Some trace the phrase "waste not, want not" to the 18th century, but whatever its origin, its meaning is truthful and indisputable. Americans, however, don't totally embrace it. They publicly extol its wisdom, but increasingly ignore its instruction - especially, it seems, when it comes to food.
Americans waste a lot of food. A lot of it. Americans waste a lot of it. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, Americans waste about 40 percent of the nation's food supply annually. That's a loss of about $165 billion a year For an average family of four, that means about 20 pounds of food per person, per month ends up in the trash can. The cost for the family? About $2,000 a year.
At a time when too many people in the United States go hungry and when food supplies around the globe are strained and when climactic conditions make continued agricultural expansion somewhat questionable, the loss of that amount of food from the supply chain is unacceptable. The loss of the food itself is not the only problem.
The energy and resources consumed in growing and moving food to market is costly. A quarter of all freshwater consumed in the United States goes to food production. The defense council reports that moving food from farm and factory to the nation's consumers consumes about 10 percent of the U.S. energy budget. If the food is not eaten - a lot of it obviously is not - that's a waste of resources and money.
The problem is not a new one, but it continues to grow. The amount of uneaten food that goes uneaten in this country has increased by about 50 percent since the 1970s. Most Americans are only vaguely aware of the amount of wood they and the nation waste. It's time they learned the truth and changed their profligate habits.
There has been some progress. Many grocery stores and restaurants now distribute unsold, damaged or unused foodstuffs to food banks and other institutions that serve the needy. Good for them. The food waste problem, however, won't be reduced, though, until ordinary Americans take action.
There is a remedy at hand. Buy only what you think you or your family can eat. Don't automatically throw out uneaten food. A lot of it can be recycled, so to speak, into palatable leftovers or made into soups or stews.
That might not be trendy, but it would promote a more sustainable, healthy lifestyle. It could even be more affordable, if predictions of big increases in the price of food in coming months prove accurate.