IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersib/164262.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The Estimated Amount, Value, and Calories of Postharvest Food Losses at the Retail and Consumer Levels in the United States

Author

Listed:
  • Buzby, Jean C.
  • Farah-Wells, Hodan
  • Hyman, Jeffrey

Abstract

This report provides the latest estimates by USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) on the amount and value of food loss in the United States. These estimates are for more than 200 individual foods using ERS’s Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data. In 2010, an estimated 31 percent or 133 billion pounds of the 430 billion pounds of food produced was not available for human consumption at the retail and consumer levels. This amount of loss totaled an estimated $161.6 billion, as purchased at retail prices. For the first time, ERS estimates of the calories associated with food loss are presented in this report. An estimated 141 trillion calories per year, or 1,249 calories per capita per day, in the food supply in 2010 went uneaten. The top three food groups in terms of share of total value of food loss are meat, poultry, and fish (30 percent); vegetables (19 percent); and dairy products (17 percent). The report also provides a brief discussion of the economic issues behind postharvest food loss.

Suggested Citation

  • Buzby, Jean C. & Farah-Wells, Hodan & Hyman, Jeffrey, 2014. "The Estimated Amount, Value, and Calories of Postharvest Food Losses at the Retail and Consumer Levels in the United States," Economic Information Bulletin 164262, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:164262
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.164262
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/164262/files/EIB121.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.164262?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gallo, Anthony E., 1980. "Consumer Food Waste In the United States," Food Review/ National Food Review, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, vol. 0(01), December.
    2. Reed, Jane & Frazao, Elizabeth & Itskowitz, Rachel, 2004. "How Much Do Americans Pay for Fruits and Vegetables?," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33653, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Muth, Mary K. & Karns, Shawn A. & Nielsen, Samara Joy & Buzby, Jean C. & Wells, Hodan Farah, 2011. "Consumer-Level Food Loss Estimates and Their Use in the ERS Loss- Adjusted Food Availability Data," Technical Bulletins 184307, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    4. Kevin D Hall & Juen Guo & Michael Dore & Carson C Chow, 2009. "The Progressive Increase of Food Waste in America and Its Environmental Impact," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 4(11), pages 1-6, November.
    5. Hansen, LeRoy & Ribaudo, Marc, 2008. "Economic Measures of Soil Conservation Benefits: Regional Values for Policy Assessment," Technical Bulletins 184312, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark & Singh, Anita, 2013. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2012," Economic Research Report 262219, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. Aillery, Marcel P. & Gollehon, Noel R. & Johansson, Robert C. & Kaplan, Jonathan D. & Key, Nigel D. & Ribaudo, Marc, 2005. "Managing Manure To Improve Air And Water Quality," Economic Research Report 33593, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Kantor, Linda Scott, 1998. "A Dietary Assessment of the U.S. Food Supply: Comparing Per Capita Food Consumption with Food Guide Pyramid Serving Recommendations," Agricultural Economic Reports 34079, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    9. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Nord, Mark & Andrews, Margaret S. & Carlson, Steven, 2011. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2011," Economic Research Report 134715, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    10. Buzby, Jean C. & Hyman, Jeffrey, 2012. "Total and per capita value of food loss in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 561-570.
    11. Buzby, Jean C. & Wells, Hodan Farah & Axtman, Bruce & Mickey, Jana, 2009. "Supermarket Loss Estimates for Fresh Fruit, Vegetables, Meat, Poultry, and Seafood and Their Use in the ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data," Economic Information Bulletin 58313, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    12. Ribaudo, Marc & Delgado, Jorge & Hansen, LeRoy T. & Livingston, Michael J. & Mosheim, Roberto & Williamson, James M., 2011. "Nitrogen in Agricultural Systems: Implications for Conservation Policy," Economic Research Report 118022, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    13. Sullivan, Patrick & Hellerstein, Daniel & Hansen, LeRoy T. & Johansson, Robert C. & Koenig, Steven R. & Lubowski, Ruben N. & McBride, William D. & McGranahan, David A. & Roberts, Michael J. & Vogel, S, 2004. "The Conservation Reserve Program: Economic Implications for Rural America," Agricultural Economic Reports 33987, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. Stewart, Hayden & Hyman, Jeffrey & Buzby, Jean C. & Frazao, Elizabeth & Carlson, Andrea, 2011. "How Much Do Fruits and Vegetables Cost?," Economic Information Bulletin 101280, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Buzby, Jean C. & Hyman, Jeffrey, 2012. "Total and per capita value of food loss in the United States," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(5), pages 561-570.
    2. Campuzano, Jennifer & Ammon, Cara & Buzby, Jean C. & Bentley, Jeanine T. & Padera, Beth, 2016. "Updated Supermarket Shrink Estimates for Fresh Foods and Their Implications for ERS Loss-Adjusted Food Availability Data," Economic Information Bulletin 262142, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Thyberg, Krista L. & Tonjes, David J., 2016. "Drivers of food waste and their implications for sustainable policy development," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 110-123.
    4. Beata Bilska & Małgorzata Piecek & Danuta Kołożyn-Krajewska, 2018. "A Multifaceted Evaluation of Food Waste in a Polish Supermarket—Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    5. Min, Shi & Wang, Xiaobing & Yu, Xiaohua, 2021. "Does dietary knowledge affect household food waste in the developing economy of China?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    6. Yu, Yang & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2021. "The effect of sell-by dates on purchase volume and food waste," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    7. Ribaudo, Marc & Savage, Jeffrey & Aillery, Marcel P., 2014. "An Economic Assessment of Policy Options To Reduce Agricultural Pollutants in the Chesapeake Bay," Economic Research Report 171880, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Johnson, Lisa K. & Dunning, Rebecca D. & Gunter, Chris C. & Dara Bloom, J. & Boyette, Michael D. & Creamer, Nancy G., 2018. "Field measurement in vegetable crops indicates need for reevaluation of on-farm food loss estimates in North America," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 136-142.
    9. Yang Yu & Edward C. Jaenicke, 2020. "Estimating Food Waste as Household Production Inefficiency," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 525-547, March.
    10. repec:mpr:mprres:8084 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. James Mabli, "undated". "SNAP Participation and Urban and Rural Food Security," Mathematica Policy Research Reports 99ba5f92f8434d3084c34a7d9, Mathematica Policy Research.
    12. Dusoruth, Vaneesha, 2018. "Household Food Waste Generation and Organics Recycling: Too Time Consuming or for the Better [Public] Good?," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274132, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Govindan, K. & Jafarian, A. & Khodaverdi, R. & Devika, K., 2014. "Two-echelon multiple-vehicle location–routing problem with time windows for optimization of sustainable supply chain network of perishable food," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 9-28.
    14. Rachel Griffith & Martin O'Connell & Kate Smith, 2016. "Shopping Around: How Households Adjusted Food Spending Over the Great Recession," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 83(330), pages 247-280, April.
    15. Yoon, Sungeun & McFadden, Brandon, 2018. "Demand Elasticity of Organic Fruits and Vegetables by Income," 2018 Annual Meeting, February 2-6, 2018, Jacksonville, Florida 266610, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    16. Lauren A. Clay & Mia A. Papas & Kimberly B. Gill & David M. Abramson, 2018. "Factors Associated with Continued Food Insecurity among Households Recovering from Hurricane Katrina," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-10, August.
    17. Vaneesha Dusoruth & Hikaru Hanawa Peterson, 2020. "Food waste tendencies: Behavioral response to cosmetic deterioration of food," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(5), pages 1-22, May.
    18. Cicatiello, Clara & Franco, Silvio & Pancino, Barbara & Blasi, Emanuele, 2016. "The value of food waste: An exploratory study on retailing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 96-104.
    19. Richards, Timothy J. & Hamilton, Stephen F., 2018. "Food waste in the sharing economy," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 109-123.
    20. Hansen, LeRoy & Hellerstein, Daniel & Ribaudo, Marc & Williamson, James & Nulph, David & Loesch, Charles & Crumpton, William, 2015. "Targeting Investments To Cost Effectively Restore and Protect Wetland Ecosystems: Some Economic Insights," Economic Research Report 199283, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    21. Andrew B. Rosenberg & Bryan Pratt, 2024. "Land use impacts of the Conservation Reserve Program: An analysis of rejected offers," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 106(3), pages 1217-1240, May.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersib:164262. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.