AFBF Trying To Reduce Food Waste

The American Farm Bureau and other organizations are encouraging farmers and consumers to reduce food waste through a new initiative, the “No Taste for Waste” campaign.  April Clayton with the Chelan/Douglas County Farm Bureau says the effort tries to connect consumer with farmers who use sustainable practices intended to reduce food waste from the farm to the table.  Clayton said there’s a lot farmers can do to help reduce food waste.  She said for starters, growers can’t only harvest produce that looks good for the highest dollar amount.

“We need to start picking all of our fruit and make sure it gets to juice and other forms but not just fresh to the grocery store.”

She added there are many benefits to clearing all the produce, from ensuring a fresh start in the new year to eliminating a breeding ground for bad bugs.  Clayton also notes many farmers want to keep their soil safe, and adds farmers are the original stewards of the earth.

“If we damage or destroy our land in anyway, there’s no way it’s going to be able to produce fruit or produce that we need it to produce, so we are very concerned about what happens to our soil health and environment on our farms."

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