Half of America Produce Is Thrown Away For Cosmetic Imperfections

[Cleopatra7]

This isn’t really a new story, but I was shocked at the extent of American agricultural wastefulness. It is estimated that at least half of all of the produce grown in the US is thrown away because of cosmetic imperfections that render the items in question supposedly unsellable:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2016/07/us-throws-away-much-half-food-produce/amp

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theatlantic.com/amp/article/491513/

In more concrete terms, fifty million tons of produce is being tossed into landfills, fed to livestock, or left to rot in fields, rather than feed people who need it. Keep in mind that many low income Americans live in food deserts where produce is scarce. It’s not that there isn’t enough produce to go around; rather, it’s more “profitable” to just throw away perfectly good food than give it to the poor.

[elliha]

Fed to livestock is not wasting produce in my view, vegetables have always been fed to animals during human history and is totally understandable in my view. Being left in the fields for no reason or just treated like garbage is another issue.