This Thanksgiving, Congress should help families waste less food

The author argues that systemic issues, such as confusing date labels and liability concerns for grocers, drive significant food waste in the United States. The text advocates for two bipartisan bills: the Food Date Labeling Act, to standardize date labels and facilitate food donations, and the NO TIME TO Waste Act, to establish a USDA Office of Food Loss and Waste and aim for a 50% reduction in food waste by 2030.

• Approximately 30% of food produced annually in the US is wasted, contributing to nature loss and the release of methane from landfills.
• Thanksgiving specifically generates massive waste, with an estimated 320 million pounds of food—worth over $500 million and equivalent to 267 million meals—being discarded.
• The Food Date Labeling Act aims to standardize labels to distinguish between quality and safety, which would help the 47 million food-insecure Americans by making it easier for businesses to donate surplus food.
• The NO TIME TO Waste Act proposes creating an Office of Food Loss and Waste within the US Department of Agriculture to coordinate a national goal of halving food waste by 2030.

APA

Pearson, P. (2025). This Thanksgiving, Congress should help families waste less food. WWF International. https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/stories/this-thanksgiving-congress-should-help-families-waste-less-food/

Chicago

Pearson, Pete. This Thanksgiving, Congress should help families waste less food. WWF International, 2025. https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/stories/this-thanksgiving-congress-should-help-families-waste-less-food/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Pearson |first1=Pete |title=This Thanksgiving, Congress should help families waste less food |publisher=WWF International |date=25 November 2025 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/stories/this-thanksgiving-congress-should-help-families-waste-less-food/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{pearson2025this, author = {Pearson, Pete}, title = {{This Thanksgiving, Congress should help families waste less food}}, publisher = {WWF International}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/news/stories/this-thanksgiving-congress-should-help-families-waste-less-food/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }