Meat food waste has greater negative environmental impact than vegetable waste

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-08/uom-mfw081315.php

Public Release: 13-Aug-2015
Meat food waste has greater negative environmental impact than vegetable waste
University of Missouri-Columbia

Approximately 31 percent of food produced in the U.S., or 133 billion pounds of food worth $162 billion, was wasted in 2011 according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that the type of food wasted has a significant impact on the environment. Although less meat is wasted (on average) compared to fruits and vegetables, the researchers found that significantly more energy is used in the production of meat compared to the production of vegetables. This wasted energy is usually in the form of resources that can have negative impacts on the surrounding environment, such as diesel fuel or fertilizer being released into the environment.

"While many of us are concerned about food waste, we also need to consider the resources that are wasted when we throw away edible food," said Christine Costello, assistant research professor at the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and co-author of the study. "Farm equipment used to feed and maintain livestock and plant and harvest crops uses a lot of diesel fuel and other utilities from fossil fuels. When people waste meat, these fuels, as well as fertilizers, are also wasted. Based on our study, we recommend that people and institutions be more conscious of not only the amount but the types of food being wasted."

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