Tom Vilsack was Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 until 2017. In 2013 he called on both the public sector and private industry to reduce food waste. He said the USDA was going to:
- “Develop a nationwide social media campaign with our partners to focus on precisely what the use by date and the sell by date means so that folks don’t discard food prematurely.”
- “Continue to use our social media to develop a new food storage application that will give people up to date information on how and best to store food and what constitutes safe or unsafe food.”
- “Work with our school lunch program to reduce food waste in our schools.”
- “Look for ways we can increase donations of imported fresh produce that for whatever reason don’t meet our marketing order standards.”
VILSACK SAID THAT WASTING FOOD IS A MORAL ISSUE
IN A NATION WHERE THERE ARE HUNGRY PEOPLE.
He said that “part of this is thinking about portion sizes.”
How many times have you gone to a restaurant and have been served much more than you can eat? My wife has a solution. She literally cuts her meal in half before she starts and eats exactly half — what will-power! On other occasions, we order two soups or salads and split one entrée so we have no leftovers.
Vilsack also said that “understanding precisely what the food safety rules are so that you are not discarding food that would otherwise would be healthy and nutritious for your family.”
How many times have you brought home leftovers to weeks later find it hidden in the back of the fridge? Our solution: take a piece of masking tape and date the container. Depending on the type of food, throw it out within 3-4 days or a week if it hasn’t been eaten in a timely manner. Stores do stock rotation based on “best by” dates. You can do the same in your refrigerator and freezer with your store-bought or leftover food.
There are other things you can do to keep your family safe from foodborne illness. As the USDA, FDA, CDC and Ad Council public service announcements say: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.
In 2016 Vilsack said “Forty percent of the food grown in the country is wasted. That amounts to 133 billion pounds of food wasted. That is billion with a B. Considering we have about 45 million people receiving assistance through SNAP, I believe this is a tremendous opportunity for us to take a closer look at our food chain, and figure out a way to ensure that food grown in this country reaches the dinner table and not the trashcan.”
At a food waste summit in 2016, Secretary Vilsack commented that “avoiding food waste loss could save U.S. families on average $1,500 a year, and limiting food waste globally could help prevent hunger and malnourishment in the 825 to 850 million people worldwide who are not getting adequate food.”He went on to say “Tackling food waste in this country is, and should be a nonpartisan issue that will be most successful by engaging everyone in the food chain, from the field to the table. It will take the collaboration of all stakeholders to be successful.”
So I ask: What are YOU doing to help reduce food waste?
SOURCES
Ending Food Waste, David Robert Lambert, June 7, 2013
https://lambertdrl.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/ending-food-waste/
Food Waste from Field to Table, U.S. House of Representatives Hearing, 114 Congress,
Serial No. 114-52, May 25, 2016 (accessed 12/10/2018)
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg20309/html/CHRG-114hhrg20309.htm
Expiration Dates, or lack thereof, David Robert Lambert, November 7, 2018
https://lambertdrl.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/expiration-dates-or-lack-thereof/
David Robert Lambert 
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