POVERTY

[Fahad1]

Statistics on poverty &
food wastage in America

By Samana Siddiqi
Poverty in America? One of the richest countries in the world?

Yes, poverty is a reality in America, just as it is for millions of other human beings on the planet. There are 35 million poor persons in America including 14 million children.

This is despite abundance of food resources. Almost 100 billion pounds of food is wasted in America each year. 700 million hungry human beings in different parts of the world would have gladly accepted this food.

Here are some statistics on the nature of poverty and the waste of food and money in America.

Wasted food in America According to a 1997 study by US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) entitled "Estimating and Addressing America's Food Losses", about 96 billion pounds of food, or more than a quarter of the 356 billion pounds of edible food available for human consumption in the United States, was lost to human use by food retailers, consumers, and foodservice establishments in 1995.

Fresh fruits and vegetables, fluid milk, grain products, and sweeteners (mostly sugar and high-fructose corn syrup) accounted for two-thirds of the losses. 16 billion pounds of milk and 14 billion pounds of grain products are also included in this loss.

Food that could have gone to millions

According to the US Department of Agriculture, up to one-fifth of America's food goes to waste each year, with an estimated 130 pounds of food per person ending up in landfills. The annual value of this lost food is estimated at around $31 billion But the real story is that roughly 49 million people could have been fed by those lost resources. (For your persona jihad against wastage, see A Citizen's Guide to Food Recovery)

(The figures below are 1998 figures)

Proportion of Americans living below the poverty level 12.7 percent (34.5 million people)

The average poverty threshold for a family of four $16,660 in annual income

The average poverty threshold for a family of three $13,003 in annual income

Poverty rate for metropolitan areas 12.3 percent

Poverty rate for those living inside central cities 18.5 percent

Poverty rate for those living in the suburbs 8.7 percent

Percentage and number of poor children 18.9 percent (13.5 million)

Children make up 39 percent of the poor and 26 percent of the total population.

The poverty rate for children is higher than for any other age group.

Child poverty

-for children under age 6 living in families with a female householder and no husband present 54.8 percent

-for children under age 6 in married-couple families 10.1 percent

Poverty rate for African Americans 26.1 percent

Poverty rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders 12.5 percent

Poverty rate for Hispanics of any race 25.6 percent

Poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites 8.2 percent

from http//www.themodernreligion.com/index2.html

[zenje]

Salaam Saladin,

Thanks for sharing these statistics to help put this terrible behaviour in perspective.

Some years ago, I remember my brother telling me how this bakery located near him, would throw lots of bread and other products every night they closed, because they had to guarantee freshness! So, one night he went up to one of the workers and asked them why didn't they give it to poor/hungry people. The person replied that if they did, and it turned out someone got sick from it for any reason, they would get sued. So they preffered to throw it, then fight legal battles.

This is just a small part of the grand scale of food wastage going on especially in the U.S. where most portions are 'super-sized'. I see it more because I come from a country that is stricken with hunger and poverty. But I also see that if I'm not careful, I can easily get sucked into this lifestyle of wastage.

And He is the One Who initiated gardens, both trellised and untrellised, and palm trees, and plants, all with different taste; and olives and pomegranates, similar and not similar. Eat from its fruit when it blossoms and give its due on the day of harvest; and do not waste. He does not like the wasteful. 6141

And give the relative his due, and the poor, and the wayfarer; and do not waste excessively. Those who waste excessively are brothers to the devils, and the devil was to his Lord a rejecter. 1726-27

Peace