substantial quantities,” lead study author Roni Neff, Ph.D., said in a statement. “It happens throughout the food chain, including both a lot of waste by consumers, and a lot on our behalf, when businesses think we won’t buy imperfect food. The root causes are complex.”

The study, from the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, surveyed 1,010 American consumers in April 2014, and covered topics like awareness, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors linked to wasted food.

Surprisingly, only 10 percent found environmental concerns when people waste food to be “very important.” They felt saving money and setting a good example for children to be the biggest motivators in not wanting to waste food.

Top reasons for throwing food out before eating it included food safety concerns, and preferring to eat only fresh food. Meanwhile, 41 percent of respondents who composted weren’t concerned about how much food they waste.

“The survey results are especially relevant for three groups,” said Neff. “For educators working to reduce food waste, a key finding is that highlighting financial savings may resonate more with consumers than other types of messaging. But there is still a need to explain the environmental effects of wasting food. For policymakers, our findings suggest a priority on making date labels clear and consistent, and encoding sell-by labels so they do not mislead consumers. And for businesses, the survey highlights changes consumers want, like offering re-sealable bags and smaller product sizes, and discounting damaged or near-expiration foods.”

Wasted food is a slippery slope—not only does it cost us billions of dollars each year, but it’s also a massive drain on our resources: In 2010, about 30 percent of the fertilizer, 35 percent of fresh water, and 31 percent of the cropland in the U.S. was used to grow food that was never eaten. Kinda makes you lose your appetite, doesn’t it?

“Consumer waste of food in the U.S. represents a powerful quintuple threat; reducing it may improve food security, nutrition, budgets, environment and public health,” said Neff. Small things you can do include planning meals and portion sizes ahead of time, buying food as-you-go instead of making bulk buys, regularly checking in on your inventory and using it before it goes bad, and freezing what you’re not able to use right away.

How do you cut down on food waste?

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Waste food image via Shutterstock

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