Most climate change solutions are out of reach for the average person: You, yourself, cannot install an offshore wind turbine on a weekend to cut the carbon emissions of your local power grid. Even the solutions you might have control over — like buying an electric car or installing a solar panel on your house — are still expensive investments (even with recently passed tax incentives).
But there’s one way that anyone can join the fight against climate change: Waste less of your food.
Food waste is responsible for 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). U.S. households threw out more than 21 million tons of food in 2019, according to the nonprofit ReFed.
