Checked Out: How U.S. Supermarkets Fail to Make the Grade in Reducing Food Waste
Supermarkets have an enormous influence on the food system — from farm to fork. As the primary place where most Americans purchase food, supermarkets influence what makes it from farms to shelves, what happens to unsold food, and even how much and what types of food shoppers buy. Unfortunately, U.S. grocers focus on donating and recycling food waste, rather than preventing it — and they’re not even tracking food waste throughout their entire operations.

Without transparent tracking and reporting of the amount of food waste across their companies, supermarkets can’t be held accountable to customers, investors or themselves regarding their own goals. The fundamental first step of corporate transparency — including setting and honoring specific, time-bound commitments to food-waste reduction and public reporting on progress — is virtually nonexistent among U.S. supermarkets.
Our key findings:
- Nine out of America’s 10 largest grocery companies fail to publicly report their total volume of food waste. Ahold Delhaize was the only company that publicly reported its total food-waste volume.
- The four companies that earned a C grade or higher overall were the only ones with specific food-waste reduction commitments. Kroger leads the way with a commitment of zero food waste by 2025.
- Four of the 10 companies have no “imperfect-produce initiatives,” which can prevent the waste of fruits and vegetables considered too “imperfect” for retail sale.
- Walmart was the only company with a variety of clear in-store efforts to reduce food waste, such as improving store fixtures, standardizing date labels, and educating associates and shoppers.
- All 10 of the companies have food-donation programs, with the majority operating company-wide. ALDI was the only company that did not report a food-recycling program (e.g., composting or a program to reuse unsold food as animal feed or for other industrial uses).
Recommendation:
Eliminating food waste in the grocery sector could have a ripple effect across society that could help address hunger, save money, conserve water and land, create more efficient agricultural systems, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and protect endangered species. Customers have taken notice of the massive problem of wasted food in the United States and want responsible businesses to take action.
Background
An estimated 40 percent of the food produced in the United States is wasted every year, costing households, businesses and farms about $218 billion annually . Also wasted have been the resources that went into producing that food, including 25 percent of all fresh water consumed, 13 percent of the total carbon emitted in order to produce food, and 80 million acres of farmland used in the United States . Uneaten food is also the single largest source of trash in municipal landfills, attracting wildlife and providing an unnatural and often toxic food source . It’s only by preventing food waste from the start that we can begin to address the environmental footprint and inequalities of our food system.
References
- Center for Biological Diversity (2006). Poisoning our imperiled wildlife: San Francisco Bay Area species at risk from pesticides. Miller, J. Retrieved from: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/publications/papers/bayareapesticidesreport.pdf
- Coleman-Jensen, A., Rabbit, M. P., Gregory, C. A., Singh, A. (2017). Household security in households in the United States 2016. Economic Research Report. (ERR-237) 44 pp.
- Congressional Legislative Information (OCIR) U.S. House of Representatives (1998). Legislative Hearings and Testimony: statement of Michael Cook before the subcommittee on livestock, dairy, and poultry and the subcommittee on forestry, resource conservation, and research of the committee on agriculture. Retrieved from: http://www.epa.gov/ocirpage/hearings/testimony/105_1997_1998/051398.htm
- Davies, T., Konisky, D.M. (2000). Environmental implications of the foodservice and food retail industries. Resources for the Future. Retrieved from: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=E946378264F06CDF9D630662B272C52F?doi=10.1.1.384.5779&rep=rep1&type=pdf
- Environmental Protection Agency (n.d.-a). EPA and USDA Join Private Sector. Charitable organizations to set nation’s first goals to reduce wasted food. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-and-usda-join-private-sector-charitable-organizations-set-nations-first-goals
- Environmental Protection Agency (2014-b). Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Earth month tip: reduce food waste. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases
- Environmental Protection Agency (2017-c). Pollinator Health Concerns. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/pollinator-health-concerns
- Environmental Protection Agency (2002-d). National Water Quality Inventory: report to Congress. Reporting cycle: findings, rivers and streams, and lakes, ponds and reservoirs.
- Environmental Protection Agency (2017-e). Sustainable Management of Food. Food recovery hierarchy. Retrieved from: https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-recovery-hierarchy
- Escaron, A. L., Meinen, A. M., Nitzke, S. A., Martinez-Donate, A. P. (2013). Supermarket and grocery Store-based interventions to promote healthful food choices and eating practices: a systematic review. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/12_0156.htm
- Farrell, J. (2017). How one big company uses Internet of Things sensors and big data to combat food waste. Silicon Angle. Retrieved from: https://siliconangle.com/blog/2017/06/04/qa-internet-things-combating-conundrum-american-food-wastage/
- Ferdman, R. (2014, September 23). Americans throw out more food than plastic, paper, metal and glass. Washington Post. Retrieved from: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/09/23/americans-throw-out-more-food-than-plastic-paper-metal-or-glass/?utm_term=.6a6e5d6ab0f1
- Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2013). Food wastage footprint: impacts on natural resources. Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/docrep/018/i3347e/i3347e.pdf
- Hall, K.D., Guo, J., Dore, M., Chow, C.C. (2009). The progressive increase of food waste in America and its environmental impact. PLOS One. Retrieved from: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0007940
- Hammond, K. (2015). Tesco streamlines Spanish operations to extend produce shelf life. Produce Business U.K. Retrieved from: http://www.producebusinessuk.com/purchasing/stories/2015/11/17/tesco-streamlines-spanish-operations-to-extend-produce-shelf-life
- McDowall, J. (2016). Publishing data key to tackling supermarket food waste — Tesco. Resource: sharing knowledge to promote waste as a resource. Retrieved from: http://resource.co/article/publishing-data-key-tackling-supermarket-food-waste-tesco-11180
- Natural Resources Defense Council (2017-a). Assessing corporate performance on food waste reduction: a strategic guide for investors. Pearce, A., Berkenkamp, J. Retrieved from: https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/corporate-performance-food-waste-reduction-ib.pdf
- Natural Resources Defense Council (2012-b). Wasted: How America is losing up to 40 percent of its food from farm to fork to landfill. Retrieved from: https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/wasted-food-IP.pdf
- ReFED (2016-a). A roadmap to reduce U.S. food waste by 20 percent. Retrieved from: http://www.refed.com/downloads/ReFED_Report_2016.pdf
- ReFED (2018-b). Retail food waste action guide. Retrieved from: http://www.refed.com/downloads/Retail_Guide_Web.pdf
- Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch (1999-2018). Wild Seafood. Retrieved from: https://www.seafoodwatch.org/ocean-issues/wild-seafood/bycatch
- Tesco (2018-a) How we calculate the food waste figure. Retrieved from: https://www.tescoplc.com/little-helps-plan/reports-policies-and-disclosure/how-we-calculate-the-food-waste-figure/
- Tesco (2018-b). Tackling food waste in our own operations. Retrieved from: https://www.tescoplc.com/little-helps-plan/products-food-waste/our-own-operations/
- Tesco (2017-c). Creating the U.K. leading food business. Retrieved from: https://www.tescoplc.com/
- Tesco (2017-d). Tesco suppliers join forces to tackle global food waste. Retrieved from: https://www.tescoplc.com/news/news-releases/2017/food-waste-suppliers-champions-123-dave-lewis-tesco/
- Tesco (2016-e). U.K. food waste data. Retrieved from: https://www.tescoplc.com/little-helps-plan/products-food-waste/uk-food-waste-data/
- Silverstein, K. (2017). Tesco launches hotline to streamline supply chain operations and minimize food waste. Environmental Leader. Retrieved from: https://www.environmentalleader.com/2017/03/tesco-launches-hotline-streamline-supply-chain-operations-minimize-food-waste/
- Smith, B. G. (2008). Developing sustainable food supply chains. Philosophy Transitions B. 363 (2492): 849-861. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2610113/
- Sustainabledevelopment.un.org (2017). Goal 12: Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Retrieved from: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg12
- USDA (2016). Environmental effects of conservation practices on grazing lands. Retrieved from: https://www.nal.usda.gov/waic/environmental-effects-conservation-practices-grazing-lands-1
- USDA Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) (2017-a). Office of the Chief Economist. Irrigation and water use. Retrieved from: https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-practices-management/irrigation-water-use.aspx#definitions
- USDA Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) (2015-b). Office of the Chief Economist. U.S. Food Waste Challenge. Retrieved from: https://www.usda.gov/oce/foodwaste/Challenge/index.htm
- USDA Economic Research Service (USDA ERS) (2001-c), Vesterby, M. and Krupa, K. S. Major Uses of Land in the United States, 1997. Retrieved from: https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/47144/13203_sb973_1_.pdf?v=41056