The Obama administration announced Wednesday a nationwide goal to cut food waste in half by 2030.
The average family of four in the U.S. tosses out nearly $1500 a year in food. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency hope to get the help of food retailers, charity groups and local governments to reduce that waste.
Dana Gunders, a staff scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, says the aggressive goal will take a lot of work from the farmer to the consumer.
“It’s going to take prioritizing this issue and funding it so that we can really build the right infrastructure, conduct the right public education and really support businesses in making the changes that we’ll need," she says.
The announcement comes a week before the United Nations is expected to set its own sustainability goals.
A previous version of this story mistakenly said the average family of four throws out $1500 worth of food a month; it should have said $1500 a year.
