The Cattlemen’s Beef Board (CBB) is asking consumers to become partners on being good stewards of land and resources by not wasting food they purchase at grocery stores.
“Beef research has shown us, using our checkoff dollars, that consumers waste 40 percent of the food brought into their homes. That means that 40 percent of the food produced using resources is going into landfills,” Joan Ruskamp, secretary-treasurer of the CBB, said in an interview with Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.
The research shows the amount of food wasted is also very costly to consumers.
“It’s about $2,500 per family, per year. Every family probably could use $2,500 to spend on other things we need,” she said.
The Cattlemen’s Beef Board website can help consumers reduce or eliminate food waste.
“The 30-Day Food Waste Challenge is developed using our beef checkoff dollars. You sign up. You receive an email every day for 30 days with tips on how you can reduce food waste in your home,” Ruskamp said.
How beef or other foods are placed in freezers and whether or not people eat leftovers can go a long way towards food waste reduction, according to the CBB research.
Beef is one of the least wasted commodities of all the food groups.
“That is what is exciting. If we know we can cut food waste with beef, we can impact the whole Food Waste Challenge by 10 percent. That’s a lot,” Ruskamp said.
Ruskamp is a feedlot operator in Nebraska. She said the operation does its part in not wasting feed for cattle and only purchases what is needed from suppliers so ingredients always remain fresh.
Hear more from Ruskamp on the TFB Radio Network’s Focus on Agriculture programs here and here.