NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- An estimated 316 million pounds of food will be wasted in the United States on Thanksgiving, which means half a billion dollars worth of groceries thrown away in a single day, The Los Angeles Times reported on Tuesday, citing the Chicago-based non-profit ReFED.
"It takes an area the size of China to grow the food that is thrown away each year," the report said. "Food loss and waste produce nearly five times more greenhouse-gas emissions than the aviation industry."
Globally, a staggering one third of all food that is produced is never eaten. That waste, more than 1 billion tons annually, fuels climate change. As organic matter decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas that is much more potent than carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the planet, according to the report.
"The United Nations estimates that up to 10 percent of all human-produced greenhouse gases are generated by food loss and waste. That's nearly five times the emissions from the aviation industry," it added. ■
