Economic and Environmental Costs of Meat Waste in the US

Economic and Environmental Costs of Meat Waste in the US

Nicholas Hardersen, Jadwiga R. Ziolkowska
Copyright: © 2021 |Pages: 18
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-5354-1.ch036
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Abstract

Food waste is a major issue around the globe impacting food security, resource use, economic operations, and the environment. Meat waste, constituting approximately half of total annual meat production in the United States, is particularly relevant to address due to significant resource inputs used in livestock breeding and the meat production process. In this chapter, the authors monetize annual costs of natural resources including water, land, and energy, as well as emissions of methane and nitrous oxide embedded in wasted meat in the United States. Results indicate the total annual cost of $32-32.5 billion. The outcomes substantiate the need to reduce current levels of wasted meat in order to minimize economic, social, and environmental impacts on natural resources and make food and meat production more sustainable.
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Introduction

One-quarter to one-half of total agricultural production is wasted at different points along the global food supply chain each year, amounting to approximately 1.3 billion tons (Gustavsson et al., 2011; Kummu et al., 2012; Lipinski et al., 2013; Lundqvist et al., 2008). Regardless of the varying estimates in the literature, the amount of wasted food is substantial and directly translates into quantities of natural resources used for food production that are also wasted when food is discarded. The food waste problem and its impacts are discussed below followed by a closer exploration of animal husbandry and meat waste.

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