Going Bananas
Richard Quinn | Aug 22, 2023
“CLEAN YOUR PLATE.” “You’ll eat what’s for dinner and like it.” “There are children starving in Africa.”
Those are lines I often heard as a child. I guess my parents weren’t aware of hunger in the U.S.—or the long-term damage to our waistlines and health that such clean-your-plate advice could have.
Still, at least we weren’t squandering food, which is a big problem these days. Each year, 80 million tons of food are wasted in the U.S. That’s equal to 149 billion meals and some $400 billion. Shockingly, nearly 40% of all food in America is wasted. These figures are for all types of food waste, not just in the home. Amid waste of that magnitude, it’s hard to imagine people being hungry in America, and yet 34 million of us don’t have consistent access to enough food.
Americans waste about 25% of the food they purchase by not preparing it before it goes bad and by not eating all the food they do prepare. What happened to leftovers? When I was a kid, a meatloaf seemed to go on forever and Thanksgiving presented endless opportunities. Tonight, we’re having leftover lobster mac and cheese for dinner. I promised a grandson I’d make that delightful dish on Cape Cod, even with the crustacean meat at $59.95 a pound. There will be no waste, no matter who’s lactose intolerant.
When I visit a Costco or BJs, I’m amazed at what people buy. Who knows how they use those giant sizes of everything? I’ve often wondered how long a gallon of mayonnaise lasts once opened. Apparently, if stored in the refrigerator, it’s about two months. That’s a lot of sandwiches to get through.
I was in a store recently and there were eggs on sale for 99 cents a dozen. That’s quite a bargain. Then I looked at the expiration date on the cartons. It was the next day. Not such a bargain after all, so more waste on the way. Or maybe not. I checked on the shelf life of eggs. Turns out they’re fine to use for several weeks after their expirationdate. I wonder how many other people passed up this bargain and, in the process, created more wasted food.
Guess the No. 1 bestselling grocery store food?
Read the rest of the story on HumbleDollar.com
We can’t control what others do and we can’t stop misfortune from striking. But we can control our own actions. Those who are financially prudent will most likely enjoy success, even if events don’t always go their way.
QUINNSCOMMENTARY 
I have a 64 oz jar of Hellmann’s my in my refrigerator. It’s almost empty and has been opened a lot longer than 2 months. If this is my last post – you’ll know why!
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Great article. My husband and I try hard to not waste food – including bananas. Where we fall a bit short is when we clean out the pantry and throw away very outdated spices and a few other dry items. I do have to wonder, though, how much obesity is caused by “cleaning your plate” at home. If it ever could be calculated, I suspect it would be a very low number.
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Not sure, but encouraging one to clean plate, that’s is eat more than desired or needed, must have some long term affect on some people, especially if they don’t start with modest portions
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