CENTENNIAL, Colo. – The Beef Checkoff has issued a challenge to consumers to waste less food in the upcoming month with its “30 Day Food Waste Challenge.” The challenge is meant to inspire American consumers to introduce simple changes to their lifestyle to fight food waste during their daily routines. Those that sign up for the challenge will receive shopping tips and food prep strategies to help combat food waste. To bring friends and family onboard, participants are encouraged to use #WasteLess on social media.

According to www.worldfooddayusa.org, North American consumers waste 30 to 40 percent of the food supply. This wastes the resources used to produce the food, as well as putting it into the landfill, the number one source of methane emissions in the United States. In addition, the Beef Checkoff’s 2015 Sustainability Executive Summary states that food waste costs the average American family approximately $2,500 per year.

The first year of the challenge was 2016 and over 500 people participated, most of them graduates of Beef Checkoff’s Master of Beef Advocacy (MBA) program. This year’s challenge aims to reach beyond MBA graduates and make a bigger impact on reducing food waste across the country. Cattle producers are working to reduce waste on their farms as well as in their homes. Through better management of cattle nutrition, farmers are able to take byproduct common in their region, such as almond hulls, beet tops and potato starch, and feed that to cattle instead of wasting the items.