NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Americans throw away as much as 40 percent of their food or the equivalent of 20 pounds of food per person each month, a U.S. environmental group said.
The National Resources Defense Council said Tuesday an analysis of various studies and statistics indicates the average U.S. consumer wastes 10 times as much food as someone in Southeast Asia, an increase of 50 percent since the 1970s.
One of the examples of waste cited by the group is making "baby carrots" out of large carrots that are too bent or curvy.
"Americans are throwing out the equivalent of $165 billion each year," the report said.
The council said getting food to tables in the United States eats up 10 percent of the total U.S. energy budget, uses 50 percent of U.S. land and swallows up 80 percent of freshwater consumed in the country.
They recommend the government conduct research to better understand the drivers of the problem and identify potential solutions.