The Biden Administration has reinforced its commitment to reducing food loss and waste, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) renewing their formal agreement initially established in 2018. This year, the collaboration is further strengthened by the inclusion of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The interagency partnership aims to leverage government resources to protect the environment, reduce food waste, and enhance food security both domestically and globally. These efforts align with the national goal of reducing food loss and waste by 50% by 2030.
“When food is wasted, so are the resources that were used to produce, process, distribute, and prepare that food,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “We are excited to continue this collaboration with our partners at USDA, FDA, and now welcome USAID to join our efforts to reduce food waste, protect our environment, and address critical climate impacts while saving families and businesses money and improving food security across the globe.”
The renewed agreement emphasizes coordination among agencies to produce educational materials, conduct outreach programs, invest in communities, provide technical assistance, engage in policy discussions, and form public-private partnerships. The addition of USAID expands these efforts internationally.
The U.S. Government's objective is not only to meet its national target but also to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Target 12.3—to halve per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030.
Recent EPA research highlights that 58% of methane emissions from landfills originate from food waste. Annually in the U.S., food loss and waste generate greenhouse gas pollutants equivalent to emissions from 60 coal-fired power plants.
Further information can be found on topics such as sustainable management of food, material-specific data on food waste, EPA’s circular economy initiatives, USDA’s work on reducing food loss and waste, FDA’s contributions in this area, and USAID’s international efforts.
