It's What's Outside That Counts

Better packages make good food last longer.

- Catherine Brown

About 50 percent of food in the United States is wasted. Let that sink in. Half of all food produced for the country actually gets eaten. The rest of it—over 60 million tons each year—ends up in landfills. That’s the weight of four bags of flour per person, per month. Rotting food emits methane, a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to a warming climate.

And landfilled food is not the only environmental concern. “It’s not just what you buy or consume, but the resources used to put it on your plate,” says Celise Vaughn, a vice president at food and product packaging company Sealed Air. “When food is wasted, we lose everything that went into producing and transporting that food.” Those wasted resources include freshwater, land, and energy.

All those wasted resources have a significant financial impact too. Americans spend more than $160 billion on food that’s never eaten. On average, a four-person family spends around $2,000 each year on food that they never eat.

There are many ways to reduce food waste. People in the food packaging industry are working to develop products that extend shelf life. The goal is to cut down on the amount of food that’s tossed after it leaves farms and factories.

Jonathan Deutsch is a professor of culinary arts and food science and oversees the Drexel University Food Lab. He says, “All food packaging is designed to market, explain the contents, protect the quality, and ensure the safety of the product.” When that packaging keeps food safe and appealing for a longer time, less waste occurs.

Different Packaging Needs