ABSTRACT
This chapter presents and compares major sources of data on food loss and waste in the United States – two federal (the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), one collaboration, ReFED (Rethink Food Waste through Economics and Data), and two relatively simplistic calculations using existing data. Approaches varied in terms of the included food categories and the food-system stage as well as the estimation methodologies. This chapter also presents some of the efforts worldwide to develop and provide methods to estimate food loss and waste at different stages of the farm to fork chain: these methods are becoming more available for use in the United States. Expanding out from the national level to the firm or individual company level, this chapter continues with a brief discussion of the legal, regulatory, and market incentives to reduce/prevent food loss and waste, recover food that is safe to eat and get it to hungry people or animals, or recycle it for another purpose. These incentives can spur the measurement of food loss and waste by individuals and food firms along the farm to fork chain and the adoption of food loss and waste reduction strategies.
