>> Sreenivasan: THE U.S. AND CHINA ARE THE LARGEST EMITTERS OF GREENHOUSE GASES. IF FOOD WASTE WERE A COUNTRY, IT WOULD BE THE THIRD LARGEST. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FOOD WASTE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND HOW BIG THE PROBLEM IS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES, NEWSHOUR WEEKEND'S MEGAN THOMPSON RECENTLY SAT DOWN WITH ELIZABETH BALKAN, THE FOOD WASTE DIRECTOR AT THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL. >> Reporter: PAINT THE PICTURE FOR ME. HOW MUCH FOOD DO WE WASTE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES? >> IN THE U.S., UP TO 40% OF THE FOOD THAT IS PRODUCED EVERY YEAR GOES WASTED. THAT TRANSLATES INTO AN ECONOMIC LOSS OF $218 BILLION PER YEAR. AND AT THE INDIVIDUAL LEVEL, A HOUSEHOLD OF FOUR SPENDS ON AVERAGE $1,500 OR MORE PER YEAR ON FOOD THAT NEVER GETS EATEN. >> Reporter: WHAT ARE THE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE AMOUNT OF FOOD THAT WE WASTE AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, CLIMATE CHANGE? >> THE GREENHOUSE GASSES ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD WASTE AMOUNT TO ROUGHLY 37 MILLION PASSENGER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. NOT ONLY DO YOU HAVE THE CONTRIBUTIONS FROM METHANE WHEN FOOD WASTE ROTS IN A LANDFILL, BUT YOU HAVE ALL THESE OTHER RESOURCES THAT GO INTO THE PRODUCTION, THE MANUFACTURING, THE TRANSPORTATION, THE STORAGE, THE DISTRIBUTION. ALL OF THOSE RESOURCES ARE SWALLOWED UP WHEN WE WASTE FOOD RATHER THAN EAT IT. OF THE TOP 100 MOST IMPACTFUL THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE, FOOD WASTE PREVENTION IS NUMBER THREE. IT'S NOT SOLAR POWER, IT'S NOT WIND POWER, IT'S FOOD WASTE PREVENTION. >> Reporter: WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CONTRIBUTORS TO FOOD WASTE HERE? >> OVERALL, CONSUMERS AND CONSUMER-FACING BUSINESSES-- RESTAURANTS, CAFETERIAS-- ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR OVER 80% OF THE FOOD WASTE IN THIS COUNTRY. FOR EXAMPLE, IN RESTAURANTS, THE VAST MAJORITY OF FOOD WASTE COMES FROM WHAT IS LEFTOVER ON PEOPLE'S PLATES, OR POST-CONSUMER WASTE. SO, IF WE WANT TO REALLY TACKLE THE FOOD WASTE THAT'S HAPPENING IN RESTAURANTS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE NEED TO START ADDRESSING THE HARDER PART OF THE PUZZLE, WHICH IS CUSTOMER BEHAVIOR. >> Reporter: SO, IT SOUNDS LIKE CULTURE PLAYS A ROLE IN SOME OF THIS. >> CULTURE PLAYS A HUGE ROLE IN IT AND IS REALLY PART OF THE EQUATION IN THE U.S. IN... IN A FUNDAMENTAL WAY. IN THIS COUNTRY, I THINK WE HAVE CERTAIN EXPECTATIONS ABOUT THE WAY THAT FOOD IS PRESENTED. WE LIKE ABUNDANCE, AND FOOD IS VERY CHEAP IN THIS COUNTRY. SO, THE COST TO BUSINESSES OF WASTING FOOD IS NOT SO OUTSIZED WHEN COMPARED TO EITHER THE CONSUMER EXPECTATION OR THE BUSINESS' EXPECTATION OF WHAT THE CONSUMER EXPECTS TO SEE WHEN THEY WALK INTO A HOTEL BUFFET, OR THEY WALK INTO A SUPERMARKET AISLE. >> Reporter: WHAT ARE STEPS THAT INDIVIDUAL CONSUMERS CAN TAKE? >> WE DON'T WANT CONSUMERS TO FEEL LIKE THEY'RE THE VILLAINS HERE. A LOT OF THE SOURCE REASON FOR FOOD WASTE IS CONNECTED TO THINGS LIKE DATE LABELS. DATE LABELS DIDN'T REALLY EXIST BEFORE THE 1970s, AND, BEFORE THEN, PEOPLE WOULD USE THEIR SENSES. THEY WOULD USE THE SMELL TEST ON MILK. THEY MIGHT TRY A LITTLE BIT OF YOGURT. AND IF SOMETHING TASTED FINE OR SMELLED OKAY, IT DIDN'T SMELL LIKE IT HAD GONE OFF, THEY WOULD EAT IT. WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT A DATE LABEL THAT SAYS "BEST IF USED BY" HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOD SAFETY, BUT IT'S A MANUFACTURER SUGGESTION ABOUT WHEN THIS FOOD ITEM IS AT ITS PEAK FRESHNESS, WHICH IS INHERENTLY A SUBJECTIVE THING. IN FACT, BESIDES BABY FORMULA, THERE IS REALLY NO REGULATION AROUND DATE LABELS. SO, THERE'S ENORMOUS OPPORTUNITY TO REFORM DATE LABELS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION AND SCIENCE, AND, IN DOING SO, PREVENT A TON OF FOOD FROM GOING TO WASTE. >> Reporter: ELIZABETH BALKAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH. >> THANK YOU.
