How the Consumer Pays for Grocery Stores’ Food Waste
As consumers, it’s smart to try and be conscious of how much food we buy at grocery stores, if for no other reason than budgeting. However, Forbes outlines in an article titled, “Food Waste Costs U.S. Taxpayers Billions of Dollars a Year,” that those huge chain grocery stores that we shop at every week aren’t so conscious.
The food waste that comes from large food providers is a hidden dark side of the industry, and the consequences have the public (rightfully) outraged.
Being part of an industry that revolves around food means that grocery stores always run the risk of producing food waste not to be sold to the consumer. But, if a grocery store can’t or won’t (for whatever reason) sell an item of food that they receive and throw it away as food waste, they lose a part of their corporate profit. The twist, however, is that the IRS categorizes food waste as an inventory asset, which makes it tax deductible, essentially resulting in the taxpayer paying the bill for a portion of food that nobody gets to see.
This practice is unfortunately commonplace in the United States. Generally, 40% of food in America ends up as food waste, which translates to 100 billion pounds and around $400 billion every year, according to Forbes. This amount of wasted food is even more startling when coupled with the fact that, simultaneously, 38 million Americans suffer from food insecurity. These aren’t the only consequences of extreme food waste, however. When food waste makes its way to landfills, its decomposition releases methane, an extremely toxic greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, increasing the speed at which global temperatures rise. In fact, the EPA outlines that the decomposition of food waste in landfills results in the same amount of atmospheric emissions as 42 coal-fired power plants each and every year.
Thankfully, many of the largest food providers have taken notice of the amount that they waste every year and have implemented initiatives and strategies to change their ways. Kroger, for example, is diverting its food waste to help eradicate food insecurity through its Zero Hunger, Zero Waste initiative and is working with Feeding America to help provide food that otherwise would have been wasted to food banks across the country. Walmart changed the way it labeled foods (using “best if used by” and “use by” across the board to eliminate confusion) and also began replacing individual cracked eggs (instead of throwing out the whole carton) to help cut back on food waste, saving the company hundreds of millions of dollars annually. These are just two examples of big corporations that are actively working to improve their practices surrounding food waste and “ugly” or “flawed” foods in stores.
As is the case with large food providers, it’s incredibly important to be conscious of food waste in our daily lives. It’s hard not to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, so here are some easy tips to implementing more food waste friendly practices in our day-to-day lives. First, composting is an easy and incredibly productive way to eliminate the harmful effects of food waste and turn it into a positive (as compared to landfills). Composting food scraps eliminates the methane emissions that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere and enriches soil with nutrients necessary to grow plants more efficiently and effectively. Next, being more conscious of the amount of food we buy at the grocery store may seem trivial, but it’s harder than it may seem. Keep track of roughly how much food you eat between each grocery run and try to mimic that as best you can to help eliminate waste. Finally, make sure you always consider donating excess food in your pantry. This is harder to do with perishables, but if you do end up buying too much food and have goods to spare, consider donating them to a local food pantry - it does so much more good than you may think.
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