Giving Compass' Take:

• Jennifer Molidor argues that supermarkets need to be more accountable for their role in the amount of food waste there is in the United States and take steps such as implementing standardized food labels, sustainable seafood policies, and meal-planning tools. 

• How can we hold supermarkets responsible for food waste? What are some changes consumers can make in their own lives? 

• FInd out how Americans are taking steps to reduce food waste.

According to new research, the average American throws away 422 grams, or nearly 1 pound, of food each day. It has been estimated that 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is wasted every year. All that waste costs households, businesses, and farms about US$218 billion annually—a number which doesn’t include damage to water, soils, and the climate by producing the food.

Supermarkets not only influence what makes it from farms to shelves through their own purchasing choices, but they also impact what shoppers put in their carts through stocking and promotion of products. Food’s packaging influences whether we’re likely to buy too much and if we may be misled by confusing date labels.

Checked Out, a new report by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Ugly Fruit and Veg Campaign, found that 9 out of the 10 largest U.S. grocery companies haven’t taken the first step to take responsibility for their contribution to food waste: publicly tracking and reporting total wasted food. And fewer than half have made a specific commitment to fighting food waste.

Read the full article on supermarkets' food waste by Jennifer Molidor at Food Tank.